ng Connect Program Expands With 20 New Members and Announces New, Faster Way to Join the Program

Program Announces International Growth; Membership Jumps to 84


PLANO, TX--(Marketwire - Nov 16, 2011) - The ng Connect Program, the multi-industry open innovation program founded by Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) (EURONEXT PARIS: ALU) to create the new connected user experience, today announced 20 new members, including the program's first service provider member, and broader expansion in Asia. ng Connect also announced a new Associate Membership which allows companies and entrepreneurs to participate at an entry level.

Associate Members will be able to network with Collaborating Members and have an opportunity to work up to Collaborating Member status where they are eligible to participate in the program's service concept creation process. This activity is guided by open innovation practices and facilitated "gamestorming," where concepts are created more quickly and consistently through game-like activities involving personas, scenarios and challenges to be resolved. At CES 2012 (January 10-14, Las Vegas), the organization will announce a number of new service concepts focused on health and wellness, entertainment and retail.

ng Connect membership is also increasing internationally with more than half of the new members joining from outside North America. ng Connect has been particularly focused on Asia as activity around next generation networks continues to accelerate in the region. The program recently unveiled the LTE Connected Car 2.0 in China, and also welcomed its first service provider member, Indosat, the third largest telecommunications company for mobile services in Indonesia.

"This growth, both with the new members and the expansion in Asia, validates the impact of ng Connect on the telecommunications industry and beyond," said Jason Collins, Head of ng Connect and Vice President of Emerging Technology & Innovation, Alcatel-Lucent. "These developments will further enhance the relevance of our service concepts for service providers and the validity of our business models as we continue to shape the next generation user experience."

The 20 new Collaborating Member companies who have joined the ng Connect Program include:

  • Agnity Healthcare - provides Mobile Clinical Unified Communications through its MobileCare™ solution and secure video conferencing through its CareView™ solution. These solutions provide clinicians and caregivers with a "virtual point of care" whether they are local or remote, enabling faster and more reliable decision making and better outcomes.
  • Altran - as a European leader in innovation and high-tech engineering consulting, Altran supports companies in the creation and development of their new products and services, and provides end-to-end management solutions for client projects in Automotive, Aerospace, Energy & Healthcare, and Telecommunications industries and services in key technological domains: Innovation Management, Embedded and IT Systems.
  • Boston Life Labs - a global healthcare technology company dedicated to research and development of Telehealth Systems. Its team of engineers and healthcare professionals are driving innovation in the telehealth services market. The company's vision is to provide robust, affordable, wireless and plug-and-play telehealth solutions.
  • BringIt - a technology company whose real-time transactional platform enables social game publishers to easily add challenges, tournaments, social leader boards, and virtual currency collection and payouts to their games. With over 8 million players, BringIt is the leader in third-party engagement and monetization platforms. BringIt's platform is language and technology independent -- communicating directly with any front-end client including mobile and web.
  • CAMKA System - develops mobile collaboration solutions to reduce travel for workers in technical or medical environments. CAMKA System offers an infield camera solution for real-time communication between nomadic workers. The solution supports video streaming, high resolution images, audio and information exchanged between workers in the field.
  • Damaka - an innovator in mobile unified communication and collaboration (UCC) solutions. The company is changing the landscape of mobile UCC by providing secure, real-time mobile video calling and mobile collaboration solutions on all major smartphones, tablets and PC/MAC platforms to enhance the productivity and efficiency of an enterprise.
  • DMO - digitalmusic.org is the home for the digital initiatives of NARM, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, the trade association for the business of music. As an industry resource, digitalmusic.org is the place where the people that are working on the issues around digital commerce can actively participate on their resolution.
  • frog - helps world's leading companies to design, engineer and bring to market meaningful products and services. With an interdisciplinary team of more than 1,600 designers, strategists and software engineers, frog delivers connected experiences that span multiple technologies, platforms, and media.
  • Indosat - a leading telecommunication and information service provider in Indonesia that provides cellular services, fixed telecommunication services or fixed voice, fixed wireless services, and fixed data communication services, used for the customer services along with its subsidiaries namely Indosat Mega Media (IM2) and Lintasarta. Indosat's shares have been registered at Jakarta and Surabaya Stock Exchange (JSX: ISAT) and shares in a form of American Depositary Shares registered at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: IIT).
  • IVONA Software - develops the highest-quality, most natural-sounding Text-to-Speech technology on the market today. The company provides lifelike voices as a main component of the modern user interface in a wide range of applications and services, including the Audio Mobile Augmented Reality (AMAR) Service concept.
  • MMRGlobal (OTCBB: MMRF) - a leading provider of Personal Health Record (PHR) solutions MyMedicalRecords.com PHR and MMRPro document management and imaging systems for healthcare professionals. MMR offers secure and easy-to-use solutions for accessing medical records and other important documents using a patented infrastructure combining telephony and the Internet where patients can access their personal health information from any doctor or hospital anytime.
  • RealVNC - inventor and provider of the original VNC® technology. Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is used in every sector of industry, commerce, government and education by hundreds of millions of people around the world in both desktop and mobile platforms for remote access and control. RealVNC is the only organization able to offer a commercial license to embed VNC remote access capability in third-party products.
  • Rosetta - a consulting-centered interactive agency engineered to transform products and marketing for the connected world. They drive business impact by translating insights into personally relevant brand experiences across touch points and over time. Rosetta builds effective digital marketing and product experiences in Consumer Technology, Enterprise Technology, Financial Services, Retail and Healthcare industries.
  • Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) (TSX: SW) - is the first machine-to-machine module vendor to join the ng Connect Program. Sierra Wireless offers industry-leading mobile computing and M2M communications products and solutions that connect people, devices, and applications over cellular networks worldwide. Its 2G, 3G and 4G wireless modems, routers, and gateways, along with its comprehensive suite of software, tools, and services, ensure customers can bring innovative new wireless applications to market successfully.
  • Solta - a New Zealand owned and operated technology innovation company. Solta operates under a mantra of "speed is life" -- from the rapid prototyping of ideas and being the first to market, to rapid commercialization and deployment of products to international markets.
  • StreamVision - a key enabler in the emerging market of digital video broadcast and rich media applications for audiovisual, educational and hospitality markets. StreamVision also specializes in the design and implementation of quick medical diagnosis systems enabling the capture of patient information and medical analysis data via non-invasive sensors.
  • TATA Interactive Systems- the world's leading developer of learning solutions. TIS' solutions enable organizational initiatives in industry verticals including Education; Government and Defence; Telecommunications and ICT; Pharmaceuticals and Health Care; Banking, Financial Services and Insurance; Airlines, Transportation, Logistics and Hospitality; Consumer Package Goods; and Manufacturing, Energy and Construction.
  • ThinkFlood - creator of RedEye, the first universal remote control for the iPhone. RedEye allows customers to use their own smartphone, tablet or PC in a variety of home automation applications for Apple and Android devices. Sold in more than 60 countries worldwide, it is the leading control platform for the home with a range of products that give customers control over thousands of devices, from TVs and cable boxes to lighting systems and air conditioners.
  • UnboundID - provider of real-time subscriber data management software for cloud, mobile and social applications and the first-to-market leader of commercially available solutions that support Simple Cloud Identity Management (SCIM) as a data access protocol. UnboundID solutions enable organizations to deliver more revenue-generating applications while significantly lowering their costs for delivery.
  • ZOS Communications - enables contextual-triggered communications across all connected mobile devices and carriers. ZOS's cloud-hosted Platform-as-a-Service offering is a highly scalable solution for system integrators, developers and carrier operators that require hyper-accurate hybrid location, geo-fencing and contextual triggering.

About The ng Connect Program

The ng Connect Program is dedicated to the creation of the new generation connected user experience. With its dynamic multi-industry membership, the organization drives relevance and new business models through innovation. ng Connect has increased awareness in the telecommunications industry and among consumers of the possibilities of LTE and next generation technologies with the development of 20 service concepts including the Virtual Personal Stylist, Fan Cam, the Gametime Media Table and the LTE Connected Car. Founded by Alcatel-Lucent, ng Connect is comprised of more than 80 members including leading network, consumer electronics, application and content providers. For a full list of members please visit: http://www.ngconnect.org/members/index.htm and for more information on the ng Connect Program, visit: www.ngconnect.org. Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ngConnect.

Contact Information:

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Alicia Mickelsen
Breakaway Communications for ng Connect
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