Alcatel-Lucent sees future growth opportunities in LatAm ultra-broadband

French telecoms equipment supplier Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) believes that there are future growth opportunities for the company in the mobile and fixed ultra-broadband access segments in Latin America, CEO Michel Combes told reporters.

"There is a race for ultra-broadband in Latin America," Combes said on the sidelines of the Alcatel-Lucent's Technology Symposium, taking place in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, this week.

Combes also highlighted the increasing penetration of smartphone devices in Latin American markets which pave the way for ultra-broadband access solutions. According to the executive, the adoption rate of smartphones in the region is even higher that what was seen in the US and Europe.

"Operators in Latin America are facing a transition and we are working with large operators there such as América Móvil (NYSE: AMX), Telefónica (NYSE: TEF), Oi and Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) to figure out how we can help them to manage this transition to ultra-broadband and full IP."

Combes highlighted that Brazil is undergoing a strong migration evolution process as several operators there still have fragmented networks for fixed on one side and wireless on the other side. "The name of the game there is to migrate all that to a unified IP network," he added.

"Over recent years, our team in Latin America has done a great job of leveraging the strengths of our portfolio of fixed, routing and mobile solutions," Combes added.

In June, Alcatel-Lucent launched The Shift Plan, aimed at repositioning the firm from being a telecoms equipment generalist to a specialist in IP networking, and mobile and fixed ultra-broadband access.

During the three-year plan Alcatel-Lucent will shift research priorities, so that IP networking and ultra-broadband access represent 85% of R&D investment in 2015.