Hilton International has named the new Enterprise Networks Group as one of its two preferred vendors for the company's global communications standardisation project. As part of the project, Enterprise Networks Group has deployed its leading-edge GuestWorks® hospitality solution at Hilton hotels spanning every continent, including locations such as Greece, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, the Bahamas and Malta.

In addition, Hilton International is transforming its global networking infrastructure. Enterprise Networks Group has implemented Lucent's award-winning VPN Firewall Brick in Quito and Guayaguil in Ecuador, Minneapolis in the United States as well as London and Glasgow in the United Kingdom.

``We believe Enterprise Networks Group will help us to create a new benchmark for guest satisfaction through deployment of cutting-edge voice and data solutions that will help increase staff productivity and provide cost-effective network communications,'' said Nigel Underwood, senior vice president of Information Technology at Hilton International. ``This agreement supports our aim of being the most advanced user of IT solutions within the hospitality industry, and together with future initiatives, will be critical in helping us to fulfil this goal.''

``We are committed to supporting Hilton's exciting vision for first-rate, innovative guest services around the globe,'' said Dave Johnson, Enterprise Networks Group's vice president of Worldwide Sales. ``We are leveraging our worldwide presence and breadth of technology solutions to help Hilton International distinguish itself by offering the most technologically advanced guest services in the hospitality industry.''

The agreement calls for the Enterprise Networks Group to supply a complete GuestWorks hospitality solution -- including the industry-leading DEFINITY® Enterprise Communications Server (ECS) and DEFINITY Wireless Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) -- for Hilton International hotels currently being built and to update voice networks and equipment at existing hotels.

The GuestWorks solution is an integrated, turnkey communications system for the hospitality industry that incorporates call processing, messaging, phones and services. The solution integrates leading-edge technology that enhance guests communications and hotel network management. GuestWorks system can support hotel properties of all sizes-- providing up to 25,000 voice and data phone lines.

In conjunction with solutions from other Hilton partners, the new Enterprise Networks Group solution will enable Hilton International to offer improved guest services -- including programmable automated wake-up calls, message waiting notification, and the delivery of greetings or announcements in the guest's native language -- and to significantly boost staff productivity.

Hilton Reservations Worldwide also is using Enterprise Networks Group's CentreVu® Customer Care Solutions to assist customers with making reservations. Customer care centers are based in Japan, Singapore and Belgium.

The VPN solution for Hilton International helps transform its wide area network - which previously relied on dial-up networking technology - to deploy a global IP-based Virtual Private Network (VPN) based on Lucent's VPN Firewall Brick, which will securely and reliably connect more than 20 Hilton International hotels together across all continents using an ISP backbone to take advantage of the low cost and productivity benefits of the Internet without compromising on security, reliability and performance expectations. The multi-site secure network is centrally provisioned and managed by the Lucent Security Management Server located in Dublin, Ireland.

``The VPN Firewall solution is ideal for our hotels because of its industry-leading performance, security and high-availability features,'' said Underwood. ``In addition, as we evolve our e-business strategy, the VPN solution will enable us to increase the overall capacity and bandwidth requirements, as and when required by the business, in a very short period of time.''

To date, Lucent's Enterprise Networks Group has outfitted 23 Hilton hotels with the new technology. Enterprise Networks Group and Hilton International will continue to collaborate on the development of leading-edge converged applications in effort to meet the changing needs of Hilton's guests.

About Hilton International

Hilton International, a subsidiary of Hilton Group plc, and Hilton Hotels Corporation, have a worldwide alliance to market Hilton, the world's best-known hotel brand. Collectively offering more than 2,000 hotels in over 50 countries worldwide, both companies are recognized as leaders in the hospitality industry. Hilton International currently operates approximately 220 hotels in over 50 countries worldwide.

About Lucent Technologies' New Enterprise Networks Group

By the end of September, Lucent Technologies intends to spin off its enterprise communications systems, business cabling and LAN-based data networking businesses, including the GuestWorks system and DEFINITY system, into a separate $8 billion company focused on delivering next-generation communications networks for enterprises. The new company will be the worldwide leader in messaging and call centers, the U.S. leader in voice communications systems, and will have the largest sales and services force in the industry.

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