Alcatel will deploy its photonic service switch on SFR's network to advance it to an IP-optical converged infrastructure.
The upgraded network is designed to enable faster and cheaper deployment of fixed-line and mobile services to meet the growing demand from both residential and business customers.
"An upgrade of our optical metro became a high priority for SFR," said Pierre-Alain Allemand at SFR. "Alcatel-Lucent's IP transport technology solution, combined with their experience gained as a long-time supplier of technology and services, made them a logical choice for the upgrade."
Alcatel-Lucent will also deliver design, professional, installation and commissioning services to SFR, with the partnership forming part of a long-standing relationship between the two companies.
"We understand their existing network and the issues they are facing, because we supplied their original SDH optical network," said Olivier Gordien at Alcatel-Lucent.
"We are in a unique position to provide for SFR an efficient and seamless transition to IP transport cloud-optimised metro transport to enable the delivery of ultra-broadband and cloud services."
In November last year, SFR and rival French operator Orange France faced legal challenges for failing to meet their specified 4G speeds.
