Alcatel

Alcatel SA was a French industrial conglomerate [3] active between 1963 and 2006. It has roots to Compagnie Générale d’Electricité (CGE), a conglomerate founded in 1898 as an early state owned cable and telephone equipment company that later expanded into construction, shipbuilding and energy. In telecommunications, Alcatel was a major supplier of digital telephone switches,[4] terrestrial and submarine transmission cables, satellite equipment,[5] cellular infrastructure, DSL access equipment and others.[6] Alcatel (originally short for Société Alsacienne de Constructions Atomiques, de Télécommunications et d'Électronique - roughly translates into: Alsatian Society of Atomic Constructions, Telecommunications and Electronics) was formed in Mulhouse as part of SACM, an engineering company group. It was absorbed in 1968 or 1970 by Compagnie industrielle des télécommunications (CIT), the telecom division of conglomerate CGE.

History

Predecessors

1898 – French engineer Pierre Azaria sets up the Compagnie Générale d'Électricité (CGE).[9]
1919 – Aaron Weil creates the "Téléphone privé" (Private telephone)
1925 – CGE becomes part of Compagnie Générale des Câbles de Lyon. Bell Telephone Laboratories is created.
1927 – The company is growing, and takes the name of "Téléphonie Industrielle et Commerciale" (TELIC)
1928 – Alsthom is formed by Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques and Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston.
1946 – The CIT is created (Compagnie Industrielle de Téléphone) with CGE (Compagnie Generale d'Electricité)
1947 – ALSATEL is created. (Société Alsacienne et Lorraine de Télécommunication et d'Electronique) to enable sales expansion.
1952 – In the United States, ITT Corporation buys a controlling interest in Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Company and rebrands its products to ITT Kellogg.[10]
1954 – TELIC acquires COFRATEL (Compagnie Française du Téléphone).
1960 – TELIC delivers the complex Crossbar technology.
1965 – CGE acquires TELIC, becoming a subsidiary of CIT.

1970 – Alcatel is created by merging CIT and ENTE, a department of the SACM (Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques).
1970 – Ambroise Roux becomes CGE's chairman. He later becomes the honorary chairman until his death in 1999.
1977 – Alcatel's first PBX is created, with digital control.
1980 – The Minitel videotex service is launched.
1982 – Jean-Pierre Brunet becomes CGE's chairman.
1984 – Georges Pebereau becomes CGE's chairman. Thompson telecommunications is absorbed by CGE.[11] Cables de Lyon buys Thompson Jeumont Cables and Kabelmetal.
1985 – Alsthom Atlantique becomes Alsthom. Alcatel is formed when CIT-Alcatel and Thompson's telecommunications unit merge.[12]
1986 – ITT Corporation sells its international telecommunications and cable business (including ITT Kellogg) to Alsthom, creating Alcatel N.V., a Netherlands company in which ITT retains a 37% stake.

type	public
traded as	Euronext: ACL
industry	Telecommunications
founded	* 1898 (as Compagnie Générale d'Electricité) * 1963 (as Société Alsacienne de Constructions Atomiques, de Télécommunications et d'Électronique)
defunct	December 1, 2006
fate	Renamed to Alcatel-Lucent after acquiring Lucent Technologies‡R1R‡‡R2R‡
hq location city	Paris
hq location country	France

Alcatel

History

Predecessors

Alcatel

See also

External links

References