Earlier this year, Alcatel formed an alliance with Microsoft to offer an integrated hardware and software offering to telecommunications providers. Om Malik wrote an interesting post that questions the wisdom for Alcatel about that deal.

Now comes news that Alcatel has agreed to work with customer service systems company Amdocs to deliver a joint solution to support internet protocol television and other next generation broadband services.

Alcatel and Amdocs have signed a letter of intent to work together to integrate the Amdocs system with Alcatel's IPTV solution. The companies will also engage in joint sales and marketing efforts.

"Service providers need not only the infrastructure, but also a way to address the unique operational and billing characteristics inherent in these services," said Hubert de Pesquidoux, president of Alcatel's North American activities. "Our alliance with Amdocs further differentiates Alcatel as the leading provider of IPTV offerings."

The two companies have already begun development of an interoperability laboratory to simulate real-world production environments.

With sales of 12.3 billion euro, Alcatel has 56,000 employees worldwide. Amdocs employs over 10,000 information technology professionals, serving customers in 40 countries around the world.