Brown reiterated Quigley's comments.

"Because nobody has done this before, we've actually got to get it to work and put it absolutely under the pump to make sure it all works," he said.

Approximately 60 to 70 per cent of the final suite of systems will be taken straight off the shelf but Brown said a high level of customisation and tailoring was still required, the level of which is still to be decided by the company.

Alcatel-Lucent's likely contract win is one of several lucrative deals the networking vendors has already signed with the company, including part of a . However, the relationship between the companies has continued to face strain as both Quigley, and chief financial officer, Jean-Pascal Beaufret, held senior roles at Alcatel-Lucent prior to their current positions.