Résumé :
ALMA will be one of the major ground-based astronomical instruments
of the next decades. This 66-antennas array is currently in
construction on the Chajnantor plateau, in northern Chile, and the
first antennas are already in operation. In this talk, I'll present
the scientific perspectives open by ALMA and summarize its current
status and the next steps of its deployment.
A special emphasis will be put on the ALMA "Early Science" phase:
ALMA will be open (with some restrictions) to the community as
soon as 16 antennas are available. The first Call for Proposals
for the ALMA Early Science may be issued at *the end of this year*.
The operation mode of ALMA and especially the role of the ALMA
Regional Centers (ARCs) will be described. IRAM is one of the
nodes of the European ARC and will be providing face-to-face
support to the ALMA users for the data reduction.
