01-May-2007
VANCOUVER – Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) announced that Nortel will be the Official Converged Network Equipment Supplier for the 2010 Winter Games. As part of the sponsorship agreement, Nortel will supply the network communications equipment required for what will be the first all-IP converged Games network.
Nortel will be providing the converged local area network (LAN) equipment to VANOC at 15 Games venues in both Vancouver and Whistler, as well as at the Vancouver 2010 headquarters and numerous supporting venues.
In addition, Bell Canada earlier selected Nortel to supply the wide area network (WAN) equipment it will use to build a core network to enable secure and reliable communications among all event locations. Bell Canada, the exclusive Telecommunications Services Provider and Premier National Partner for the 2010 Winter Games, will use Nortel VoIP, Metro Ethernet and IP solutions to create and deploy a dedicated carrier-class IP network for VANOC that securely converges all voice, video, and data communications.
With Nortel’s selection by VANOC for the Games’ LAN network and by Bell Canada to supply equipment for the Games’ WAN network, Nortel equipment will be used end-to-end for the 2010 Winter Games.
“VANOC and Bell Canada chose Nortel to supply the network infrastructure for one of the most important, most visible, and most watched sporting events in the world,” said Mike Zafirovski, president and CEO, Nortel. “It takes world-class networking expertise to support an event of this magnitude. With the eyes of the world upon them, VANOC can depend on the strength of Nortel to ensure the success of the Games.”
“At Vancouver 2010, we are pleased to build on Canada’s proud history of advancing the way people communicate,” said John Furlong, VANOC CEO. “With Nortel joining our team, we will provide a positive human experience through reliable, secure and mobile communications. We are delighted to welcome Nortel’s employees to our team and invite them to help us celebrate the true spirit and potential of our country.”
Nortel’s six-year Official Supplier partnership with VANOC provides sponsorship rights for the 2010 Winter Games and the Canadian Olympic Teams participating at the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games.
Designed and delivered by Bell Canada and using Nortel equipment, the 2010 Winter Games will be the first ever to converge all of its voice, video and data traffic over a single IP-based network backbone. This will also be the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to use voice over IP (VoIP) for all event locations, allowing athletes and support staff to have true user portability through a phone number that roams with them wherever they go.
“With all our athletes and event staff relying on this network, absolute network reliability and security are of paramount importance,” said Ward Chapin, chief information officer, VANOC. “Nortel’s rich history of designing and deploying some of the world’s most reliable and robust communications infrastructure is why we asked Nortel to design and build our converged LAN. In addition, Nortel’s support to Bell Canada in building the Games WAN will also increase the seamless power of the network while lowering costs to build and operate the network.”
“Given our experience with and trust in Nortel in supporting the delivery of our commercial networks, it was only natural that Bell Canada select Nortel to help us build the wide area network for the 2010 Games,” said Justin Webb, vice president, Olympic Services, Bell Canada. “We are working together closely to create a network for VANOC that delivers uncompromised performance, security, and simplicity, from the core infrastructure down to the individual user.”
Bell Canada will use the Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 and Optical Multiservice Edge 6500 to create a resilient, high-bandwidth transport network that connects all venues and supporting sites, with the Ethernet Routing Switch 5000 Series converging communications at all location sites. Bell Canada will also be providing network-based VoIP within all VANOC sites and competition venues utilizing Nortel’s market leading Communication Server 2000-Compact and IP Phone 1100 Series sets.
Nortel will directly supply LAN, WiFi, management and network security solutions to VANOC for all venues and supporting sites. Nortel Global Services will also be provided to support the design and deployment of the network.
About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.
VANOC’s marketing program is focused on securing mutually rewarding partnerships with shared values to generate sufficient revenue to host successful Winter Games in 2010 and to leave a financial legacy for sport. VANOC’s Worldwide TOP Partners include Coca-Cola, Atos Origin, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Samsung and Visa. VANOC’s National Partners are Bell Canada, Hbc, RBC Financial Group, GM Canada, Petro-Canada, and RONA.
VANOC’s Official Supporters include Air Canada, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Canadian Pacific, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, Jet Set Sports, Ricoh Canada Inc., the Royal Canadian Mint, and Teck Cominco Limited. VANOC’s Official Suppliers are Birks, Dow Canada, EPCOR, Haworth Canada, Vincor Canada and Workopolis.
About Nortel
Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel’s technologies are designed to help eliminate today’s barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.
Certain statements in this press release may contain words such as “could”, “expects”, “may”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “targets”, “envisions”, “seeks” and other similar language and are considered forward-looking statements or information under applicable securities legislation. These statements are based on Nortel’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies and markets in which Nortel operates. These statements are subject to important assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and the actual outcome may be materially different from those contemplated in forward-looking statements. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see Nortel’s Annual Report on Form10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other securities filings with the SEC. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Nortel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
*Nortel, the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel Networks.