Nortel Leverages Sigma Auto-Provisioning for Carrier IP Powered Business Solution

Allows Carriers to ‘Turn On’ SIP Devices and Services Quickly and Cost Effectively for Residential and Business Subscribers

TORONTO – Boosting its efforts to help service providers deliver the latest business voice and multimedia IP solutions to end users, Nortel* [OTC: NRTLQ] Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions (CVAS) has expanded its collaboration with Sigma Systems **, a leading provider of advanced IP service fulfillment solutions.

Nortel’s IP Powered Business Solution with the Device Provisioning Manager (DPM) will enable service providers to easily auto-configure and provision business and residential end-user SIP devices and VoIP phone lines. This capability will allow business and residential subscribers to use their IP phones and devices more quickly, because the devices will automatically locate the server, load the latest software and register to the appropriate VoIP call server.

“Nortel’s new capability addresses a complex and time-consuming phase that service providers face when delivering VoIP services to end users – activating the IP phones and other SIP devices,” said Diane Myers, directing analyst, Infonetics Research. “Traditionally, service providers need to either program devices before shipment, or activate each phone individually at the customer site, both of which take time and require experienced technicians. Auto-provisioning solutions help overcome these obstacles.”

Adding the SIP device auto-provisioning capability helps lower service providers’ costs by reducing administration tasks and truck rolls for customer support. It will also allow service providers to accept orders, remotely provision and activate fully featured IP telephony services for end-users, which greatly improves subscriber satisfaction and loyalty.

“Nortel recognizes that service providers are under a great amount of pressure to get new services deployed and up and running quickly and cost-effectively so that subscribers do not have to wait for their phone systems to be installed and programmed,” said Sita Lowman, leader, CVAS Marketing, Nortel. “SIP device provisioning is a new capability of our IP Powered Business voice and multimedia solution and will help carriers reduce the amount of time, cost and complexity associated with deploying IP business services, like unified communications, integrated multimedia messaging, and fixed-mobile convergence applications.”

“Service provider deployments of advanced business and residential VoIP have been hindered by the complexity of provisioning SIP end-devices. Sigma Systems and Nortel eliminate this hindrance,” said Preston Gilmer, vice president, Product Marketing, Sigma Systems. “By automating the end-to-end provisioning with our joint solution, service providers can realize faster deployments with less order fallout, resulting in faster time to revenue.”

Nortel will offer the SIP end device auto-provisioning solution as part of Nortel’s IP Powered Business solution as a bundled component with any of Nortel’s Softswitch and Telephony Application Servers – including Nortel’s Communication Server (CS) 2000, IP Multimedia Softswitch, Nortel’s Communication Server 1500, and Nortel’s Adaptive Application Engine.

Nortel and Sigma Systems have been working together for several years and have 12 joint customers across North America and Europe. Sigma is part of Nortel’s CVAS Partner Program that is designed to accelerate the deployment of applications and IP services for next generation voice networks. The program gives partners access to Nortel’s market leading, open, standards-based, Carrier VoIP Softswitch Portfolio and allows them to participate in interoperability testing and receive technical support. Nortel’s CVAS Partner Program features more than 75 application server, gateway, client, and network infrastructure developers that work with Nortel to deliver value-added services and applications that help carriers meet consumer and enterprise subscriber demands.

About Sigma Systems

Sigma Systems is the proven global leader in delivering advanced IP service fulfillment solutions. Sigma’s powerful solutions enable the world’s Next-Generation Operators (NGOs) ** to Deliver a Rich Consumer Experience through communications and entertainment services—over any access technology to any device. The company’s award-winning solutions include order management, provisioning and activation, and active mediation of residential and business VoIP, and Triple, Quad and All-Play services. NGOs around the globe — including Cox, Technology Networks (formerly @NetHome) and Rogers — trust Sigma for service transformation and innovative solutions with market-leading expertise for the delivery of today’s—and tomorrow’s—new services. For more information about Sigma, visit http://www.sigma-systems.com **.

About Nortel

Nortel delivers 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. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com . For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news .

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Use of the terms “partner” and “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership between Nortel and any other party.