Nortel Receives Contract Extension From T-Mobile USA To Deliver Mobile Services

DALLAS and BELLEVUE, Wash. – T-Mobile USA Inc. and Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] have signed a US$150 million multi-year extension to their contract to deliver mobile voice and data services. T-Mobile USA serves 26 million wireless subscribers across the United States and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, the mobile arm of Deutsche Telekom AG.

Nortel will continue to upgrade T-Mobile’s network and supply GSM wireless equipment and associated professional services. The upgrades are designed to help boost T-Mobile’s network efficiency and capacity, and enable T-Mobile to continue to satisfy traffic growth while making the most efficient use of available spectrum.

“T-Mobile USA’s previous deployments with Nortel enabled us to support more subscribers with a marked improvement in network performance, capacity and call quality,” said Neville Ray, senior vice president of engineering operations, T-Mobile USA.

“T-Mobile is known for bringing a high-quality mobile experience to subscribers and Nortel’s GSM networking gear is part of what makes that promise possible,” said Richard Lowe, president, Carrier Networks, Nortel. “Nortel continues to invest in GSM technology, working to increase the capacity and quality of networks for our customers while driving down the costs. For operators focused on a world-class 2.5G solution, or looking long term at 4G, Nortel’s GSM systems provide an excellent platform to meet the demands of today’s most popular wireless applications.”

As part of the new extended agreement, Nortel will provide GSM infrastructure equipment and services across T-Mobile’s nationwide network. This continues a long-standing relationship between the companies. Nortel has supported GSM network planning and deployment for T-Mobile USA since the company’s inception as VoiceStream Wireless in 1995.