Nortel And Claro Team Up To Bring Advanced Communication Services To Customers In Guatemala

Nortel All-IP Product Line Improves GSM Network Efficiency, Reduces Operating Costs
GUATEMALA CITY – Claro, a wireless service provider in Guatemala, will evolve its current wireless network using an All-IP product line from Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] to reduce operating costs through improved network management and increase bandwidth for new mobile services.

This move to an All-IP network by Claro** supports the increased demand for high-bandwidth mobile services like VoIP, video and on-line gaming driven by Hyperconnectivity, a global trend where anything that can be connected to the network, will be connected.

“This GSM network upgrade powered by Nortel’s All-IP technology makes us one of the leaders in Central America wireless services,” said Marvin Par-Gonzalez, director of Claro, an America Movil** wireless subsidiary. “Now we can count on a network that’s entirely based on IP to give our users more reliability and higher quality services while allowing us to reduce costs by maximizing our network resources.”

“With this transition to an infrastructure based on IP, Claro is simplifying their network, allowing them to deliver a variety of services such as voice and data over a single IP network, rather than having one network for voice, and another for data,” said Pablo Vazquez, president and general director of Nortel Mesoamerica. "Our new All-IP product line provides Claro with the next-generation products they need to support high subscriber demand for advanced voice services without increasing their network complexity.

Planned for completion early this year, Claro’s network upgrade will use Nortel’s new Advanced Telecommunications for Computer Architecture (ATCA) based on MSC Server and Home Location Register (HLR), to provide top reliability and performance. The network will provide the switching, mobility and subscriber management functions required to achieve seamless and secure operation of wireless voice services.

The architecture is compliant to R4 standards, which is a release of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)**. These products reduce total cost of ownership for GSM and UMTS voice and text services by enabling more efficient use of transmission capacity and reducing the amount of network equipment required to support these services.

Nortel has successfully deployed R4-compliant network equipment for both GSM and UMTS core network applications since 2005. These products provide the foundation for evolving to 4G networks.

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.

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