Nortel Marks One-Year Countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

TORONTO - With more than 75 percent of the network equipment delivered in the run-up to the 2010 Winter Games, Nortel’s* [TSX: NT, OTC: NRTLQ] technology is already serving the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) for the sport events and other pre-Games activities as the one-year countdown to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games begins.

“Information is critical to the success of the Games. Nortel has gone to great lengths to demonstrate that the network equipment will ensure all of our information will be where it needs to be, when it needs to be, at all times,” said Ward Chapin, chief information officer, VANOC. “These will be the most technologically advanced Games held to date and there is no margin for error. Nortel has demonstrated their commitment to the 2010 Winter Games at every turn.”

Bell Canada, as exclusive Telecommunications Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, selected Nortel as its core network equipment supplier. VANOC selected Nortel to be the Official Converged Network Equipment Supplier for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

“The core of our efforts is to celebrate the spirit of the Games - the competition, cooperation, international brotherhood and goodwill they represent. Serving the millions of athletes, officials and spectators of the 2010 Winter Games remains one of our highest priorities. The progress in delivering our network equipment demonstrates our commitment and focus on ensuring that Games’ communications are always available and secure,” said Joel Hackney , president, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel.

“Additionally, as the Official Network Infrastructure Partner to London 2012, we are proud to be responsible for providing the equipment that will enable secure and robust wired and wireless networks, providing call center and fixed telephony systems which the London 2012 Organising Committee requires to stage the Olympic Games,” he said.

Working closely with Nortel, Bell has already delivered the high-capacity, wide-area optical network core that connects Vancouver, Whistler and the 15 venues of the 2010 Winter Games. The administration network that will carry the information necessary to manage the Games is up-and-running. The Games network, which must securely carry all of the critical event information such as event timing, official record keeping, scheduling and competitive updates, has also been installed.

In the final phase of network construction, a wireless network is being deployed to allow the athletes and Games officials to access real-time information and constant communications where there is no wired infrastructure.

One of the challenging aspects of the network is that it must perform under unique conditions. For example, the news media are expected to drive unpredictable surges of network traffic that are far beyond the requirements of typical large-scale networks.

David Johnson, general manager of Olympic Programs at Nortel, explains, “Picture this. A world record is broken and thousands of reporters race to file their stories with thousands of high-definition cameras connected directly to the network. Now picture that spread across 15 venues across British Columbia. These cameras represent one small element of the many wirelessly connected devices that will be used to follow the progress of the Games. This project is not unlike building a nation-wide phone company and opening 100 banks all at once.”

Regarding the size and scope of the network requirements, consider that:
* More than one million visitors are expected to participate live.
* Three billion television viewers across 160 countries are expected.
* The network must support two Athletes’ Villages that are more than one and a half hours apart, with 15 competition venues sites across Vancouver and Whistler.
* Personal communications of 5,500 Olympic athletes and officials from 80 countries, 1,350 Paralympic athletes and officials from 40 countries, and 25,000 volunteers.
* 10,000 media representatives from print, television, radio and Internet outlets will bring the Games directly to billions of people around the world.

For more perspective on the information systems supporting the 2010 Games, we invite you to listen to a Podcast from Johnson and Chapin, as well as find more information regarding Nortel’s involvement in the Games, available at www.nortel.com/2010 and via the white paper, ’Vancouver 2010 Winter Games: The Most Technologically Advanced in Olympic History’ available for download at http://www.nortel.com/corporate/news/collateral/ntj7_olympics.pdf .

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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