XX Winter Olympics Starter’s Gun for Nortel Voice Technology in Turin

FEBRUARY 09, 2006, TURIN, Italy - Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] will give voice to the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy tomorrow through its fixed business telephony solutions which support the global sporting event’s 2,500 athletes, 10,000 media and the Olympic staff.

Based on Nortel’s Communication Server 1000** solution the private fixed telephone network for the Games delivers highly reliable voice services through approximately 14,000 phones to all official sites including the Torino 2006 Organizing Committee’s (TOROC) headquarter in Turin, 16 games fields, press and media facilities as well as Olympic and Media Villages.

“Nortel has been at the forefront of research and innovation in the communications industry for more than a century, challenging limits with the same spirit of performance excellence that every athlete requires to become a champion,” said Peter Kelly, President Enterprise EMEA for Nortel. “Nortel has delivered a champion carrier-grade telephony network designed to ensure highly reliable communications support throughout all Olympic sites.”

The Nortel solution for the XX Olympic Winter Games provides feature-rich communication that includes voice mail, audio conferencing, contact center and unified messaging to support every event of the games. It was specially designed to meet the stringent flexibility and reliability requirements set by TOROC for continuous availability of a critical application such as voice communication. Complete real-time advanced management and network control of communications are provided by Nortel Telephony Manager platform which has been integrated into TOROC’s Main Technology Center.

“Among all sporting events, the Olympic Games are the most challenging in requiring every communication element to perform precisely and flawlessly on schedule,” said Valentino Castellani, president of TOROC. “Nortel’s technology excellence, along with its experience in delivering a wide range of communication systems throughout the world, positioned the Company to be a key vendor in ensuring the Olympic Games have the most reliable communication tools possible.”

Nortel has a proven track record in designing and deploying communication solutions in the sports market sector. Recent sport projects include: the SBC park’s communication network for the San Francisco Giants baseball team; the Surrey County Cricket Club’s fully converged communication infrastructure at the Oval, UK; and the City of Manchester Stadium’s communication system in the UK. Nortel’s Olympic background includes the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Ireland where a comprehensive enterprise networking solution from Nortel supported the Games’ management and health system.

The Nortel technology deployed for the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games is part of the Company’s innovative converged communication solutions.

About Nortel

Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that enhance the human experience, ignite and power global commerce, and secure and protect the world’s most critical information. Our next-generation technologies, for both service providers and enterprises, span access and core networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications, and help eliminate today’s barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people with information. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.

Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the outcome of regulatory and criminal investigations and civil litigation actions related to Nortel’s restatements and the impact any resulting legal judgments, settlements, penalties and expenses could have on Nortel’s results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and any related potential dilution of Nortel’s common shares; the findings of Nortel’s independent review and implementation of recommended remedial measures; the outcome of the ongoing independent review with respect to revenues for specific identified transactions, which review will have a particular emphasis on the underlying conduct that led to the initial recognition of these revenues; the restatement or revisions of Nortel’s previously announced or filed financial results and resulting negative publicity; the existence of material weaknesses in Nortel’s internal control over financial reporting and the conclusion of Nortel’s management and independent auditor that Nortel’s internal control over financial reporting is ineffective, which could continue to impact Nortel’s ability to report its results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner; the impact of Nortel’s and NNL’s failure to timely file their financial statements and related periodic reports, including Nortel’s inability to access its shelf registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); the impact of management changes, including the termination for cause of Nortel’s former CEO, CFO and Controller in April 2004; the sufficiency of Nortel’s restructuring activities, including the work plan announced on August 19, 2004 as updated on September 30, 2004 and December 14, 2004, including the potential for higher actual costs to be incurred in connection with restructuring actions compared to the estimated costs of such actions; cautious or reduced spending by Nortel’s customers; increased consolidation among Nortel’s customers and the loss of customers in certain markets; fluctuations in Nortel’s operating results and general industry, economic and market conditions and growth rates; fluctuations in Nortel’s cash flow, level of outstanding debt and current debt ratings; Nortel’s monitoring of the capital markets for opportunities to improve its capital structure and financial flexibility; Nortel’s ability to recruit and retain qualified employees; the use of cash collateral to support Nortel’s normal course business activities; the dependence on Nortel’s subsidiaries for funding; the impact of Nortel’s defined benefit plans and deferred tax assets on results of operations and Nortel’s cash flow; the adverse resolution of class actions, litigation in the ordinary course of business, intellectual property disputes and similar matters; Nortel’s dependence on new product development and its ability to predict market demand for particular products; Nortel’s ability to integrate the operations and technologies of acquired businesses in an effective manner; the impact of rapid technological and market change; the impact of price and product competition; barriers to international growth and global economic conditions, particularly in emerging markets and including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of rationalization and consolidation in the telecommunications industry; changes in regulation of the Internet; the impact of the credit risks of Nortel’s customers and the impact of customer financing and commitments; general stock market volatility; negative developments associated with Nortel’s supply contracts and contract manufacturing agreements, including as a result of using a sole supplier for a key component of certain optical networks solutions; the impact of Nortel’s supply and outsourcing contracts that contain delivery and installation provisions, which, if not met, could result in the payment of substantial penalties or liquidated damages; any undetected product defects, errors or failures; the future success of Nortel’s strategic alliances; and certain restrictions on how Nortel and its president and chief executive officer conduct business. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by Nortel 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.
**Formerly known as Meridian 1

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Angelika Kempf

Nortel

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