Nortel Networks, Juniper Networks Take Lead in Integrating Packet, Optical Networks

Business Wire, June 4, 2001

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 4, 2001

Unleashing Service Provider Potential to Profit from Network-Wide

Intelligence Capabilities

Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT)(TSE:NT.) and Juniper Networks(R) (NASDAQ:JNPR) today raised the stakes in the networking arena, announcing at SUPERCOMM 2001 an agreement that expands an existing alliance to include technical cooperation focused on interoperability of packet/optical interfaces.

This technology, which will enable Juniper Networks routers to directly access the optical layer, is expected to help accelerate service provider profitability by enabling differentiated, smart IP (Internet Protocol) services throughout the network. The companies will also co-market Juniper Networks IP networking solutions, and Nortel Networks will resell Juniper Networks M series routers.

"Juniper Networks and Nortel Networks are fundamentally changing the playing field in the networking industry," said Anil Khatod, chief marketing and strategy officer, Nortel Networks. "We are bringing together the expertise of technology leaders in both the optical and router markets to drive unprecedented levels of intelligence throughout the network, enabling delivery of new revenue-generating services."

"The answer to today's networking challenges is not sheer capacity, but the ability to use that capacity dynamically by converging data networking intelligence with robust optical performance through seamless cross-layer unification," said Carl Showalter, vice president, marketing, Juniper Networks. "We will enable efficient and customizable use of high-speed bandwidth, which will, in turn, enable service providers to realize revenues faster than ever before."

Juniper Networks routers will interoperate with Nortel Networks Smart Optical Network Solution, an integrated, multi-layer framework that will enable dynamic delivery of new revenue-generating optical services. By tightly integrating Juniper Networks router intelligence with Nortel Networks Smart Optical Network Solution, service providers will have the capability to reduce overall network costs, turn up new services more quickly, and develop a richer set of customizable services such as optical virtual private networks (oVPNs) and bandwidth-on-demand.

"This announcement represents a crucial development in the industry," said Joe Grech, executive vice president and president, Global Trading and Partner Solutions, TELUS. "The constant challenge of offering new innovative services has to be balanced with reducing operational costs. We view this initiative as an opportunity for us to generate revenues, while enjoying long-term investment protection."

"Nortel Networks and Juniper Networks have a productive history of working together to yield tangible results for service providers," said David Dunphy, senior analyst, Current Analysis. "This latest collaborative effort makes good sense, since intelligence to access the optical layer will enable dynamic bandwidth allocation and rapid service provisioning of differentiated end-to-end IP services."

Supporting vendor and network interoperability, the combined Nortel Networks and Juniper Networks solution will be based on the emerging open global ASTN (automatic switched transport network), MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) and GMPLS (generalized multi-protocol label switching) standards. Using these standards, networks will be able to support bandwidth-on-demand services, enabling lower capital expenditures and increased return on capital for service providers.

TELUS Corporation (TSE: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is one of Canada's leading telecommunications companies providing a full range of telecommunications products and services that connect Canadians to the world. The company generated $6.4 billion in revenues in 2000 and is the leading service provider in Western Canada. TELUS also provides data, Internet Protocol (IP), voice and wireless services to Central and Eastern Canada. With the purchase of QuebecTel (now TELUS Quebec) and national digital wireless company Clearnet Communications Inc. (now TELUS Mobility), TELUS is rapidly strengthening its position as a leading national service provider. For more information about TELUS, visit www.telus.com.

TELUS Global Trading & Partner Solutions provides data, voice and integrated IP solutions for telecommunications carriers, resellers, Internet service providers, application service providers, wireless, local access and cable providers.

Juniper Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of purpose-built systems that meet the scalability, performance, density and compatibility requirements of rapidly evolving, optically enabled IP networks. The company's systems provide new IP infrastructure solutions for the world's leading service providers. Juniper Networks service, manufacturing teams, and IP engineers work closely with customers to build and support customer networks. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.juniper.net.