Belgacom, Nortel Networks Deploy Optical Network for European Commission

Business Wire, Oct 23, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BRUSSELS, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2002

Belgacom, the Belgian national telecommunications operator, and Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT) (TSX:NT.) have deployed an optical network for the European Commission under a contract between Belgacom and the European Commission.

"By choosing Nortel Networks OPTera Metro 5200 Multiservice Platform, Belgacom has been able to deploy a fully protected optical network connecting all 120 European Commission sites," said Christian Dezangre, unit manager, government branch, Belgacom.

"Nortel Networks continues to work closely with Belgacom to put in place next generation optical equipment for a variety of its customers," said Peter Newcombe, who leads the Optical Networks business for Nortel Networks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "We are committed to providing cost-effective, resilient and reliable metro optical equipment, and this long-term commitment has led to Nortel Networks being one of the leaders in this market."

Optical networks overcome the distance limitations of traditional, copper-based networks, offering virtually unlimited bandwidth between connected locations. The aim is to eliminate network congestion for network services like Internet access, and for inter-office applications like data storage and remote computing, as well as to pave the way for multimedia traffic.

Belgacom chose Nortel Networks OPTera Metro 5200 for its high reliability, proven performance, and cost-effective delivery of Gigabit Ethernet services in metropolitan environments. Carrier grade availability and management of service levels, driven by the need for business continuity, were key criterion in Belgacom's selection of optical protection and centralized management facilities.

Nortel Networks Optical Ethernet solution using OPTera Metro 5200 provides network reliability and performance to support real-time, mission critical applications.

OPTera Metro 5200 is a forecast-tolerant, dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), data-optimized, platform for metropolitan access and interoffice applications. It supports 32 wavelengths of bandwidth using the power of DWDM and delivers 10 gigabits per wavelength scalability, along with a network-modeling tool that simplifies the deployment and operation of efficient DWDM networks.

Deployed in more than 1,000 customer networks in 65 countries, Nortel Networks end-to-end optical network portfolio includes next generation SONET/SDH, optical switching products, photonics (WDM), and Optical Ethernet products. Nortel Networks has deployed more than 250,000 network elements globally.

Nortel Networks is an industry leader and innovator focused on transforming how the world communicates and exchanges information. The Company is supplying its service provider and enterprise customers with communications technology and infrastructure to enable value-added IP data, voice and multimedia services spanning Wireless Networks, Wireline Networks, Enterprise Networks, and Optical Networks. As a global Company, Nortel Networks does business in more than 150 countries. More information about Nortel Networks can be found on the Web at www.nortelnetworks.com.

Nortel Networks, the Nortel Networks logo, the Globemark and OPTera are trademarks of Nortel Networks.