Unified Communications for SMBs: Business Service Gateways

Single Platform, Combines Multiple Functions that Save SMBs up to 45% Cost of Ownership

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(MARKET WIRE)--Oct 8, 2008 -- Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) no longer need to worry about having IT staff or expertise as prerequisites for launching unified communications thanks to two new solutions from Nortel(1) (Toronto:NT.TO - News)(NT - News).

By combining the essential data infrastructure components SMBs need to run unified communications into one simple to use solution, Nortel is ensuring installation and management is easy and cost-effective. Nortel estimates the single solution approach is up to 45 percent less expensive than purchasing all of these software and components separately.

Available in North America, the Business Services Gateway (BSG) 8 and BSG12 replace multiple equipment and software with a single solution by including: a router; advanced security including firewall; VPN and intrusion detection; wired and wireless switching; a resilient SIP gateway with an integrated Analog Telephony Adapter; and application-aware Quality of Services (QoS).

Nortel's new solutions allow SMBs to customize their network to their needs. The BSG provides industry leading capabilities for simultaneously prioritizing all three types of network use -- voice, video and data. As a result, communications applications most critical to business operations can be given higher priority, ensuring smooth operation, predictable performance and improved bandwidth optimization.

"The all-in-one configuration of the BSG lets us focus our energies on our customers, as opposed to our network. It provides a simple, reliable and cost-effective unified-communications-ready infrastructure," said Libis Bueno, president of IT consulting firm Domitek. "The BSG's powerful bandwidth prioritization features allow us to tailor our network to ensure that the communications applications we rely on most are given priority over those that aren't as important to our business objectives."

"SMBs want solutions that save them time, money and are easy to use," said Joel Hackney, president, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel. "The easy to deploy BSG provides a network foundation that complements the unified communications features of the BCM450, allowing businesses to realize time and cost-savings benefits with an end-to-end solution. By combining multiple network components into a single offering, the BSG saves SMBs up to 45 percent compared to purchasing these elements individually."

The BSG provides a solid unified communications infrastructure that can be effectively paired with the advanced communications applications of the Business Communications Manager (BCM) portfolio, including the BCM450, a solution announced today for medium-sized businesses.

The BSG8 and BSG12 also serve as a client-side data infrastructure platform for carriers who deliver hosted VoIP services to SMBs with Nortel's IP Powered Business Solutions. These solutions allow SMBs to leverage the latest in IP and multimedia communications, while outsourcing the management of the service to the carrier.

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.

Certain statements in this press release may contain words such as "could", "expects", "may", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "targets", "envisions", "seeks" and other similar language and are considered forward-looking statements or information under applicable securities legislation. These statements are based on Nortel's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies and markets in which Nortel operates. These statements are subject to important assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and the actual outcome may be materially different from those contemplated in forward-looking statements. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see Nortel's Annual Report on Form10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other securities filings 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.

(1)Nortel, the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel Networks.