WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/02/09 -- Nortel Government Solutions, a U.S. company wholly owned by Nortel(1) (TSX: NT)(OTCBB: NRTLQ), completed the core network for the massive new U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) VoIP system within 180 days of initial purchase orders, an aggressive requirement of the 10-year, US $300 million Telephone Systems Replacement Project (TSRP) award. This implementation included: redundant, geographically-dispersed service delivery points for high survivability; a state-of-the-art demonstration facility in Columbia, Maryland; and a Network Operations Center, Help Desk, and Agency Test Facility in Woodlawn, Maryland. Nortel Government Solutions has also implemented a very intensive VoIP applications suite that includes a data mart and management information system for custom reporting and hundreds of advanced telephony features to improve overall call-handling efficiency. All components were tested and accepted before rollout to SSA field offices began. The new system, expected to become one of the largest enterprise VoIP deployments in the world, is already supporting more than 125 offices and more than 33,500 calls daily. To date, the new system has handled over 1.6 million calls. With 12-16 offices added each week, approximately 500 offices will be added per year until all 1,526 offices are online. Nortel Government Solutions has engineered the system to support over 100,000 phones. Installation and maintenance teams are positioned across the country for rapid deployment, training, and support. "This implementation schedule is extremely aggressive, yet Nortel Government Solutions delivered the core solution and subsequent field offices on time and within budget," said Chuck Saffell, CEO, Nortel Government Solutions. "Working in concert with the TSRP team, we have made a significant improvement in the Social Security Administration's ability to provide service to the citizen by providing a feature rich, cost-effective, and highly reliable solution." TSRP is expected to expand and improve services for an anticipated influx of new users, including retiring 'baby boomers'. It includes Nortel's carrier class unified messaging, an interactive voice response (IVR) solution and a centrally managed Contact Center Management Server (CCMS) capable of supporting 55,000 field office agents. These offerings provide a common, more friendly 'look and feel' for users and faster, more efficient call handling through skills-based routing that matches each caller's inquiry to the most appropriate agent. The SSA also expects its new VoIP network to help consolidate monthly public network service charges, decrease operating and maintenance costs, and establish a platform for future services. The new SSA VoIP network features Nortel's Communication Server 1000 switching, Contact Center Management Server, Media Processing Server 500 IVR, unified messaging solution with Unified Messaging 2000 core platform and CallPilot(1), and IP Phone 1100 Series handsets. The Nortel Government Solutions team includes General Dynamics, Black Box Network Services, Shared Technologies, York Telecom, High Wire Networks, NetIQ, NETCOM Technologies, Attivasoft, and Pal-Tech. Nortel Government Solutions is also involved in a number of major VoIP transitions for U.S. Government customers worldwide, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Senate, the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Air Force and other elements of the Department of Defense. About Nortel Government Solutions Nortel Government Solutions is a network-centric integrator, converging IT services and communications to help government ensure the security, livelihood, and well being of its citizens. Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., Nortel Government Solutions offers a one-stop shop for solutions designed to improve workforce productivity, reduce operating costs and streamline inter-agency communications. Please visit www.nortelgov.com for more information. 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, the Globemark and CallPilot are trademarks of Nortel Networks. Nortel Government Solutions and the Nortel Government Solutions logo are trademarks of Nortel Government Solutions Incorporated. Contacts:
Nortel
Pat Cooper
(425) 450-7523
Email: pat.cooper@nortel.com
Website: www.nortelgov.com
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