Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE/Toronto: NT) says it will work on wireless LAN-to-cellular roaming as part of the $1 billion cellular network upgrade contract with Verizon Wireless announced on Wednesday (see Nortel Upgrades Verizon).

The infrastructure vendor has been working on developing a system that can hand off between 802.11 hotspots and wide-area cellular infrastructure for over a year (see Mobility Roams No More). AT&T Wireless Services Inc. (NYSE: AWE) is known to have to tested Nortel's system, but the Verizon announcement is the first indication that the software will actually be used by a carrier.

Verizon started to roll out 802.11b hotspots earlier this year.

Nortel's partner in developing roaming technology, Mobility Networks, went out of business last week. However, the vendor insists that it will be able to carry on with the project on its own (see Mobility Roams No More).

— Dan Jones, Senior Editor, Unstrung