Telecom Egypt Selects Nortel

CAIRO, Egypt -- Telecom Egypt, the largest telecommunications company in Egypt, and the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology have signed a five-year frame agreement with Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT - News; TSX:NT - News) - estimated at approximately US$60 million - for expansion and modernization of Egypt's national telecommunications infrastructure. Telecom Egypt's objectives for this expansion are to drive reduced capital and operating expenses, to make available a full set of high-quality voice services, and to build a foundation for future delivery of new multimedia and packet voice services. "This 'SuperNet' agreement deepens the cooperation between Telecom Egypt and Nortel Networks, a proven and trusted business ally," said Akil Beshir, chairman, Telecom Egypt. "It will also assist in satisfying the demands of our customers by enabling us to provide next generation communications services such as reliable high-speed data connections." "Nortel Networks is proud to be chosen by Telecom Egypt to expand its national communications network," said Michel Clement, president, Nortel Networks for France, the Middle East and Africa. "We strive to have Nortel Networks solutions as the cornerstone of Telecom Egypt's wireline and wireless evolution strategy. This agreement further substantiates the breadth and strength of our wireless and wireline product solutions." Key elements of this network expansion are expected to include Nortel Networks Univity CDMA2000 1X Wireless Data Network solutions, Nortel Networks Succession Communication Server 2000 superclass softswitches, and Nortel Networks DMS circuit switches. Telecom Egypt expects to deploy Univity CDMA2000 1X solutions to offer fixed wireless services. Nortel Networks is implementing CDMA2000 1X for leading service providers around the world, and has designed, installed and launched CDMA networks for more than 65 operators in 17 countries that span five continents. Nortel Networks Corp.