GENEVA -- New partners and interoperability milestones are driving momentum behind the industry´s Carrier Ethernet Ecosystem, spearheaded by Nortel(1) (TSX: NT)(NYSE: NT). The Carrier Ethernet Ecosystem is focused on new solutions to meet the bandwidth explosion from the growing popularity of video, advanced business services, mobile content, streaming media and multimedia messaging. These solutions are designed to simplify complex networking technologies and support the emerging era of Hyperconnectivity, where anything that can be connected to the network will be.

The Carrier Ethernet Ecosystem initiative, started in June by Nortel, has recently expanded to include hardware and software suppliers, bringing the growing roster to 15 members actively collaborating to achieve practical interoperability among their Carrier Ethernet solutions.

The new partners, Dragonwave(2), Gridpoint Systems(2), Ixia(2), Spirent Communications(2), TPACK Systems(2), and TranSwitch(2), bring new capabilities to the Ecosystem, including carrier-grade test equipment, microwave solutions, PBT traffic engineering and tunnel and service provisioning, as well as device and sub-system level solutions.

The new participants join founding members ANDA Networks(2), Axerra Networks(2), Extreme Networks(2), Hammerhead Systems(2), Lightstorm Networks(2), Meriton Networks(2), RAD Data Communications(2) and Soapstone Networks(2). These members, along with Nortel, are facilitating the deployment of Carrier Ethernet by participating in practical interoperability tests and promoting Carrier Ethernet technologies such as Provider Backbone Bridges (PBB) and Provider Backbone Transport (PBT).

"The increasing roster of members and the interoperability demonstrations underscore the growing interest the Carrier Ethernet Ecosystem has generated in the industry," said Mike Adams, vice president of strategy and architecture, Metro Ethernet Networks, Nortel. "The participants are truly a diverse group, covering most every aspect needed to implement a working, end-to-end Carrier Ethernet solution. We´ve made a great deal of progress already, and customers are sure to see very real benefits in the near future, in terms of the ease with which these solutions can be integrated and deployed, leading to more reliable, more scalable solutions that are the most cost effective available."

Nortel Networks Ltd.