TORONTO -- Golden West Telecom, the largest independent telecommunications company serving South Dakota, and Venture Communications Cooperative, an independent telecommunications provider servicing central and northeastern South Dakota, will deliver new converged communications services in small towns and rural areas throughout South Dakota with Nortel(*) (NYSE/TSX: NT) carrier VoIP technology.

By deploying Nortel's Carrier VoIP solution, the two carriers will evolve their wireline networks to packet-based infrastructure that reduce operation costs by leveraging SIP technology to deliver a wide range of advanced communication services such as VoIP, Centrex IP business services and next-generation multimedia communications.

"It is certain that telecommunications, and packet-based infrastructure, will serve as a catalyst for economic and social development in rural communities," said Deborah Kish, senior research analyst, Gartner. "Rural carriers will need to evolve their networks to deliver advanced IP-based services in order to combat competition." Golden West serves approximately 47,000 subscribers and has been a Nortel customer for nearly three decades. As part of this deployment Nortel is expanding its role in Golden West's network by displacing a competitor's solution.

"Golden West is focused on offering its customers a wide choice of advanced telecommunications solutions at a competitive price," said Galen Boyd, western regional manager, Golden West. "To that end, Nortel's carrier VoIP technology will help us support traditional voice services today and advanced IP-based services in the future that integrate voice with other multimedia services."

Nortel Networks Ltd.