DALLAS -- The telephone operating subsidiary of BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS) has selected enhanced IP contact center and speech solutions from Nortel (NYSE:NT)(TSX:NT) for deployment in 22 locations across nine states. According to recent Frost & Sullivan market research, Nortel has designed and deployed over 200 speech applications for automating and improving routine business functions in more than 16 countries.

"BellSouth needed a comprehensive solution that could provide skill-based routing, e-mail, chat and other multimedia and collaboration applications," said Richard Burns, vice president - centers and operations support, BellSouth. "Nortel is able to provide this in a cost-effective manner that allows us to better serve our customers."

BellSouth is migrating to Nortel's latest Internet Protocol (IP) contact center solution to create versatile, end-to-end customer contact centers to better serve its customer base of more than 21 million access lines and 2 million DSL customers and BellSouth Long Distance, Inc.'s 6 million long-distance customers. BellSouth is also migrating its Nortel Meridian 1 solution to software version 4.0 of the Communications Server (CS 1000) IP PBX platform to provide increased scalability and flexibility, providing a choice of migration paths to an IP multimedia environment and improved customer service. Nortel's Symposium portfolio is a diverse suite of customer interaction solutions for customer contact centers.

The ability to migrate gracefully to IP is a critical capability of Nortel's IP Contact Center, enabling companies to leverage the benefits of IP Telephony without having to overhaul or purchase completely new communications infrastructures. Customers can use the Symposium Call Center Server with CS 1000 to leverage the power and performance of convergence.

"This agreement builds on Nortel's continued strong relationship with BellSouth," said Roxann Swanson, vice president and general manager, enterprise multimedia applications, Nortel. "For more than 22 years, BellSouth has deployed Nortel solutions spanning voice and data products."

Nortel Networks Ltd.

BellSouth Corp.

---In a separate release---

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE:JCI), a leading manufacturer of automotive systems and building controls, has signed an agreement to extend and expand its Global Managed Network Services relationship with Nortel (NYSE:NT) (TSX:NT) for six years through 2010.

The Nortel services solution positions Johnson Controls to realize operational savings and enhanced network reliability and performance. This allows Johnson Controls to focus on its core business.

Under the agreement, Nortel will continue to provide comprehensive, around-the-clock network management, project management and professional services for Johnson Controls' global network, which supports its workforce across several hundred sites in the Americas and Europe. This network is powered by a full suite of Nortel voice and security solutions encompassing its PBX and call center environment.

The network outsourcing relationship with Nortel covers virtually all of Johnson Controls' needs -- from dial-tone and voice mail management to call center networking -- and includes the management of third-party systems. This relationship began in 2000, when Johnson Controls selected Nortel to manage the real-time networking and communications service requirements of its workforce.

"Nortel offers a powerful network management outsourcing solution that continues to bring us operational savings, productivity gains and industry-leading solutions," said Mark Schoeppel, vice president, Global Infrastructure, Johnson Controls. "Equally important to Johnson Controls are Nortel's overall operations management methodology and proven ability to support a global customer. Nortel understands what it takes to deliver on a relationship of this scope and scale. Its commitment to flexibility, shared goals and customer satisfaction are what make this relationship successful."

Nortel Networks Ltd.