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New Next-Gen Wireless Lan Solution To Leverage Nortel Innovation In 4G Wireless

TORONTO July 8 – Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] today unveiled its vision for the 'Unwired Enterprise' designed to enable businesses to create all-wireless office environments that are freed from the costs and physical constraints of traditional office cabling. The Unwired Enterprise is also intended to benefit from seamless universal mobility in and out of the office, enabled by true wireless broadband capable of supporting all communications needs, including voice, video, unified communications and other real-time applications.

As part of this Unwired Enterprise vision, Nortel also announced an increase in its R&D investment in the development of a complete next-generation enterprise wireless and mobility solution. This solution plans to include next-generation wireless LAN and Mesh products supporting access at speeds three to six times faster than today's rates, a portfolio of enterprise switches and routers with embedded wireless functionality to improve the performance of real-time applications like Wi-Fi voice, and unified network management that provides end-to-end support across an enterprise data network from a single management platform.

"Nortel is focused on delivering a next-generation wireless LAN solution that transforms how enterprises use their networks," said Steve Slattery, president, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel. "We are leveraging Nortel's world-class 4G wireless expertise in the cellular world to enable enterprises to realize the benefits of true broadband wireless while simplifying their business. This is an example of how Nortel's strong presence in both the service provider and enterprise markets can provide unique benefits for our customers."

"Pervasive broadband wireless access is a fundamental part of a hyperconnected world, not just for Internet access, but increasingly to provide instant access to critical business applications and information," said John Roese, chief technology officer, Nortel. "With the performance and reliability of next generation wireless LAN solutions, enterprises can fully embrace the benefits of mobility knowing that the constraints of wired-only networking and artificial service boundaries are removed. The Unwired Enterprise will provide workers with pervasive wireless access to the network from anywhere on or off campus, for any application be it voice, data or video."

Nortel is a pioneer in the development of MIMO/OFDM, the technology behind 4G mobility solutions like WiMAX that are being deployed by an increasing number of service providers around the world to deliver mobile broadband services. MIMO/OFDM is also the foundational technology of the IEEE 802.11n standard providing for higher data rates and improved reliability of Wireless LANs and Mesh networks to enable the Unwired Enterprise.

Nortel expects to use this same expertise to develop a new portfolio of wireless LAN products supporting the MIMO-based IEEE 802.11n standard. Nortel intends to develop the products in line with the 802.11n standard, with availability planned for the second half of 2008. Nortel continues to sell and support its existing WLAN 2300 series portfolio for customers wanting to deploy or grow their current generation networks. Nortel has also already begun enhancements to its Ethernet Routing Switch portfolio and other data products to improve real-time wireless application performance.

"Directly supporting wireless control capabilities in wired infrastructure equipment will serve several important purposes in tomorrow's heavily loaded, multimedia WLANs," said Joanie Wexler, an independent analyst and editor at Joanie M. Wexler & Associates. "Running certain wireless functions directly in distributed switches and routers will improve application performance while allowing enterprises to retain simplicity in their overall network configurations."

According to Dell'Oro Group's Wireless LAN Five-Year Forecast Report from January 2007, the Enterprise Wireless LAN market is forecasted to be US$2.9B in 2009, with more than half of the access point revenue coming from 802.11n.

Source: www2.nortel.com/