MAY 1, 2007 -- Nortel (search for Nortel) and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) today announced that Nortel will be the official converged network equipment supplier for the 2010 Winter Games. Per the sponsorship agreement, Nortel will supply the network communications equipment required for what will be the first all-IP converged Games network.
Nortel will provide the converged local area network (LAN) equipment to VANOC at 15 venues in both Vancouver and Whistler, as well as at the Vancouver 2010 headquarters and numerous supporting venues.
In addition, Bell Canada (search for Bell Canada) earlier selected Nortel to supply the wide area network (WAN) equipment it will use to build a core network to enable secure and reliable communications among all event locations. Bell Canada, the exclusive telecommunications services provider and Premier National Partner for the 2010 Winter Games, says it will use Nortel VoIP, Metro Ethernet, and IP equipment to create and deploy a dedicated carrier-class IP network for VANOC that securely converges all voice, video, and data communications.
With Nortel's selection by VANOC for the Games' LAN network and by Bell Canada to supply equipment for the Games' WAN network, Nortel equipment will be used end-to-end for the 2010 Winter Games, say company representatives.
"VANOC and Bell Canada chose Nortel to supply the network infrastructure for one of the most important, most visible, and most watched sporting events in the world," reports Mike Zafirovski, president and CEO of Nortel. "It takes world-class networking expertise to support an event of this magnitude. With the eyes of the world upon them, VANOC can depend on the strength of Nortel to ensure the success of the Games."
"At Vancouver 2010, we are pleased to build on Canada's proud history of advancing the way people communicate," adds John Furlong, VANOC CEO. "With Nortel joining our team, we will provide a positive human experience through reliable, secure, and mobile communications. We are delighted to welcome Nortel's employees to our team and invite them to help us celebrate the true spirit and potential of our country."
Nortel's six-year Official Supplier partnership with VANOC provides sponsorship rights for the 2010 Winter Games and the Canadian Olympic Teams participating at the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, and London 2012 Olympic Games.
Designed and delivered by Bell Canada and using Nortel equipment, the 2010 Winter Games will be the first ever to converge all of its voice, video, and data traffic over a single IP-based network backbone. This will also be the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to use voice-over-IP (VoIP) for all event locations, allowing athletes and support staff to have true user portability through a phone number that roams with them wherever they go.
Bell Canada says it will use the Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 and Optical Multiservice Edge 6500 to create a resilient, high-bandwidth transport network that connects all venues and supporting sites, with the Ethernet Routing Switch 5000 Series converging communications at all location sites. Bell Canada also will be providing network-based VoIP within all VANOC sites and competition venues utilizing Nortel's Communication Server 2000-Compact and IP Phone 1100 Series sets.
Nortel will directly supply LAN, WiFi, management, and network security to VANOC for all venues and supporting sites. Nortel Global Services will be provided to support the design and deployment of the network.
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