Nortel Investor Meeting: Update on Game-Plan for Future Growth

15 november 2007 TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - November 15, 2007) - Speaking today with the investment community, Mike Zafirovski, Nortel president and CEO, discussed how Nortel(1) (TSX: NT)(NYSE: NT) is successfully executing against its plan and is sharpening its focus on long-term competitiveness and growth. The interactive day-long event was held at Nortel's headquarters in Toronto. "One year ago, Nortel outlined a carefully thought out strategy to regain market leadership in the long term. A strong focus on operational improvements combined with key investments in growth markets framed the foundation of the plan." said Zafirovski. "I am pleased to say we are making progress on all fronts. While there is more work to do, we are seeing traction with our customers and a wider acceptance of our technology. The accelerated evolution of the market demonstrates that the path we have chosen is the right one and that our focus areas will translate into long-term revenue growth and consistent profitability." At the event, senior executives described the exciting opportunities that are emerging in the industry and Nortel's plan to compete and win. Joel Hackney, Nortel's recently appointed president of Enterprise Solutions, highlighted the evolution of the desktop and the opportunities this provides Nortel at the intersection of the IT and networking industries. "Nortel is simply and effectively integrating communications-based applications with business processes to drive out the complexity faced by today's enterprises," said Hackney. "Across multiple methods of communications - from voice to conferencing to data networking - Nortel is providing enterprises with the industry's most complete portfolio of unified communications (UC) solutions. In fact, the strength of Nortel's UC portfolio was recently recognized in industry analyst research, which we view as a strong validation of our market differentiation. In addition, our Innovative Communications Alliance (ICA) with Microsoft has delivered more than 300 joint wins representing over 900,000 licenses." The proliferation of video and data applications is driving the need for network upgrades. Philippe Morin, president of Metro Ethernet Networks said: "The growth of video, including peer-to-peer, will have the same profound impact on networks as digital voice applications did several decades ago. To ensure network operators can increase available bandwidth quickly and affordably, Nortel delivers 40 Gbps optical solutions that will not only meet the current demand but also provide a smooth migration path to 100 Gbps without complex re-engineering" Innovation is driving real competitive differentiation in municipalities worldwide as Nortel works with key customers to redefine the market. Morin added: "With the explosion of high-bandwidth video and data applications, the battle for metro infrastructure is also heating up. Nortel has taken a unique technology direction with our Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) which is simpler, more robust and more cost-effective than the conventional approach used today. Since our milestone contract with BT earlier this year, we have extended our leadership with 30 more carrier Ethernet contracts globally. In 2008 and beyond, we'll focus on increasing our customer momentum and evolving our PBT offer." The wireless industry is presenting important opportunities to Nortel and its customers. 4G technologies such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) and WiMAX will power the future and Nortel is on the forefront of this new wave. "The CDMA and GSM markets remain strong for Nortel, however, we have been making investments in the future of wireless to serve our customers' expanding requirements. Nortel's WiMAX solutions provide true mobile broadband faster and more cost-effectively than the competition," said Richard Lowe, president, Carrier Networks. "Leapfrogging to 4G has great transformational potential for both established service providers as well as new entrants to the industry. In addition, 4G has the potential to deliver real socio-economic change for emerging countries that have previously not been able to afford the widespread deployment of advanced communications technologies." At the heart of today's communications industry are two common elements: complexity and change. The way businesses and consumers are using technology is changing faster then ever before. To help customers navigate this complexity, Nortel is expanding its services and solutions capability, using its deep expertise in communications to help its customers simplify their businesses and, fundamentally, drive a new growth business for the company. "Some within our industry underestimate the profound nature and complexity of the changes taking place. Nortel understands our customers' challenges very well, and is delivering a comprehensive solutions portfolio that allows them to maximize their technology investments as well as to design, build and operate their networks," said Dietmar Wendt, president, Global Services and Solutions, Nortel. "We are gaining traction in growth areas, rolling out targeted vertical solutions, and have the best portfolio of end to end multimedia solutions in the market. This includes a showcase Telepresence solution that brings together an ecosystem of partners to deliver a solution that is open and compatible with any other network - a claim our competitors can't make." Commenting on Nortel's ongoing transformation, Zafirovski concluded: "Today, we are engaging with customers at a fundamentally different level from a year ago. They are seeing proof of our determination to deliver best-in-class innovation more simply and cost-effectively. And, they are responding by signing-up with Nortel for the long-term, worldwide. Across the company, the engine room is improving, customers are responding and employees are delivering. We have a long road ahead of us, but the new Nortel is starting to take shape." About Nortel Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel's technologies are designed to help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news. Certain statements in this press release may contain words such as "could", "expects", "may", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "targets", "envisions", "seeks" and other similar language and are considered forward-looking statements or information under applicable securities legislation. These statements are based on Nortel's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies and markets in which Nortel operates. These statements are subject to important assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and the actual outcome may be materially different. Further, actual results or events could differ materially from those contemplated in forward-looking statements as a result of the following (i) risks and uncertainties relating to Nortel's business including: significant competition, competitive pricing practice, cautious capital spending by customers, industry consolidation, rapidly changing technologies, evolving industry standards, frequent new product introductions and short product life cycles, and other trends and industry characteristics affecting the telecommunications industry; any material, adverse affects on Nortel's performance if its expectations regarding market demand for particular products prove to be wrong; the sufficiency of recently announced restructuring actions; any negative developments associated with Nortel's suppliers and contract manufacturing agreements including our reliance on certain suppliers for key optical networking solutions components; potential penalties, damages or cancelled customer contracts from failure to meet delivery and installation deadlines and any defects or errors in Nortel's current or planned products; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; potential higher operational and financial risks associated with Nortel's efforts to expand internationally; potential additional valuation allowances for all or a portion of Nortel's deferred tax assets if market conditions deteriorate or future results of operations are less than expected; a failure to protect Nortel's intellectual property rights, or any adverse judgments or settlements arising out of disputes regarding intellectual property; any negative effect of a failure to maintain integrity of Nortel's information systems; changes in regulation of the telecommunications industry or other aspects of the industry; any failure to successfully operate or integrate strategic acquisitions, or failure to consummate or succeed with strategic alliances; Nortel's potential inability to attract or retain the personnel necessary to achieve its business objectives or to maintain an effective risk management strategy; (ii) risks and uncertainties relating to Nortel's liquidity, financing arrangements and capital including: any inability of Nortel to manage cash flow fluctuations to fund working capital requirements or achieve its business objectives in a timely manner or obtain additional sources of funding; high levels of debt, limitations on Nortel capitalizing on business opportunities because of senior notes covenants, or on obtaining additional secured debt pursuant to the provisions of indentures governing certain of Nortel's public debt issues; Nortel's below investment grade credit rating; any increase of restricted cash requirements for Nortel if it is unable to secure alternative support for obligations arising from certain normal course business activities, or any inability of Nortel's subsidiaries to provide it with sufficient funding; any negative effect to Nortel of the need to make larger defined benefit plans contributions in the future or exposure to customer credit risks or inability of customers to fulfill payment obligations under customer financing arrangements; or any negative impact on Nortel's ability to make future acquisitions, raise capital, issue debt and retain employees arising from stock price volatility and any declines in the market price of Nortel's publicly traded securities; and (iii) risks and uncertainties relating to Nortel's prior restatements and related matters including: any negative impact on Nortel and NNL of such restatements; legal judgments, fines, penalties or settlements related to the ongoing criminal investigations of Nortel in the U.S. and Canada; the significant dilution of Nortel's existing equity positions resulting from the approval of its class action settlement; any significant pending or future civil litigation actions not encompassed by Nortel's class action settlement; any unsuccessful remediation of Nortel's material weakness in internal control over financial reporting resulting in an inability to report Nortel's results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner; or any breach by Nortel of the continued listing requirements of the NYSE or TSX causing the NYSE and/or the TSX to commence suspension or delisting procedures. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see Nortel's Annual Report on Form10-K and other securities filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Nortel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. (1)Nortel, the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel Networks. Use of the terms "partner" and "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership between Nortel and any other party. Contacts: Nortel Jay Barta (972) 685-2381 Email: jbarta@nortel.com Website: www.nortel.com