TORONTO-Nortel Networks Ltd. won a two-year contract to supply Sprint Nextel Corp. with its next generation broadband access solution. The offering is set to launch in 18 states.
Nortel said its initiative to evolve its entire local switching network with a simplified next generation Internet Protocol network will be supported through its multiservice ultra broadband solution access platform, the Calix C7 solution. The solution is already deployed in Sprint Nextel’s Waterville, Ohio market.
Nortel said it sells the Calix C7 as part of a strategic alliance with Calix, a Petaluma, Calif.-based telecommunications solutions developer.
“Working with Nortel from integration testing through field deployment has been vital to successfully addressing the needs of Sprint Nextel,” said John Colvin, vice president of field operations at Calix. “Our relationship with Nortel will continue to be important as Sprint Nextel drives its network transformation toward an Ultra Broadband, all-packet, increasingly fiber access network.”
“Sprint Nextel wanted a solution that would allow us to provide superior voice, and data services to our residential and business customers, supporting today’s existing services while enabling a seamless path to the advanced services that will differentiate us in tomorrow’s market,” said Jim Hansen, senior vice president of Network-LTD at Sprint Nextel.
In other Nortel news, Canadian telecom carrier Rogers Communications Inc. said it will pay $85.5 million for Nortel Networks Ltd.’s Brampton, Ont., facility, which includes about 1 million square feet of office space and about 63 acres of land.
Nortel said it is selling the property to ensure that its real estate holdings, “are sized to the needs of current business realities in order to maximize our return on assets, bring our teams together and minimize operating expense.”
“We’re excited to return to Brampton, the city where our cable operations began in 1967,” said Ted Rogers, president and chief executive of Rogers. “Rogers is looking forward to moving into this facility and continuing our focus on innovation.”
Nortel said it plans to relocate a sales center and a corporate center in the Toronto area.
