ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN. May 22. KAZINFORM. - JSC Kazakhtelecom is making telephone services and new multimedia applications more widely available across Kazakhstan with a nationwide next-generation network (NGN) from Nortel(1) (TSX:NT)(NYSE:NT). JSC Kazakhtelecom, the country's largest communications operator, has made a US multi-million dollar investment in its network evolution to create the first nationwide NGN in the Confederation of Independent States. The new network will improve the availability and quality of long-distance communications as well as deliver high-speed, high-bandwidth communication services for corporate and private users in Kazakhstan, Kazinform quotes CCNMatthews. Nortel supplied project design, equipment and development services for the JSC Kazakhtelecom NGN project, while Russian Jet Infosystems - Nortel's Carrier VoIP Service and Solution Partner - provided installation, deployment, testing and connection services. "The deployment of this NGN means that telecommunications in Kazakhstan is entering a new era," said Askar Zhumagaliev, CEO, JSC Kazakhtelecom. "With Nortel's NGN solution, the JSC Kazakhtelecom fixed-line network has been transformed into an IP-network that will make it possible to provide more customers with voice and multimedia services without increasing operating costs." "This project is important for Nortel as a showcase for how our technology can be used to simplify network enhancement and expansion," said Peter Newcombe, president, Carrier Networks EMEA, Nortel. "JSC Kazakhtelecom's network is now IMS-ready and on the road to ensuring users in Kazakhstan have the advantages of anywhere, anytime communications on any device or application." Based on IP technologies, the converged JSC Kazakhtelecom network enhances long-distance network capacity by integrating VoIP softswitches and media-gateways into the existing switched telephone network. This additional capacity allows more JSC Kazakhtelecom customers to have local and long-distance communication. The NGN network will also enable JSC Kazakhtelecom to provide multimedia services such as video telephony, multimedia conferencing, voice, text, and multimedia messaging. Kazakhtelecom plans to use the capabilities of secure voice, video and data in its NGN network to provide corporate customers with virtual private networks. The scale of this project is significant in that it embraces the entire country of Kazakhstan," said Vladimir Eliseev, CEO, Jet Infosystems. "By setting up its NGN, JSC Kazakhtelecom is helping to provide better services for the citizens of Kazakhstan." The JSC Kazakhtelecom NGN infrastructure incorporates two Nortel Communication Server 2000 Compact soft switches in Almaty - Kazakhstan's largest city - and a number of carrier-class Media Gateway 15000 gateways located in ten regional centers. More than 50 exchanges all over the country are already connected to the NGN network. The buildout of the NGN network is still underway. Currently, JSC Kazakhtelecom is completing the implementation of its NGN multiservice communication network build in the city of Astana on the left-bank of the Ishim River. Work is also proceeding in the cities of Karaganda, Pavlodar and Taraz, and the company is scheduled to extend the network to include the cities of Shimkent, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Petropavlovsk. Nortel has deployed IMS ready networks with more than 100 carriers worldwide across wireless, wireline and cable domains. According to leading analyst firm Dell'Oro Group, Nortel ranked number one globally for Carrier IP Telephony in 2006. About JSC Kazakhtelecom JSC Kazakhtelecom is a leading telecommunication company in Kazakhstan. It has a wide network of representative offices that provide such communication services as traditional telephony and telegraph, data transmission and Internet access, intellectual and satellite networks. JSC Kazakhtelecom has more than 2.7 million private and corporate clients. As an international operator, JSC Kazakhtelecom actively cooperates with 154 international and 23 CIS and Baltic States' operators. JSC Kazakhtelecom is a business oriented company, and its stability and reputation are proven annually by G4 auditors. The Company is actively modernizing the national information infrastructure in Kazakhstan by introducing new technologies, contributing to establishing the regional telecommunication market, and creating and enhancing Kazakhstan' position on the international telecommunications market. The Company is also tackling the social challenge of providing rural communities with telephone connections and Kazakhstan schools with Internet access. About Jet Infosystems Jet Infosystems is one of the largest solution providers in Russia and CIS countries. The company provides a wide range of services in developing, designing, and maintaining highly reliable computing systems and networks, solutions on information systems management, as well as organizing IT department activities, information security solutions, and special banking system implementation. The company has representative offices in Russia - eight cities spreading from Saint Petersburg and Krasnodar to Vladivostok - in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaidzhan, and is realizing projects in Pakistan, Japan, Tadzhikistan, and Uzbekistan. 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 from those contemplated in forward-looking statements. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see Nortel's Annual Report on Form10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other securities filings with the SEC. 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.