NORTEL NETWORKS OFFERS NEW 'OUT-OF-THE-BOX' IP SERVICES WITH SHASTA 5000 BSN.

Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT) (TSE:NT.) is offering service providers new, 'best-in-class' IP services 'out-of-the-box' with the latest enhancements to Nortel Networks Shasta 5000 Broadband Services Node (BSN).

Nortel Networks Shasta Out-of-the-Box Services, including selected third-party applications, position service providers to drive new revenue opportunities by offering IP services previously available only from customer premises-based equipment, and to lower the costs of deployment and management of those services.

Using innovative Service Delivery Interfaces (SDIs), Shasta Out-of-the-Box Services enables service providers to provision new services from Shasta 5000 BSN without having to integrate them onto the Shasta 5000 BSN platform. These SDIs enable third parties to provision solutions seamlessly through Shasta 5000 BSN.

"Shasta 5000 BSN was the first platform to provide network-based, value-added IP services such as personal firewalls and virtual private networks, and to enable service providers to offer revenue-generating services at low cost," said Oscar Rodriguez, president, Intelligent Internet, Nortel Networks. "We are now the first to extend these capabilities beyond the boundaries of the platform."

"This allows our customers to use Shasta's comprehensive subscriber management to deliver a richer set of IP services -- such as intrusion detection, e-mail anti-virus scanning and other primarily customer premises-based or client applications -- from the network," Rodriguez said. "Out-of-the-Box Services can open up a whole new set of previously-unavailable services that end users will be able to purchase from their service providers."

"Shasta Out-of-the Box Services is designed to enable service providers greater flexibility in implementing new, network-based services previously available only as client-based solutions," said Zeus Kerravala, director, E-Networks and Broadband Access, the Yankee Group. "This will enable service providers to respond quickly to changing market needs while providing potentially revenue-generating services and market differentiation."

SDIs enhance integration of Shasta Out-of-the-Box Services in three key areas -- security services, service fulfillment, and service management.

Shasta Out-of-the-Box Services includes a comprehensive security package that integrates Symantec Web Security content filtering with Shasta's firewall. The content filtering characteristics can be customized for different classes of users through Shasta flexible policy settings and the Symantec Web Security rating topology implementation. Additional new SDIs are planned to extend security offerings to include intrusion detection capabilities from Internet Security Systems, Inc.

Shasta Out-of-the-Box Services also simplifies automated broadband service fulfillment through integration of BroadJump ControlWorks and VirtualTruck, which enable service providers to offer real-time service provisioning. By allowing customers to provision and pay for additional bandwidth only as needed to meet 'peak' requirements like downloading a movie, Shasta Out-of-the-Box Services positions service providers to generate additional revenue per subscriber while improving customer satisfaction.

"BroadJump and Nortel Networks share a common vision of how broadband networks can fundamentally change the service deployment model," said Kenny Van Zant, chief operating officer, BroadJump.

"By deploying an intelligent software infrastructure that centralizes control of subscribers, networks and content, service providers can offer personalized, value-added services cost-effectively," Van Zant said. "Automated service fulfillment also promises to improve the consumer's broadband experience while creating new revenue opportunities for service providers."

Shasta Out-of-the-Box Services drives improved service management, performance monitoring, billing integration, and service level agreement administration through an integrated accounting solution from XACCT Technologies. XACCT Technologies' Network-to-Business platform gathers and synthesizes Shasta accounting data to feed billing and other business and operational support systems applications to help carriers grow revenue. End-to-end network fault management services that correlate, report and trigger internal and external corrective actions in the event of network disruptions can be enabled via the Netcool/OMNIbus application from Micromuse.

Nortel Networks Shasta 5000 BSN enables service providers to aggregate tens of thousands of subscribers -- via DSL, cable, private line, dial-up, wireless or any other access medium -- onto a single platform while enabling network-based, value-added IP services like firewalls, virtual private networks, self-provisioning dynamic bandwidth allocation, and personalization.

Nortel Networks is an industry leader and innovator focused on transforming how the world communicates and exchanges information. The company is supplying its service provider and enterprise customers with communications technology and infrastructure to enable value-added IP data, voice and multimedia services spanning Metro and Enterprise Networks, Wireless Networks and Optical Long Haul Networks. As a global company, Nortel Networks does business in more than 150 countries.