NASHVILLE, Tenn. and MAYNARD, Mass., Dec. 2 -- Nortel Networks(NYSE:NT) and Stratus Technologies today announced global availability of the Nortel Networks Symposium Call Center Server Release 4.2 on Stratus Technologies' ftServer portfolio. Designed to provide constant uptime and industry-leading features for customer contact centers, this solution can dramatically increase resilient deployment options for enterprise customers. In addition, the combined solution provides flexibility and ease-of-management features that can create operational simplicity, provide investment protection, and drive reduced operating costs.

Stratus ftServer systems provide a fault-tolerant, high-availability platform that is Windows 2000-compatible. The Nortel Networks Symposium Call Center Server offers a complete multi-media communication solution for dynamic customer contact centers, providing skill-based routing, comprehensive management and reporting, and real-time displays for supervisors. Because it also supports Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, the Call Center Server is well suited for and widely deployed in converged networks.

"It's painfully obvious to all -- customer, agent, and management alike - when there's a service interruption in contact center operations, which is why Symposium Call Center Server 4.2 is an ideal application for cost-effective, fault-tolerant Windows-based servers," said Carl Boisvert, senior vice president of Worldwide Sales, Stratus Technologies. "Enterprise telephony is a strategic market for Stratus Technologies because of the critical nature of this customer-facing application."

"This combined solution increases resiliency options for our enterprise customers and protects their infrastructure investment. Certifying Symposium 4.2 software running on the Stratus ftServer platform gives our customers hardware and operating system reliability designed to ensure uninterrupted availability of their critical business applications," said Shane O'Neill, global product manager, Enterprise Applications, Nortel Networks. "This high- availability platform positions our customers to implement extremely flexible and responsive contact center solutions."

Contact center customers are now able to upgrade from earlier versions of Symposium Call Center Server or Meridian* MAX to take advantage of the new functionality and enhanced resilience provided by Windows 2000-based Symposium Call Center Server 4.2. Capable of supporting up to 1,500 agents and 35,000 calls per hour, Symposium Call Center Server 4.2 is a robust contact center solution with rich scripting, voice/data integration, multimedia blending, advanced skill-based routing, detailed reporting, and IP-ready functionality, among other features. No application changes are necessary to take advantage of the fault-tolerant capabilities and benefits of continuously available Stratus servers.

Nortel Networks Symposium Call Center Server enables companies to leverage call center investments by taking advantage of efficiencies created through IP-based networking. Customers can use the Symposium Call Center Server with an IP enabled Meridian 1* or a Succession* CSE 1000 IP switch to leverage the power and performance of Internet Telephony. Regardless of their business environments -- single site or geographically dispersed -- enterprises can use Internet Telephony to simplify management and administration and to extend customer interaction center capabilities to agents anywhere, including those in branch offices or working from home. This flexibility results in lower operating costs and increased employee retention, both of which can improve profits. Symposium Call Center Server supports Meridian 1, DMS* Centrex, or SL-100 environments.

With quality of customer service, agent productivity, and cost control as top priorities for contact center managers, 'dial tone' availability and reliability of this business-critical operation are essential. Stratus ftServer systems provide outstanding levels of uptime and operational simplicity. Stratus ftServer systems also address the primary causes of system downtime and data loss - single points of failure, hardware failover and recovery time, faulty device drivers, human error, component and software revision incompatibilities - to keep contact-center operations online. The inherent reliability of the hardware fault-tolerant design, coupled with unique software-availability features and integrated service technology provides Nortel Networks customers with a cost-effective approach for eliminating system vulnerabilities and ensuring business continuity.

Originally founded in 1980, Stratus Technologies delivers continuously available platforms with unmatched operational simplicity, providing a compelling financial advantage to customers. Stratus also licenses technology for continuous computing on Intel processor-based platforms to other global manufacturers. Stratus has been named by FORTUNE magazine as one of the 2002 "FORTUNE® 100 Best Companies to Work For." Stratus is a U.S. Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. For more information, visit http://www.stratus.com/.

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 Wireless Networks, Wireline Networks, Enterprise Networks, and Optical Networks. As a global company, Nortel Networks does business in more than 150 countries. More information about Nortel Networks can be found on the Web at http://www.nortelnetworks.com/.

Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the severity and duration of the industry adjustment; the sufficiency of our restructuring activities, including the potential for higher actual costs to be incurred in connection with restructuring actions compared to the estimated costs of such actions; fluctuations in operating results and general industry, economic and market conditions and growth rates; the ability to recruit and retain qualified employees; fluctuations in cash flow, the level of outstanding debt and debt ratings; the ability to meet financial covenants contained in our credit agreements; the ability to make acquisitions and/or integrate the operations and technologies of acquired businesses in an effective manner; the impact of rapid technological and market change; the impact of price and product competition; international growth and global economic conditions, particularly in emerging markets and including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of rationalization in the telecommunications industry; the dependence on new product development; the uncertainties of the Internet; the impact of the credit risks of our customers and the impact of increased provision of customer financing and commitments; stock market volatility; the entrance into an increased number of supply, turnkey, and outsourcing contracts which contain delivery, installation, and performance provisions, which, if not met, could result in the payment of substantial penalties or liquidated damages; the ability to obtain timely, adequate and reasonably priced component parts from suppliers and internal manufacturing capacity; the future success of our strategic alliances; and the adverse resolution of litigation. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see the reports filed by Nortel Networks with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Nortel Networks disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Nortel Networks, the Nortel Networks logo, the Globemark, Meridian, Meridian 1, Succession and DMS are trademarks of Nortel Networks. Stratus and ftServer are registered trademarks of Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd. The Stratus Technologies logo is a trademark of Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.