"GTE has chosen Nortel Networks' OPTera Metro solution to cost-effectively scale our existing fiber network infrastructure in order to quickly respond to our customers' service and bandwidth demands," said Barry Paulson, vice-president, operations planning and support, GTE Network Services. "Our deployment of the OPTera Metro system addresses new data services such as mainframe-to-mainframe, and data center interconnect applications, all of which bring optical technology closer to the edge of the network."

Nortel Networks' OPTera Metro system is the world's first ring-based Dense-Wavelength Division Multiplexing (D-WDM) system, an optical networking system that can carry up to 160 gigabits per second (Gbps) of unprotected traffic capacity per fiber.

"The bandwidth explosion that we've seen in the backbone is moving into the metro areas, and GTE is using our optical networking solutions to prepare for future needs while meeting today's requirements for advanced data services," said Brian McFadden, vice-president and general manager, OPTera Solutions, Nortel Networks. "GTE's pioneering approach to optical networking will allow them to deliver unsurpassed network reliability and scalability through Nortel Networks' OPTera Metro platform."

The bit-rate and protocol independence of Nortel Networks' OPTera Metro solution allows for carriage of any type of traffic including IP, multimedia, data and voice, enabling GTE to offer new high-capacity optical services across this infrastructure. It supports such data protocols such as ESCON, FICON, FIDDI, Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet, SONET, SDH and D1 video.

About GTE
With 1998 revenues of more than $25 billion, GTE is a leading telecommunications provider with one of the industry's broadest arrays of products and services. In the United States, GTE provides local service in 28 states and wireless service in 18 states, as well as nationwide long-distance, directory, and internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access for residential and small-business consumers to Web-based applications for Fortune 500 companies. Outside the United States, the company serves customers on five continents. Additional information about GTE can be obtained at http://www.gte.com.

About Nortel Networks
Nortel Networks is a global leader in telephony, data, eBusiness, and wireless solutions for the Internet. The Company had 1999 U.S. GAAP revenues of US$21.3 billion and serves carrier, service provider and enterprise customers globally. Today, Nortel Networks is creating a high-performance Internet that is more reliable and faster than ever before. It is redefining the economics and quality of networking and the Internet through Unified Networks* that promise a new era of collaboration, communications and commerce. Visit us at www.nortelnetworks.com.