27 July 2009

TORONTO - Whether it's delighting fans with faster service to ensure they spend their time cheering on the home-town team, driving new revenue opportunities or enhancing business operations, the Montreal Canadiens * are enjoying smooth skating with a new communications network from Nortel** [OTC: NRTLQ].

The network supports not only the 21,273 fan-capacity Bell Centre, but also the practice rink, outdoor stage and concerts venue. It also provides staff with real-time collaboration seamlessly - from any broadband connection - including while on the road where they spend about half of the season. This is also of great importance to non-location based operations, such as team scouts, coaches and remote staff.

In addition, the network extends to the press gallery, which can accommodate some 300 journalists and photographers with very high-bandwidth wireless connectivity to support real-time media updates, including large files such as high-resolution photographs.

"Scoring a hat trick is nothing new for the Canadiens, but being able to bring that winning combination to the Bell Centre shows our commitment to our fans, to our players and business team and patrons as well as the performers of the myriad events hosted at this venue," said Pierre-Eric Belzile, executive director, Information and Communication Technology, Montreal Canadiens. "Earlier this year, we delivered the All-Star Hockey Game to a record-setting crowd. Last month, we hosted the NHL draft where we provided instant connectivity for media and colleagues as we welcomed our new players. Next we will embark on our 100th season, and Nortel is enabling us to move into this new era with the next-generation communications technology needed to flourish."

"Considering their 24 Stanley Cups and sharp focus on delivering the best spectator experience possible, the Canadiens really know how to treat their fans," said Joel Hackney , president Enterprise Solutions, Nortel. "Using wireless technology to speed the scan of tickets and service at the concessions means no bottlenecks, shorter lines and more game time for fans. More importantly, this world-class network offers carrier-grade resiliency, superior performance and iron-clad security proven to support the diverse needs of Bell Centre under the most demanding conditions. This is a shining example of the future of arena communications built to provide the definitive fan experience."

The Canadiens network is comprised of an all-Nortel, all-IP infrastructure, built on its recently-enhanced data portfolio. Third-parties confirm the technology provides 20 times the performance , seven times the resiliency at up to half the total cost of ownership *** of competing solutions.

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Nortel's Data Solutions power the edge and core of the network, and ensure a high-performance, ultra-resilient infrastructure that is always available without compromise.
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Venue-wide, wireless traffic is carried on Nortel's Wireless Local Area Network 2330 portfolio, which is designed to provide simple access, yet stringent security measures, to ensure users are given network access as appropriate.
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Robust, end-to-end security and remote access for on-the-road operations are enabled by Nortel Virtual Private Network (VPN) Gateway products.
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Voice over IP reduces costs while delivering unmatched performance and always-on, always available multimedia applications for business operations, staff and in luxury suites.
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Users anywhere can access critical multimedia communications information - which was previously only available by computer - via any web-enabled device that provides voice, IM, email, fax and unified messaging capabilities enabled by Nortel's CallPilot Solution . This enables an increased business tempo, allowing staff to be much more productive.
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Nortel's Call Center solution enables the Canadiens to resolve public inquiries quickly. Because the calls are routed based on subject matter expertise, waiting times are significantly reduced and finding the right contact can be accomplished nearly instantly.

For greater detail, please access the Montreal Canadiens case study and video .

This builds on the Nortel's momentum in delivering Hospitality Solutions that provide the unified communications infrastructure for some of the most technologically-advanced sports venues, such as the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games ; Vancouver Canuck's General Motors Place (which is also National Hockey Center for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games); the New Orleans Hornets' Louisiana Superdome ; home of the Phoenix Coyotes, Jobing.com Arena and the New York Mets' Citi Field .

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