August 7, 2008

Comstar selects Nortel’s WiMAX Solution for Moscow

Comstar-United TeleSystems has chosen Nortel's mobile (IEEE 802.16e) WiMAX solution for its network in Moscow. The new Comstar WiMAX wireless broadband network will provide users with high-speed Internet access to support mobile applications.

With the highest penetration of mobile phone subscribers of any major Russian city (at over 150 percenti) and the highest Internet penetration, Comstar's new WiMAX network will bring the convenience of wireless Internet to Moscow's burgeoning hyperconnected society. Comstar will use WiMAX to provide mobile Internet services throughout the city, giving its subscribers broadband access similar to their wireline home services. Comstar subscribers will be able to use the mobile WiMAX network to access popular e-mail clients and on-line games or catch up with friends using social networking sites such as odnokassniki.ru**.

"Comstar's mobile WiMAX network services combined with our current methods of broadband Internet access will enable us to provide a wide range of telecommunications services to our subscribers in Moscow wherever they are - at home, at the office, or on the go," commented Sergey Pridantsev, president and chief executive officer of Comstar UTS. "The new offering will increase our customers' loyalty and strengthen our position in the Moscow broadband Internet access market through a wider range of unique services."

"Nortel's WiMAX solution offers the high-bandwidth capacity and the breadth of coverage necessary to deliver broadband services to Comstar's subscribers across Moscow, facilitating the always connected experience," said Sorin Lupu, president Eastern Europe markets, Nortel.

"WiMAX is ideal technology for service providers who operate in areas like Moscow where Hyperconnectivity is becoming a way of life," said Scott Wickware, Nortel's general manager of WiMAX. "Nortel's end-to-end mobile WiMAX solution helps operators deliver fast, reliable and cost-effective wireless broadband by integrating an industry-leading base station portfolio with an ASG gateway, applications, support and system integration services. We expect Comstar's WiMAX network to be the first of many that will leverage the combined strengths of Nortel and Alvarion® Ltd. [NASDAQ: ALVR] based on our recently announced strategic WiMAX agreement."

The WiMAX solution which Nortel will provide to Comstar includes the WiMAX BTS 5020 (mobile WiMAX base station). This equipment will be compliant with WiMAX Forum and RosSvyaz standards.

During the first stage of the WiMAX project, Comstar will deploy over 160 mobile WiMAX (802.16e) base stations (BTS 5020). The network will also include Nortel's the Access Services Network Gateway (ASG) 5100, devices such as USB Adapters, Indoor and Outdoor Gateways, Business Support System (BSS) and Operational Support System (OSS) platforms as well as Nortel Global Services for WiMAX such as network design and training. The WiMAX solution will operate in the 2.5-2.7GHz frequency band, a section of the airwaves reserved for transmitting wireless communications.

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