Cable & Wireless West Indies, the leading telecoms operator in the Caribbean, has selected Nortel Networks as the exclusive provider for its GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) wireless network in an agreement estimated at US$ 100 million over three years. The GSM/GPRS network will augment Cable & Wireless' existing TDMA network in the region, giving the company the ability to offer its customers, "the best of three worlds".

This was announced today by Errald Miller, CEO of Cable & Wireless West Indies, at a media briefing held at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica and carried live by videoconference to several Caribbean islands.

Mr. Miller, who signed the contract on behalf of his company, said that Nortel Networks will provide a comprehensive Univity packet core network and radio access equipment to seamlessly integrate Cable & Wireless' existing TDMA network in the Caribbean with a GSM infrastructure. The new network will also include implementation of GPRS and EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Evolution) technology, as the next step towards 3G (third generation).

The network, which will be rolled out on a phased basis, will serve customers in 12 islands in the region, beginning with Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Barbados in April 2003. In integrating its GSM network with its existing TDMA network, Cable & Wireless is employing a strategy similar to that used by companies such as AT&T and Cingular in USA; Rogers in Canada, Ente Movil in Bolivia, Telcel in Mexico, and Telecome Personal in Argentina.

Mr. Miller said that with this upgrade, Cable & Wireless will significantly improve coverage, and provide a plethora of new, advanced services, increased voice capacity, new handsets-GAIT--- tri-mode capability, unparalleled international roaming capability and 3-G compatibility.

"Cable & Wireless is committed to providing the best available services to its customers in the Caribbean and, now, with the migration to a next generation wireless data network, we can take it one step further," the Cable & Wireless CEO said. "We are confident that Nortel Networks' vast experience in deploying next generation wireless data networks will give us an edge in providing not only the most advanced services to our customers, but also the most secure and reliable wireless experience."

Nortel Networks President for the Americas, Gary Donahee, signed on behalf of his company, stating "Nortel Networks Univity GPRS and EDGE solutions will help C & W evolve its network cost-effectively by leveraging previous investments, and position the company to offer advanced new revenue-generating wireless data services to its customers."

He added, "This agreement builds on our long-standing relationship with Cable & Wireless and reaffirms Nortel Networks' 30-year commitment to the Caribbean, where we continue to deploy the most advanced networks with our customers."

Mr. Donahee said that some of the services that can be supported on the GSM network include:
 GPRS -Data speeds up to 384K for the provision of Mobile Data Services such as:
    o Mobile internet
    o Vehicle tracking services
    o Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
    o File transfer services
    o Messaging services Collaborative working applications
    o Non-premium infotainment services
    o Premium infotainment services
    o E-pay and m-commerce
    o Multimedia messaging
    o E-banking

Nortel Networks, which, has worked with Cable & Wireless in the Caribbean for over three decades has deployed 80 GSM/GPRS networks in 41 countries and is supplying GSM/GPRS systems to enable Wireless Data Network services for more than 30 operators, including T-Mobile, mm02 and Orange in Europe, AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless and VoiceStream Wireless in the US, China Mobile, Chungwha Telecom in Taiwan and Telstra in Australia.