July 16, 2006 – ONE of the biggest names in high-technology industry has joined the surge of corporations adopting voice-over-IP (VoIP) for its internal telecommunications.

Under a seven-year, $20 million contract Nortel is to transform the entire telephone network of aero-engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce into a single system providing VoIP services. The new global voice network wil initially serve 26,500 users in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada,

Norway, Germany and France.

The news comes a couple of weeks after the announcement by airline IT and communications provider SITA that it had created Voice Exchange, a service designed to tie together the separate VoIP “islands” created by its customers into a broader network offering a cheaper alternative to the existing public switched telephone network (PSTN).

The new Rolls-Royce VoIP network will provide comprehensive voice calling services; unified voice, fax and email messaging; and a platform for

the introduction of advanced mobility services for communications and collaboration.

Nortel will design, integrate and deploy IP telephony equipment and software, and manage and maintain both the existing network and the new VoIP system. Network management and maintenance will comprise remote fault-monitoring with network surveillance, customer-defined service-level agreements, comprehensive customer reporting, and service management.