Nortel is committed to developing products and solutions that enable new service revenues while lowering capital and operational expenses for cable operators. An important part of this development is our ongoing activity with CableLabs®, and their PacketCable™, as well as the Euro-Cable Certification Board and their Euro-PacketCable project initiative.

Founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry, Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.* (CableLabs®), is a nonprofit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those technical advancements into their business objectives.**

Euro-Cable Certification Board (ECB), was founded as a non-profit international organization in 2000. Its mission includes: granting Euro-DOCSIS certification/qualification; promoting a common, open standard for cable modems and other cable equipment; and promoting and organizing scientific research related to the Euro-DOCSIS standard.

The Euro-PacketCable Certification Board is the subgroup of the ECB which grants qualification to call management servers (CMSs), cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) and IPAT equipment, and certification to embedded Multi-media Terminal Adapters (eMTAs) based on the Euro-PacketCable specifications., Euro-PacketCable testing is conducted on behalf of the ECB by tComLabs.

PacketCable* is a CableLabs-led initiative aimed at developing interoperable interface specifications for delivering advanced, real-time multimedia services over two-way cable plant. Built on top of the industry's highly successful cable modem infrastructure, PacketCable networks use Internet protocol (IP) technology to enable a wide range of multimedia services, such as IP telephony, multimedia conferencing, interactive gaming, and general multimedia applications. Working with CableLabs member companies and technology suppliers, the PacketCable project addresses issues such as device interoperability and product compliance with the PacketCable specifications.**

Euro-PacketCable is the standard for IP based telephony over cable. In its first version, it standardises the Voice over IP services of a single zone network belonging to one operator and the interfaces to the PSTN network.

Euro-PacketCable is based on the US version PacketCable™ developed by CableLabs®. The deviations between the European and US version are due to the differences in the traditional telecommunication systems that are used in Europe and the US. These are mainly related to the use of V5.2 and the differences in SS7 implementation. Another area of difference is the POTS-interfaces and supported CLASS-features.***

Nortel has been a leaader in CableLabs PacketCable softswitch qualification process, and active participant in specification development - as well as a keen participant in advanced technology demonstrations at the CableLabs conferences.

In August 2005, CableLabs awarded the Nortel Communication Server 2000 superclass softswitch series with the industry's first PacketCable 1.1 qualification for both Call Management Server (CMS) and Media Gateway Controller (MGC) elements. The CS 2000 was successfully tested in against the latest in Lawfully Authorized Electronic Surveillance Specification (LAESS) and Event Messaging specifications. The LAESS specification ensures that softswitches can deliver lawful intercept capabilities within the PacketCable architecture. Support of event messaging allows cable operators to generate call records for downstream billing and customer usage tracking, following the PacketCable architecture.

In December 2004, the Euro-PacketCable Certification Board announced that the Nortel Communication Server 2000 superclass softswitch series had achieved Euro-PacketCable 1.0 Call Management Server (CMS) qualification making the CS 2000 the only softswitch with both Euro-PacketCable and PacketCable qualification.

In April 2004, CableLabs announced that the Nortel Communication Server 2000 softswitch series had achieved PacketCable 1.0 Media Gateway Controller (MGC) qualification -- indicating successful compliance testing against the latest PacketCable Trunking Gateway Control Protocol (TGCP) and security specifications which define the core functional requirements of PacketCable 1.0 Media Gateway Controllers.

In July 2003, CableLabs announced that Nortel Communication Server 2000 softswitch series had achieved PacketCable 1.0 Call Management Server (CMS) qualification -- indicating successful compliance testing against the very latest NCS, DQoS, and Security PacketCable specifications which define the core functional requirements for PacketCable Call Management Servers.

Nortel continues to expand its voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) media gateway portfolio to give cable operators greater deployment options and support for standards-compliant, interoperable cable solutions.

In June 2004, Nortel signed a strategic agreement under which it will integrate, sell and support VoIP Media Gateways from Nuera Communications, Inc. as part of an integrated PacketCable qualified solution. Nortel is offering cable operators a single point of contact for architecture design, network and product engineering, provisioning, product support and professional service of the combined product offering. Both Nortel's CMS and MGC, and Nuera's media gateway are fully PacketCable 1.0 qualified.

Nortel's Packet Voice Gateway (PVG) continues as the gateway of choice for those cable customers that want a high density gateway with their Nortel softswitch deployment. In addition, those who want to support protocols like H.248 and PRI will continue to be interested in our PVG product.