Lightpath Launches Unique Metropolitan Continuity Service Using Nortel

    Business Editors/Technology Editors

    NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2005--Lightpath(R), the business telecommunications services division of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC), today is introducing its Metropolitan Continuity Service, a premium optical bypass private line service that is specifically designed to increase network availability by bypassing New York City. It is optimized for enterprise customers wishing to mitigate business interruption risks and for providers of enterprise data storage, business continuity and disaster recovery solutions. This service employs the Optical Long Haul (LH) 1600 and Optical Metro 5200 platforms from Nortel* (NYSE/TSX: NT) to transport Ethernet and 2.5G/10G wavelength-based services in a wide area ring architecture over a long distance - connecting Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey - with high reliability and performance.
    "With new regulatory and compliance-based requirements that are driving business continuity efforts in such industries as financial services, Lightpath recognized the overwhelming need to provide customers with an innovative option to avoid service interruptions," said Brian Fabiano, Senior Vice President of Network Services for Lightpath. "As a result, Lightpath constructed a fully diverse network path from Long Island to New Jersey that ensures availability for customers' critical business applications by circumventing typical New York City locations that represent significant single points of failure in most carriers' networks."
    This one-of-a-kind business continuity network was built by Lightpath with the goal of bypassing the New York fiber corridor's large, traditional switching centers in Manhattan. The Lightpath Metropolitan Continuity Service network provides stable and resilient end-to-end connectivity from Bethpage, NY to Parsippany, NJ, crossing under Long Island Sound from Roslyn to Mamaroneck and crossing the Hudson River approximately 70 miles north of New York City.
    "We are seeing cable operators aggressively pursuing business customers throughout the country by delivering highly differentiated services from what traditional telecom service providers have been offering," said Lindsay Schroth, Senior Analyst in the Yankee Group's Broadband Access Technologies advisory service. "Nowhere is this more evident than in Lightpath's move to develop a totally unique - and difficult to replicate - optical network path for business continuity in the New York metropolitan area that totally bypasses the island of Manhattan."
    Nortel's Optical LH 1600 wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) equipment was selected by Lightpath to deliver approximately 720 gigabits per second (10 Gbps x 72 wavelengths) of capacity on a single fiber pair for its new Metropolitan Continuity Service. This network will inter-connect to multiple regional rings via Nortel's Optical Metro 5200. The resulting network infrastructure delivers uncompromised reliability and performance of mission-critical data and voice transport services.
    "Lightpath's new Metropolitan Continuity Service clearly differentiates it from every other service provider in the highly competitive New York telecommunications market," said Dan Mondor, General Manager, Global Cable Solutions for Nortel. "Using Nortel's converged optical transport solutions to deliver high bandwidth services, such as business continuity, disaster recovery, data center backup and Ethernet connectivity, Lightpath is addressing the growing demand from enterprise businesses to establish geographically remote backup data centers as part of their business continuity and disaster recovery plans."
    The Lightpath Metropolitan Continuity Service is available in options ranging from a minimum of DS-3 (45 Mbps) up to Gigabit speeds, with additional options for protected or unprotected service. Enterprises running storage extension, disaster recovery and business continuity applications can all take advantage of this network.

    About Lightpath

    Lightpath, the business telecommunications services division of Cablevision Systems Corporation, uses the power of its own reliable and resilient fully fiber optic network to deliver converged, IP-based data, Internet, and voice solutions to medium and large businesses throughout the New York metropolitan area. Over the past 17 years, Lightpath built an advanced Fiber-to-the-business-Premises network. As a result of owning and maintaining this state-of-the-art network, Lightpath can better ensure the quality of the customer experience, while delivering reliable, high bandwidth business communications services at lower prices. Lightpath now provides its customers with a variety of scalable, high-capacity IP-based Metro Ethernet services (E-LAN and E-Line) to support high bandwidth data, Internet and voice applications, while also delivering highly personalized customer service unparalleled by competing service providers. For more information, visit Lightpath at www.lightpath.net.

    About Nortel

    Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that enhance the human experience, ignite and power global commerce, and secure and protect the world's most critical information. Serving both service provider and enterprise customers, Nortel delivers innovative technology solutions encompassing end-to-end broadband, Voice over IP, multimedia services and applications, and wireless broadband designed to help people solve the world's greatest challenges. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.

    Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the outcome of regulatory and criminal investigations and civil litigation actions related to Nortel's restatements and the impact any resulting legal judgments, settlements, penalties and expenses could have on Nortel's results of operations, financial condition and liquidity; the findings of Nortel's independent review and implementation of recommended remedial measures; the outcome of the independent review with respect to revenues for specific identified transactions, which review will have a particular emphasis on the underlying conduct that led to the initial recognition of these revenues; the restatement or revisions of Nortel's previously announced or filed financial results and resulting negative publicity; the existence of material weaknesses in Nortel's internal controls over financial reporting; the impact of Nortel's and NNL's failure to timely file their financial statements and related periodic reports, including breach of its support facility and public debt obligations and Nortel's inability to access its shelf registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"); ongoing SEC reviews, which may result in changes to our public filings; the potential delisting or suspension of Nortel's and NNL's publicly traded securities; the impact of management changes, including the termination for cause of Nortel's former CEO, CFO and Controller in April 2004; the sufficiency of Nortel's restructuring activities, including the work plan announced on August 19, 2004 as updated on September 30, 2004, including the potential for higher actual costs to be incurred in connection with restructuring actions compared to the estimated costs of such actions; cautious or reduced spending by Nortel's customers; fluctuations in Nortel's operating results and general industry, economic and market conditions and growth rates; fluctuations in Nortel's cash flow, level of outstanding debt and current debt ratings; Nortel's ability to recruit and retain qualified employees; the use of cash collateral to support Nortel's normal course business activities; the dependence on Nortel's subsidiaries for funding; the impact of Nortel's defined benefit plans and deferred tax assets on results of operations and Nortel's cash flow; the adverse resolution of class actions, litigation in the ordinary course of business, intellectual property disputes and similar matters; Nortel's dependence on new product development and its ability to predict market demand for particular products; Nortel's ability to integrate the operations and technologies of acquired businesses in an effective manner; the impact of rapid technological and market change; the impact of price and product competition; barriers to international growth and global economic conditions, particularly in emerging markets and including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of rationalization and consolidation in the telecommunications industry; changes in regulation of the Internet; the impact of the credit risks of Nortel's customers and the impact of customer financing and commitments; stock market volatility generally and as a result of acceleration of the settlement date or early settlement, which is currently not available, of Nortel's forward purchase contracts; the impact of Nortel's supply and outsourcing contracts that contain delivery and installation provisions, which, if not met, could result in the payment of substantial penalties or liquidated damages; and the future success of Nortel's strategic alliances. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by Nortel with the SEC. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Nortel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    *Nortel, the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel Networks.

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CONTACT: Nortel Bo Gowan, 972-685-8278 bogowan@nortel.com or Euro RSCG Magnet for Lightpath Chaim Haas, 212-367-6829 chaim.haas@eurorscg.com

KEYWORD: NEW YORK NEW JERSEY INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE EDUCATION BANKING TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKING PRODUCT SOURCE: Lightpath

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