WASHINGTON - Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] will host a panel discussion today on Capitol Hill featuring policymakers and industry experts who will examine the implications of the coming revolution in the way residential video services are delivered.

Participants will provide authoritative perspectives on the impact of communications convergence on the telecommunications and broadcast industries. They will also focus on the need for policymakers to establish a regulatory framework that maximizes the potential benefits of convergence to consumers and industry.

Today's discussion will be the second event in Nortel's continuing Congressional Policy Luncheon series -Perspectives on the Power of Telecommunications Convergence and Solving the Policy Conundrum.

Panelists for today's event will include: Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus; Walt Megura, general manager for Broadband Network Solutions, Nortel; Steve Berry, senior vice president, Government Relations, National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA); and Brent Olson, assistant vice president, Regulatory Policy, Emerging Services and Technologies, SBC Communications.

"The decision by traditional telephone service providers to offer hundreds of channels of TV programming, whether over fiber optic cable or using Internet protocol, will in many areas provide a third service provider to vie with cable and satellite, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the market," said Rep. Boucher. "The challenge for Congress is to develop a regulatory framework which will enable consumers to benefit from choice and competition."

"Major U.S. telecommunication companies are investing billions of dollars at home and abroad in ventures to deliver video via high speed data networks," Megura said. "Similarly, cable companies around the world have invested heavily in the delivery of broadband and telecom services. Two worlds are converging in a very powerful way, challenging policy makers to remove regulatory uncertainty in a way that is pro-innovation, pro-competition, and pro-consumer."

Ray Strassburger, vice president and senior Washington counsel for Nortel, will moderate the discussion as panelists explore how technological convergence is producing revolutionary changes in the nature and delivery of video services.

"We hope that these discussions will provide useful information and insight to Congress, the FCC, the administration and the industry as the policy debates on telecommunications reform continue," Strassburger said. "As voice, data, and video services converge, policymakers are increasingly finding the implications for regulatory policy on their doorstep."

The event will take place at 12 p.m. eastern time today (July 20, 2005) in Room 2168 of the Rayburn House Office Building. An audio web cast of the forum will be available at http://www.nortel.com/corporate/pressroom/events/072005/index.html. The audio conference replay is available at 3 p.m. eastern today through accessing the following dial-in information: North America: 1-800-383-0935; International: 1-402-530-5545; Passcode: 21252492#.

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.