Agreement Extends Cox Sales Channel to Include Equipment Experts NEW ORLEANS, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Business announced today at The Cable Show that it is the first multiple cable system operator (MSO) to extend its business sales force by teaming with a leading telecom equipment solutions provider. As part of the multi-year agreement, Nortel (NYSE/TSX: NT) Sales Center representatives will engage customer prospects and design and sell voice, data and equipment solutions in select Cox service areas. Nortel will also install equipment solutions and provide technical support for these businesses. In addition to Cox Business voice, data and video products, Cox Business customers will now have access to a full range of Nortel's product and services packages including the Business Communications Manager (BCM), the company's award-winning hybrid IP PBX. The Nortel Sales Center will help Cox to market a complete range of business solutions packaged under Cox Business as the single, trusted provider. "As their trusted provider, businesses count on Cox Business to provide a full portfolio of services," said Tim McKinley, vice president of field operations, Cox Business. "Leveraging relationships with key suppliers like Nortel allows us to deliver broader solutions and we will continue to explore alternate strategies to meet the growing demands of our customers." Cox Business provides communications services to business customers in 18 markets across the U.S., including small businesses, multi-location enterprises, regional healthcare providers and federal, state and local government organizations. Recently, Cox Business became the first MSO to launch a fully hosted and managed IP Telephony feature platform, Cox Business VoiceManager(SM). In 2007, Cox became the first MSO to enter the top tier of U.S. business Ethernet providers, according to Vertical Systems Group. "More than 240,000 businesses trust Cox Business for voice, data or video services and many of these customers require telecommunications equipment of varying complexity to address their business needs, " said Kristine Faulkner, vice president of product development and management. "By teaming with Nortel, Cox Business can serve as a trusted provider for equipment solutions that directly complement the core communications services we offer today." Nortel's expertise and ability to fully support business products and solutions made this agreement attractive to Cox Business. Cox Business can now serve the customer from the point of initial sales and installation to maintenance and technical support, allowing Cox to rapidly enter the equipment resale market. By coupling Cox Business services with equipment products like the BCM, a broad series of routers, Ethernet switches, wireless access points and phone clients, Nortel is continuing to deliver the promise of "business made simple." "Nortel has extensive experience in both carrier and enterprise solutions specifically designed for the business segment, which has allowed us to offer providers like Cox Business the opportunity to tap into our expertise in this segment," said Valorie Walker, director of North American Inside Sales, Nortel. "We recognize that every business has different needs and our broad set of hosted and customer managed solutions will create additional opportunities for Cox to impact the business market and increase revenue potential." For more information on Cox Business solutions, visit http://www.coxbusiness.com/ . About Cox Communications Cox Communications is a multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company with 6.2 million total residential and commercial customers. The third-largest cable television company in the United States, Cox offers an array of advanced digital video, high-speed Internet and telephony services over its own nationwide IP network. Cox Business is a full-service, facilities-based provider of communications solutions for commercial customers, providing high-speed Internet, voice and long distance services, as well as data and video transport services for small to large-sized businesses. Cox Media offers national and local cable advertising in traditional spot and new media formats, along with promotional opportunities and production services. Cox Communications wholly owns and operates the Travel Channel. More information about the services of Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at http://www.cox.com/, http://www.coxbusiness.com/, and http://www.coxmedia.com/. DATASOURCE: Cox Communications CONTACT: Todd Smith, Cox Communications, +1-404-269-3124, Web site: http://www.cox.com/ http://www.coxbusiness.com/ http://www.coxmedia.com/

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