Bankrupt Nortel stands firm on 2010, 2012 Olympic sponsorships

Nortel Networks says - at least for now and before the bankruptcy court gets involved - that it remains committed as a sponsor and official network infrastructure provider to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics.

Back in July, Nortel signed up as a Tier One Olympic sponsor, and, to support the London Olympics, it committed to put up $58 million in cash, plus the network infrastructure for communications in cooperation with British Telecom.

"Let me take the opportunity to reassure you that our commitment to the games as a 'tier-one' local sponsor and official network infrastructure provider remains unchanged as does our commitment to all our customers," said Nortel Networks vice president Mario DiMascio.

Under the London sponsorship deal, Nortel is to supply network infrastructure - including secure networks, local wireless networks, call center and fixed landline infrastructure - to support more than 205 international sporting organizations, 20,000 members of worldwide media, 9 million spectators, and "billions" of television viewers.

Nortel has also reassured the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee that it will stand behind its commitment to the 2010 Winter Games. Much of Nortel's support has been delivered and is expected to be in place by May.

This reporter is willing to wager that support for the Vancouver games should be OK, for no other reason than the "home team" aspect; London, not so much, given the potential for mischief by competitors to "save" the 2012 Summer Games.

For more:
- IHT running AP story on Nortel's Olympic stance. Article.

Related articles
Nortel's future focus, partnerships unclear
Nortel filed for bankruptcy yesterday