Canadian Telecom Giants Including Nortel, Mitel and Telesat Join Rising Ottawa Stars to Mine BRIC Gold at Brazil's Futurecom 2008

OTTAWA--(Marketwire - October 27, 2008) - While global technology analysts are busy slashing corporate spending estimates for European and North American companies affected by the global credit crunch, Ottawa's telecom industry is going for gold in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets with a combined presence at Brazil's Futurecom 2008, on Oct. 27-30.

Futurecom is the 10th annual gathering of Latin America's telecommunications and information technology industries. Canadian Telecom giant Nortel Networks Corp. will join Ottawa-based Mitel Networks Corp. and Telesat to accompany rising northern stars including Bridgewater Systems Corp., SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc., Edgewater Computer Systems Inc., and SOMA Networks Inc. to tap into fast-growth BRIC markets.

"Brazil is not only a significant market in itself but a key to the broader Latin American market," says Kelly Daize, Manager of Business Development for the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI). "Canada and Ottawa have a 100-year history of innovation in the telecom market and Futurecom offers us the opportunity to promote our product depth and R&D strength."

According to an Oct. 7, 2008, research report by London, UK-based visiongain, BRIC country telecom growth is being led by mobile. Between the end of 2001 and the end of 2007, BRIC nations added 660 million new mobile subscribers, 40% of the world's total new subscriptions. Network infrastructure is continually being built and upgraded, which in turn will lead to increased subscription levels and revenues. With Mobile TV under consideration, revenue opportunities continue to increase as still more people look to purchase mobile phones, inspiring operators to roll out new 3G services.

To help BRIC countries develop their telecom infrastructures, the Canadian giants coming to Futurecom include Nortel, Mitel and Telesat.

--  With revenue of US$10.9 billion in FY2007, Nortel Networks Corp. and
    its global R&D headquarters in Ottawa have more than 4,000 employees
    focused on advanced networking, end-user applications, high performance
    hardware platforms, software, protocols and solutions. Hundreds of millions
    of people, Fortune 500 companies and government institutions around the
    world trust their networks to Nortel's reliable and secure solutions.
--  Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Ottawa with 3,500 employees
    operating in over 90 countries, privately held Mitel Networks Corp. is a
    leading provider of voice, video and collaborative communications solutions
    and services for businesses of all sizes. In August 2007, Mitel acquired
    U.S.-based Inter-Tel Inc. for US$723 million. Mitel is now the leader in
    the North American small/medium business market, number one in UK and
    number two in Western Europe.
--  Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and facilities around
    the world, Telesat is the fourth-largest fixed satellite services operator.
    The company provides reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications
    solutions to broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers.
    Telesat started in Ottawa in 1969 and three years later launched the
    world's first commercial geostationary satellite. Today, Telesat has a
    global state-of-the-art fleet of 13 satellites, with another two under
    construction, and manages the operations of 13 additional satellites for
    third parties. The company added significant scale in 2007 when it combined
    with Loral Skynet Corp.
    

Rising telecom stars with head offices or R&D operations in Ottawa that are also exhibiting at Brazil's Futurecom 2008 include:

--  Bridgewater Systems Corp. Headquartered in Ottawa with 220 employees
    and FY2007 revenue of US$39 million, publicly traded Bridgewater Systems
    (TSX: BWC) is a leading provider of subscriber management solutions that
    enable service providers to deliver personalized mobile services and manage
    how subscribers access networks, content and applications.
--  SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc. Headquartered in Ottawa and
    privately held with 80 employees, SkyWave designs and manufactures
    integrated satellite terminals, dual-mode satellite/GPRS terminals and
    provides network services based on the global Inmarsat service. SkyWave
    enables dependable, low-cost, remote management, security and logistics
    solutions for fixed and mobile assets in a broad range of markets.
--  Edgewater Computer Systems Inc. Headquartered in Ottawa and privately
    held, Edgewater develops leading-edge wireless and wired communications
    products for military, government and commercial applications and is a
    provider of wideband, security-enabled, multi-channel 802.11 infrastructure
    products.
--  SOMA Networks Inc. With a 30 employee R&D campus in Ottawa and
    corporate headquarters in San Francisco, CA, privately-held SOMA is a
    leading provider of mobile WIMAX products and professional services, and
    was the first broadband wireless access company to offer fully converged,
    all-IP solutions for world-class service providers.
    

As a G8 capital, Ottawa draws on a population of 1.3 million, and the region boasts the highest percentage of university graduates in Canada. The city has the second largest concentration of science and technology employment of 316 North American cities, surpassed only by California's Silicon Valley. Virtually 100% of Ottawa's schools, universities, hospitals, libraries, research institutes and municipal facilities are wired with high-speed Internet access -- making Ottawa Canada's most connected city.

About OCRI:

OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation), the city's economic development corporation, is leading the way for Ottawa. OCRI is the rallying point to bring business, education, research and talent together to create the winning economic conditions that allow Ottawa's technology companies to thrive locally and compete globally. At OCRI we promote sustainable economic development to maintain our high quality of life. For more information on OCRI visit our website at www.ocri.ca and for more information on the Ottawa Region please visit www.ottawaregion.com.

Contact Information: For information contact: Kim Cunningham Manager, External Communications OCRI Office: (613) 828-6274 ext. 256 Cell: (613) 851-0768 Jennifer James Communications Strategist market2world communications inc. Office: (613) 256-3939