Bell Canada Standardizes on Avaya to Deliver Industry-Leading IP Telephony Solutions to Canadian Businesses

MONTREAL and BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Bell Canada announced an agreement on the standardization of the IP communication product line designed and manufactured by Avaya, Inc. .

"This agreement clearly demonstrates Bell's position as leader in IP telephony technology," said Stephane Boisvert, President of the Enterprise Group, Bell Canada. "We will now be able to assume the design, sale and servicing of an IP solution using Avaya technology. This is good news for our customers because Bell will be a single point of contact for the purchase and servicing of these products."

In Canada, Bell is the largest participant in the Avaya BusinessPartner program, earning status as an Avaya Certified Platinum member. Worldwide, Avaya's contact centre solutions hold approximately 40% market share -- far ahead of the competition, and the company's IP Telephony solutions account for more than 25 percent of the market.

The standardization of Avaya products will allow Bell Canada to facilitate the migration of its customers who currently use Avaya DEFINITY(R) Servers, INTUITY(TM) AUDIX(R), or Octel(R) 250/350 voice and messaging platforms -- by far the most widely used traditional voice systems -- to Avaya IP-based communications solutions, which include telephony, messaging, conferencing, video and collaboration solutions that are accessible across a variety of devices. Bell will offer the full range of award-winning solutions, including Avaya Quick Edition, Avaya IP Office, Avaya Distributed Office and Avaya Communication Manager, effectively meeting the needs all sizes and types of enterprise customers.

Bell is the first major service provider in Canada to standardize the full portfolio of Avaya IP Telephony solutions. Furthermore, this is the first time Bell Canada has standardized a full product line in over 13 years, which bears witness to the tremendous value that Avaya products bring to Bell's s offer.

"With Bell standardizing on Avaya IP Telephony solutions, customers have a consistent, quality experience," said Mario Belanger, President, Avaya Canada. "Through its commitment to certification and the continuous development of their support and technical expertise, Canadian companies will have access to consistent delivery of superior customer service."

About Avaya

Avaya delivers Intelligent Communications solutions that help companies transform their businesses to achieve marketplace advantage. More than 1 million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500(R), use Avaya solutions for IP Telephony, Unified Communications, Contact Centers and Communications-Enabled Business Processes. Avaya Global Services provides comprehensive service and support for companies, small to large. For more information visit the Avaya Web site: http://www.avaya.com/.

About Bell Canada

Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers with solutions to all their communications needs, including telephone services, wireless communications, high-speed Internet, digital television and voice over IP. Bell also offers integrated information and communications technology (ICT) services to businesses and governments, and is the Virtual Chief Information Officer (VCIO) to small and medium businesses (SMBs). Bell is proud to be a Premier National Partner and the exclusive Communications Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. For information on Bell's products and services, please visit http://www.bell.ca/. For corporate information on BCE, please visit http://www.bce.ca/.