[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 56 (Thursday, May 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E786-E787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING NORTEL (NORTHERN TELECOM)

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART GORDON

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 7, 1998

  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate a good 
corporate citizen of mine, Nortel (Northern Telecom) for the critical 
role they are playing in advancing the Internet for the betterment of 
all mankind.
  Recently Donald J. Schuenke, Chairman of the Board of Nortel, was 
among a stellar list of guests at a White House unveiling of the 
largest and fastest research and education network in the world. The 
network, Abilene, is being developed by the University Corporation for 
Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) with the expertise of Nortel, 
Qwest Communications, and Cisco Systems. Abilene will provide an 
advanced backbone network for universities participating in UCAID's 
Internet2 project. The unveiling was conducted by Vice President Al 
Gore who said the project ``. . . . represents the kind of 
collaboration among government, industry and academia that leverages 
the expertise and resources of each entity, to enable technological 
advancements and innovation. This project will provide the 
technological leadership our nation needs as we prepare to enter the 
21st century.''
  Also attending the unveiling were Joseph P. Nacchio, president and 
CEO of Qwest, Dr. Douglas E. Van Houweling, UCAID's president and CEO, 
and John Morgridge, Chairman of the Board of Cisco.
  Abilene will allow networking capabilities which will enable 
researchers and educators to develop advanced applications for higher 
education. Nortel and Cisco Systems will provide networking equipment 
that will enable the Abilene network's leading edge capabilities. Qwest 
will provide access to its state-of-the-art nationwide fiber optic 
network.
  ``Nortel is proud to be part of this important effort and to provide 
the most advanced equipment in the world to help Abilene develop 
cutting-edge applications that will make a real difference in the lives 
of constituents,'' said Schuenke. ``This effort will allow researchers 
the security, capacity and reliability they will need to take 
technological innovation to a new plateau.''
  It is expected that initial operation of Abilene will begin before 
the end of 1998, with full deployment completed within one year. The 
Abilene project will provide unparalleled networking capabilities to 
the member universities of UCAID. It will provide advanced networking 
capabilities such as quality of service and multicasting and will 
interconnect with existing advanced research and education networks 
such as the very high performance Backbone Network Service (vBNS).
  Nortel has been a leader in promoting the Internet in education. They 
have given generously to schools both here in the District of Columbia 
and around the country by providing computers, access to the Internet, 
teacher training and maintenance. They are also great believers in 
private-public partnerships. Greg Farmer who heads up Nortel's 
Washington, D.C. office is a leader in this area. Most recently he 
formed Partners in Technology, a public-private partnership aimed at 
ensuring all D.C. students have access to the Internet and teachers are 
trained to bring them into the 21st Century.
  Nortel works with customers in more than 150 countries to design, 
build and integrate their communications products and advanced digital 
networks. Nortel has about 27,000 employees in the U.S., more than in 
any other country. In Nashville, they have about 1,200 employees who 
work at the company's headquarters or at Nortel's telephone 
remanufacturing facility. They also have major facilities in

[[Page E787]]

Raleigh, North Carolina; Richardson, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Sunrise, 
Florida; and Santa Clara, California.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating 
Donald Schuenke and everyone at Nortel for the leadership role they are 
providing in Internet2 and Next Generation Internet.

                          ____________________