BEIJING, Oct. 30 -- China Telecommunications Corp. has awarded Nortel Networks a contract to build new multiservice backbone networks in northern China. Under terms of the contract, Nortel Networks will build a new network to cover 10 provinces in Northern China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Nortel Networks will also deploy a new metro network in Beijing. Both networks are scheduled to be in operation by early next year and are expected to extend China Telecom's multiservice backbone capabilities to all of China's 31 provinces. Nortel Networks has also been selected by China Telecom to build a new ATM-based multiservice backbone in Shanxi Province and to expand existing networks in Hubei Province and Shanghai municipality. Since the restructuring of China's telecommunications industry in May 2002, China Telecom operates multiservice backbone networks in 21 provinces in southern and western China. For more information, visit: www.nortelnetworks.com