Dear Friends of Nortel,

Today, Nortel is filing for creditor protection in Canada, the United States and Europe in order to undertake a comprehensive business and financial restructuring. I firmly believe these are the right steps toward a solution for our company. This process will enable Nortel to become the highly focused and financially sound communications leader it should be.

Most importantly, Nortel is still very much in business and our commitment to customers remains unwavering. We will continue to invest in leading edge R&D to deliver the value our customers expect from us.

To all our stakeholders - including customers, suppliers and employees -- please know that this decision was not taken lightly. I can assure you we explored every possible alternative, sought a variety of solutions, and engaged in extensive consultation with our Board of Directors and many other experts.

I am convinced that by choosing this path at this time, we can put Nortel on sound financial footing once and for all. It will allow us to deal decisively with our cost and debt burden, restructure our business and narrow our strategic focus in an effective and timely manner.

Sincerely,

Mike Zafirovski,
President and CEO, Nortel