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Nortel (News - Alert) has bagged a three-year renewal of an existing agreement with Eastman Kodak Company for management of its U.S. voice network.

Signed earlier this year, the renewal requires Nortel to continue managing Kodak’s U.S. network of PBXs and telephone services through 2008.

The agreement also includes upgrading an existing Meridian SL-100 switch to an IP-enabled Communication Server 2100, which will allow Kodak to provide VoIP capability when cost-effective for requirements such as worker mobility.

Kodak has reportedly outsourced its voice network to Nortel since 1995. The company will continue to benefit from Business Made Simple through lower capital and operating costs.

Additionally, the company will also gain an infrastructure better prepared for future technologies without sacrificing previous investments.

According to Dietmar Wendt, president, Global Services, Nortel, their company’s extensive experience in providing these Network Managed Services for Kodak has provided a unique understanding of how to efficiently and cost-effectively address their communications needs.

“We will continue to provide cost savings by operating and managing Kodak's U.S. network,” said Wendt in a press release.

He continued: “And we’ll work with Kodak to address both current and future needs - including migration to VoIP if and when it makes sense - without requiring them to take on the costs associated with buying, implementing and operating new equipment.”

Kodak’s voice network utilizes network management and maintenance from Nortel including remote fault monitoring with proactive network surveillance, customer-defined service level agreements for response and resolution, moves and changes, comprehensive customer reporting, and dedicated service management.

Nortel Network Managed Services are part of the Nortel Global Services portfolio and provide multi-vendor, multi-technology network and performance management, assisted operations, hosted solutions and managed security across wireless and wireline data and voice networks.

These services help customers transition from legacy networks to converged solutions and next-generation technology.

In another announcement, Nortel Government Solutions, a U.S. company wholly owned by Nortel said that Nortel’s Optical (formerly OPTera ) Metro 3500 has become the first stand-alone optical network element certified interoperable with the U.S. Defense Switched Network (DSN) for voice and data transport and included on the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Voice Network Approved Products List.

Want to learn more about VoIP? Then be sure to check out TMCnet’s Whitepaper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers whitepapers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.

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Niladri Sekhar Nath is a contributing writer for TMCnet covering telecommunications, service providers and networking. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.