Nortel dropped from Olympic role - and Cisco steps up

Nortel has been dropped as the official communications supplier for the 2012 London Olympics, and has been replaced by Cisco.

In a statement on Friday, the London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog) said it has ended its contract with the bankrupt infrastructure supplier "on good terms". In January, Nortel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States and sent its UK operation into administration. The company is currently selling off its various divisions as separate businesses.

"Technology for the Games is a huge undertaking with a fixed deadline, relying on finalising the design and building of systems now," Locog's statement read. "In order to deliver 'the most connected Games possible', Locog felt it was vital to work with a single business to cover the entire network infrastructure. As a result, Locog and Nortel amicably decided to bring the current agreement to an end."

Nortel was a tier 1 sponsor of the 2012 Olympics but Cisco is apparently a tier 2 sponsor.

In a separate statement, Cisco's UK and Ireland chief Phil Smith said his company was "delighted" to score the 2012 deal.

"We will work hard to deliver the infrastructure for London 2012, which promises to be the most connected Games ever," Smith said.

Original article: Cisco replaces Nortel in key 2012 Olympics role from ZDNet UK