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London 2012 Olympics organisers have terminated their partnership with bankrupt Canadian telecoms giant Nortel.

The London organising committee have moved quickly, however, to plug a potential multi-million pounds hole in their sponsorship revenue by naming Cisco as their official network infrastructure partner with immediate effect.

As a Tier One partner Nortel, who filed for bankruptcy in January, would have contributed around £40 million to LOCOG's kitty as well as providing the bulk of the vast array of communications equipment needed to stage an Olympic Games.

Last month US creditors announced a plan to sell off various parts of Nortel Networks such as its wireless technology business, a move that prompted LOCOG to seek an alternative partner in order to meet its tight deadlines.

A LOCOG spokesman confirmed that Cisco would be a Tier Two partner and that some shortfall in revenue was expected from the loss of Nortel.

Tier Two partnerships are typically worth around £20 million to LOCOG who have set a target of raising £650 millionin domestic sponsorship.

"We part with Nortel on good terms," LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton said on Friday. "Nortel acknowledges our fixed deadlines and our desire to have a single supplier for our entire network infrastructure have been impacted by Nortel's decision to move towards standalone businesses.

"This is in no way a reflection of their capabilities --this is all about meeting our fixed deadlines."

Despite the economic downturn LOCOG has already raised around £500 million pounds in domestic sponsorship with heavyweight companies such as British Airways, EDF Energy and BT already signed up.

The remainder of its £2 billion operating budget will come from the International Olympic Committee's global sponsorships, broadcasting rights and tickets and merchandising.

Nortel, North America's biggest maker of telephone equipment, is also a main sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Reuters