Nortel wave may hit mainland

China operations of Nortel Networks Corp are not involved in the bankruptcy protection application filed Wednesday by North America's largest maker of telecom equipment, but their impact here is inevitable nonetheless.

The company submitted the filing a day before an interest payment of about $107 million was due, according to Reuters. Nortel in November reported a $3.4 billion loss in the third quarter of 2008.

Affiliates in Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America, and Nortel Government Solutions continue in ordinary course of business and are not subject to these proceedings, and the company's day-to-day operations are expected to continue without interruption, said a statement on its website.