SW,, my pick of the week is MCKC. IPO today and did nothing. Nice company, telecom business, very good underwriters, only 3.4 million float. SCRM and NAVI stole the show and with recent market jitters/plus Friday MCKC was overlooked.
Check out this press release from summer to get an idea of where they are headed: voice over IP very very big...
Press Releases
MCK Communications Introduces Remote Voice
Products for Broadband Networks
New Suite of Packet Network Products will Extend PBX
Voice Across Next-Generation Broadband Networks
NEWTON, Mass., June 28, 1999 -- MCK
Communications, Inc., the leading provider of remote
voice solutions for telecommuters, remote call center
agents, executives and branch offices, today outlined its
plans to provide a suite of remote voice over packet
network (RVoPN) products. These new products will
make it possible for companies to provide
enterprise-wide, integrated voice and data
communications, delivered to remote employees over
broadband networks. In related news, MCK announced
it is working with broadband equipment manufacturers
and DSL service providers, including Copper Mountain
Networks (NASDAQ: CMTN), Paradyne Corporation,
3Com Corporation (NASDAQ: COMS), NorthPoint
Communications Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NPNT),
Rhythms NetConnections Inc. (NASDAQ: RTHM) and
HarvardNet, to provide value-added PBX products that
deliver a richer functionality beyond basic Voice over IP
(VoIP) dialtone. (See related release today: "MCK
Communications Provides Value-Added Remote Voice
Applications for Broadband Service Providers," June 28,
1999).
The initial suite of products that enable PBX
connectivity to the corporation, includes single- and
multi-user remote voice client devices and gateways.
The EXTender 3000 for IDSL, the IP EXTender 4000
and the Branch Office EXTender 6000 are CPE devices;
the PBXgateway IP, which terminates the client devices
is located at the corporate PBX site. All of these products
are in trial now. (See related release: "MCK
Communications and Copper Mountain Networks
Partner to Deliver First Simultaneous Voice and Data
Connectivity Over IDSL," May 3, 1999).
"Broadband networks will be a key enabler in making
possible the 'Extended Enterprise' -- extending not just
the data network but all of the corporation's voice
capabilities to remote workers," said Woody Benson,
president and CEO of MCK Communications.
"Extending PBX voice systems via broadband networks
provides remote employees with the exact same tools
that corporate workers enjoy on their desktops, along
with all the performance, reliability and other features
customers have come to expect from their existing PBX
systems. Our DSL offering is just the first phase of our
packet voice initiative."
Remote Voice Over Packet Networks (RVoPN)
All of MCK's remote voice solutions employ MCK's
proprietary Remote Voice Protocoltm (RVP) technology
to deliver seamless voice calls and PBX functionality,
over either a circuit switched (traditional telephone
network) or packet switched (data network)
environment. In the packet switched environment, MCK
RVoPN products will work with any network, including
T1, xDSL and Cable using VoIP and Voice over Frame
Relay protocols. Voice over ATM support will follow
later in the year.
MCK's RVoPN products have been designed to
accommodate the more complex requirements of
delivering high quality enterprise voice features.
Applications for RVoPN products include extending
corporate PBX services to teleworkers and small branch
offices, extending call center ACD applications to remote
agents and providing unified telephone support across
campus environments.
The first group of MCK's RVoPN products is optimized
for DSL networks. MCK's RVoPN products, in
partnership with DSL service providers, make it possible
to provide not only sufficient bandwidth, but also all of
the features that are required for users to have a business
quality voice experience. In addition to DSL, the
company's remote voice products will support other
applications, including T1, Frame Relay and
PacketCable deployment. (See related release: "MCK
Communications and 3Com Demonstrate Remote Voice
Access to the PBX Over Cable Modem Networks,"
December 1, 1998).
MCK's Remote Voice over Packet Networks Product
Suite
The delivery of RVoPNs requires several components.
Each remote user location requires either an Integrated
Access Device (IAD), which provides connectivity to the
broadband circuit, or a voice client with Ethernet
connectivity to an existing network access device. These
RVoPN client devices interface to the digital phone set
and handle all of the voice compression and signaling
functions. In some cases, they also include remote data
capabilities. MCK's remote user product offerings
include:
EXTender 3000 for IDSL. A single-user, integrated
access device which provides both voice and data
connectivity to the corporation. It has an internal IDSL
network terminator, has user selectable voice
compression and employs RVP over Frame/IP.
IP EXTender 4000. A single-user client device that
provides an Ethernet connection to a customer's external
network access device, such as a DSL modem, IP router
or DOCSIS-compliant cable modem. It offers enterprise
voice and data connectivity, has user selectable voice
compression and employs RVP over IP.
Branch Office EXTender 6000. A multi-user client for
voice connectivity to the corporate PBX for up to 12
digital sets in a small branch office or satellite call center.
The EXTender 6000 requires an external network access
device, such as a DSL modem, IP router or
DOCSIS-compliant cable modem for voice connectivity
to the corporate PBX. It provides user selectable
compression, SNMP support and remote management
capabilities, and works over either circuit or packet
networks.
In addition to the RVoPN client devices, an MCK
gateway product is required at the PBX location. The
gateway product communicates to the PBX via digital
line card interfaces and to the remote clients via
Ethernet. It packetizes and transcodes voice and
signaling, as well as all supported PBX applications, to
and from the remote site devices. The first of MCK's IP
voice gateway products is:
PBXgateway IP. An Ethernet-based, IP-compatible CPE
device installed at the PBX. The PBXgateway IP will
terminate up to 12 MCK IP clients, including the
single-user EXTender 3000 for IDSL, the IP EXTender
4000 and the multi-user Branch Office EXTender 6000
products.
Pricing and Availability
The MCK Remote Voice over DSL product suite is in
trials now and is scheduled to be available for
distribution in Q3, 1999. Suggested list prices ($U.S.) are
$795 for the IP EXTender 4000; $995 for the EXTender
3000 for IDSL; $3,895 for the Branch Office EXTender
6000 and $3,895 for the PBXgateway IP. MCK remote
voice products extend the capabilities of Lucent
DEFINITY, Nortel Meridian and Norstar, and NEC
NEAX and Electra switches. For additional information,
visit MCK's Web site at www.mck.com or call
888-454-7979.
About MCK Communications, Inc.
MCK Communications, Inc. is a privately held company
that provides remote voice solutions for teleworkers and
branch offices. With private equity investment from
Summit Partners and Lazard FrŠres Technology Partners
and a seasoned management team of former executives
of Lotus Development Corp., Sun Microsystems, Bain &
Company and PictureTel, MCK was incorporated in
1989. The company, which is ISO 9001-certified has
earned a reputation for excellence and innovation by
building leading-edge telecommunications products that
enhance customers' Lucent- (NYSE: LU), Nortel- (TSE:
NTL), NEC- (NASDAQ: NIPNY) based networked
voice systems. Headquartered in Newton, MA, MCK has
R&D facilities in Calgary, Canada.
MCK markets its products through a large network of
telecomunications resellers and OEM partners including
Lucent, NEC, Williams Communications Solutions, Bell
Canada (NYSE: BCE), BellSouth (NYSE: BLS), GTE
(NYSE: GTE), Sprint (NYSE: FON), Dacon,
Dictaphone, Claricom and other value-added resellers.
The company was named one of 1998's fastest growing
private companies by Inc. Magazine, and has received
numerous industry awards for its products, including
four "1998 Product of the Year" awards for its
EXTender 3000-series from Computer Telephony, Call
Center Magazine, Call Center Solutions and CTI
Magazine.
Cray |
