Company Press Release
Source: Inter-Tel, Incorporated
Inter-Tel Grants NTT International Distribution Rights
in Japan for Inter-Tel's Vocal'Net Internet Telephony
Gateway
PHOENIX, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Inter-Tel, Incorporated (Nasdaq-NNM:INTL) and NTT
International Corporation (NTTI) have entered into a software licensing and distributorship
agreement for Inter-Tel's Vocal'Net Internet Telephony Gateway software. The agreement gives
NTT International Corporation, a subsidiary of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph, software
licensing and distribution rights in Japan and other countries.
The Vocal'Net will be demonstrated in the NTTI booth at Computer Telephony World
Expo/Tokyo '97 Japan, June 25-28 at the Makuhari Messe. A press conference will be held on
June 25 from 15:30 to 16:40 at the convention center.
Vocal'Net is an Internet/Intranet telephony gateway designed to enable organizations to send
full-duplex communications over the Internet or private company Intranets for potential savings
compared to standard long distance phone service. Designed to meet the needs of businesses,
Vocal'Net is available in multiple port sizes. In addition, since Vocal'Net does not rely on the
server's CPU for compression and packetization, the server may be able to handle additional
functions as well. Vocal'Net will interact with telephone systems that support standard telecom
interfaces such as T-1, E-1, ISDN, and analog single lines. Calls are placed by simply using a
desktop telephone.
Vocal'Net takes full advantage of the Fusion(TM) IP telephony development platform from
Natural MicroSystems. Fusion is a scalable, programmable PC-based platform consisting of
PSTN network interfaces, DSP resources for voice, and fax processing, real-time vocoder
resources, and IP routing technology. Fusion leads the industry as a rapid software development
environment for building scalable high-performance IP telephony gateway solutions.
In the initial commercial release, scheduled for summer 1997, Vocal'Net will support calls placed
from telephone to telephone. Later releases are planned to support communications from
telephone to computer, computer to telephone, computer to computer, and fax to fax.
Planned applications for Vocal'Net include virtual telephone networking for multi-location
companies, telephony-enabled web pages to connect users to a call center agent from a
company's web site, and virtual office applications for traveling employees.
Although the Company does not currently expect delays in the scheduled release date, delays in
availability of components from suppliers and/or disruptions in the product development process,
including but not limited to undetected errors or bugs when released, could result in a delayed
product release. Further, in the event of a failure in acceptance, of the initial products, the release
of the product may be affected. In the event that legislation that is unfavorable to Internet
telephony is passed, the Internet is unable, to handle the volume of communications traffic given
its infrastructure limitations, problems are experienced with components from suppliers, the
product development process is disrupted, or obstacles in obtaining the necessary lines from
telco operators are experienced, then the implementation of some applications may be impacted.
Current competitors or new market entrants may develop new products or product features that
could also adversely affect the competitive position of the Company's products. There can be no
assurance that the Company will be able to successfully develop these new technologies and
applications on a timely basis as required by changing market needs or that new software, or
products or enhancements thereto, including its recently announced products and upgrades,
when introduced by the Company, will achieve market acceptance.
Inter-Tel is a single point of contact, full service solutions integrator providing Internet
Connectivity products such as Vocal'Net, AXXESS and Axxent digital business communication
platforms, AXXESSORY Talk voice processing platforms, call processing and voice processing
software along with various other productivity enhancing software applications, computer
telephone integration, and network services and long distance calling services, as well as
maintenance, leasing and support services. The Company's Common Stock is quoted on the
Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol INTL. For more information, contact
Inter-Tel at 602-302-8900 or inter-tel.com on the World Wide Web.
Established in 1985, Tokyo-based NTT International has successfully conducted 350
telecommunications and data communications consulting and engineering projects in 50 countries
worldwide. Multimedia is one of the keywords of NTTI as the company also introduces
outstanding foreign multimedia systems and products to the Japanese market and at the same time
develops business in foreign markets by making international versions of systems made with the
state-of-the-art technologies developed by Nippon Telephone and Telegraph. NTTI is the
exclusive distributor of Natural MicroSystems products in Japan, conducting sales and providing
technical support to customers in Japan since 1991.
Natural MicroSystems (Nasdaq:NMSS), based in Framingham, Mass., is a technology leader in
Open Telecommunications, providing hardware and software technologies for developers of
high-value telecommunications solutions. The Company's state-of-the-art technology enables a
growing international network of OEMs, VARs, systems integrators and service providers to
reduce time to market, leverage development resources, and offer truly global communications
products. Natural MicroSystems products are installed in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Founded in 1983, Natural MicroSystems has been a leader in the creation of MVIP and H.100,
the industry standards for interoperability in PC-based telephony products. More information on
the company is available at nmss.com.
SOURCE: Inter-Tel, Incorporated
Contact: Steven G. Mihaylo, Chairman and CEO, or Thomas C. Parise, President and COO, or Kurt R. Kneip,
Vice President and CFO, for Inter-Tel, Incorporated, 602-302-8900 |
