Infonetics Report Shows Service Providers Rank Ascend
Number One in Both Frame Relay and ISDN
Survey Also Shows Ascend Holds Significant Internet ATM Marketshare
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 1997--Ascend Communications, Inc.
(NASDAQ:ASND - news) today announced that the market analyst group, Infonetics
Research, Inc., has released a study confirming that Ascend is the worldwide market leader
for ISDN and Frame Relay among both regional and large (national and international) network
service providers.
According to Infonetics, Ascend dominates the worldwide Internet ISDN market with a 69
percent marketshare, and the nearest competitor is a distant 12 percent. Ascend also leads in
Frame Relay with 42 percent of the worldwide market; the next closest competitor had only 18
percent marketshare. In addition the report shows Ascend has achieved 23 percent
marketshare of the worldwide Internet ATM market.
Since the study was released, Ascend has broadened its product offering for Frame Relay and
ATM, introducing the GX 550 ''smart core'' ATM Switch and adding multiservice capabilities
-- including Frame Relay and IP -- to its CBX 500 ATM Switch. The GX 550 is the first
ATM core switch to deliver OC-48/STM-16 speeds with SONET infrastructure capabilities
while providing end-to-end Quality of Service, which will to enable service providers to offer
sophisticated ATM services directly from the core. Similarly, the CBX 500 ATM Switch
enables service providers to respond quickly to market changes by making a broader range of
services available on a single platform. At the same time, Ascend also introduced the Navis
Family of network management products, including NavisXtend applications, that among other
industry firsts, enables service providers to track and bill for services over ATM networks. All
of these products and capabilities are designed to enable carriers and ISPs to develop new
business services and, a t the same time, provide greater accountability and control over these
services.
''One trend we see from ISPs in this high-growth market is that ISPs are trying to
differentiate themselves competitively by broadening their services or specializing on a few
services,'' said Greg Howard, Director of Service Provider Programs for Infonetics and
director of the study. ''The ISP buying preferences highlighted in our study provide valuable
insights into what service providers need in order to be more competitive.''
''This study is especially gratifying for us because it confirms that Ascend is the vendor of
choice across all of the different service provider segments, not just the largest carriers and
ISPs,'' said Daniel E. Smith, Ascend's executive vice president and general manager, Core
Systems Division. ''We will continue to strengthen our leadership in Frame Relay, and we
expect to make even greater strides in the ATM and IP space in the coming year with the
introduction of new products like the GX 550, enhancements to flagship products like the CBX
500, IP switching through the IP Navigator products, Multigigabit Routing on the GRF Family, |
