<A>PR-E-NET AND SUMMA FOUR Sign Voice-Over-Internet Protocol Agreement
Companies To Integrate Proprietary Technologies In Developing New Carrier-Class Gateway
GERMANTOWN, Md., Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- e-Net, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETEL)
today announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Summa Four,
Inc. (Nasdaq: SUMA), a leading worldwide provider of open, programmable switching platforms, to jointly integrate e-Net's patented Data Telephony(TM) system for Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (Telecom 2000(TM)) with Summa Four's VCO Series of open programmable switches. The result of the partnership will be a new, high-capacity,
carrier-class Voice-Over-Internet Gateway. Under the terms of the
agreement, both companies have the right to market and sell the gateway product.
Carrier-class gateways allow high-volume telephone service providers
and corporate network operators to fully exploit the inherent cost and
feature advantages of routing voice traffic over data networks.
Although still in their infancy, the Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (IP)
gateway field is predicted to grow to a $1.8 billion market by the year 2001.
According to leading Internet Telephony analyst Jeff Pulver, "Large-scale, carrier-class gateways are the key to bringing
cost-effective IP voice to the masses. This is a significant
announcement from Summa Four and e-Net."
e-Net and Summa Four will port and enhance e-Net's Voice-over-Internet Protocol technology to run on Summa Four's recently announced Service Platform Card (SPC), containing up to 32 Texas Instruments TMS320C548 series Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). By combining SPC cards with Interface Controller Cards (ICC), which support up to 16 T-1/E-1 spans, it will be possible to scale gateway capacity to support more than 1,000 simultaneous calls in a single-shelf, carrier-certified chassis.
"This technology is a major leap forward in comparison to the low-capacity, PC-based solutions offered in today's market," notes Rob
Veschi, president and chief executive officer of e-Net. "The combination of our Telecom 2000(TM) with Summa Four's VCO will enable us to provide carriers with the scale and reliability they need to conduct effective IP telephony.
"We've chosen the VCO Series because it's the ideal platform for our
carrier-class gateway product," he continues. "The e-Net/Summa Four
solution delivers the key ingredients needed for Voice-Over-IP
communications--the greatest number of ports, true scalability, and the highest quality voice transmission. This is a true 'one box
solution.'" e-Net's product development plan will occur simultaneously with and derive advantages from Summa's Project Sigma (previously announced).
This new e-Net gateway product line will comply with all relevant
standards for IP telephony, including H.323 and G 723.1. "We believe that adding voice over IP technology to our VCO switches will enable our application partners to build innovative solutions for this burgeoning market," adds Bob Degan, president and CEO of Summa Four. "We are excited to be working with e-Net."
About e-Net
e-Net, Inc. develops, markets, and supports communications software and associated hardware that enable local, national, and international telephone communications, information exchange, and data network optimization. Its award-winning, patented product, Telecom 2000(TM), is a unique, cost-effective hardware and software combination that delivers Data Telephony(TM), the highest quality voice over IP or other data networks. Telecom 2000(TM) and Data Telephony(TM) fully
integrates voice and data into a single network in both the local and
wide area. e-Net's corporate headquarters is in Germantown, MD and its
research and development facility is located in Austin, TX.
About Summa Four
Summa Four is a leading provider of open, programmable switching
platforms that enable telecommunications providers worldwide to build
intelligent, flexible networks that support the rapid deployment of new wireline and wireless services. An ISO 9001 certified company, Summa Four is headquartered in Manchester, NH, and has sales, service and support offices in the United States, U.K., Singapore, and Japan.
The above forward-looking statements are subject to change, based
on various important factors, including without limitation, the
negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement with e-Net.
Further information on potential factors that could affect the
Company's financial results is included in the Company's periodic
reports filed with the SEC.
SOURCE e-Net
12/08/97 /CONTACT: media, Paul Feldman of Feldman Communications, 301-770-6433, or e-mail, dshoff@datatelephony.com; or investors, The Poretz Group, 703-506-1778, x222 or 224, e-mail, doug@poretz.com, both for e-Net/ (ETEL SUMA) CO: e-Net, Inc.; Summa Four, inc. ST: Maryland IN: CPR SU: PDT JVN |
