ASCEND ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC CONTRACT
FOR AWARD-WINNING MAX TNT(tm) WAN ACCESS SWITCHES
MAX TNT with its V.90 compliant series 56K1 digital modems and
NavisAccess(tm) Network Management Enables Revolutionary Internet Shopping Program from AIM Smart
ALAMEDA, Calif., June 2, 1998 - Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:
ASND), a leader in wide area networking (WAN) solutions for providers
and users of the Public Network, today announced a contract with Klein
Technologies, Inc., (KTI) to supply key technology components for a
nationwide free Internet service dubbed "SmartAIM Shopper Pavilion(tm)."
Designed to enable e-commerce capabilities in shopping malls, this service will allow true micro marketing to target regional demographic groups.
This new service, announced separately today in a press release from AIM Smart Corporation (OTC: AIMS) aim-smart.com,
will place Internet Service Provider (ISP) Points-of-Presence (PoPs)
in as many as 500 major malls around the country.
With an initial value of up to $8 million, this contract calls for KTI
to purchase Ascend's award-winning MAX TNT Wan Access Switches with V.90 compliant Series56 digital modems and NavisAccess network management software.
"We are excited to be working with KTI to enable this revolutionary new marketing concept that AIM Smart is rolling out," said Kurt Bauer, vice president of product management for Ascend's Access Switching Division.
"This innovative application is a perfect example of why the MAX family is the leading remote access solution in the industry. Through our powerful True Access(tm) Operating System and NavisAccess network management we offer customers the ability to create a wide variety of applications, with maximum flexibility in both design and deployment."
Nationwide Network, Managed by NavisAccess The "SmartAIM Shopper
Pavilion" PoPs will consist of MAX TNTs, with Series56 digital modems and NavisAccess management control. Ascend's NavisAccess network management software will provide KTI's network managers with critical features needed to monitor and maintain the Internet services. By deploying NavisAccess on Windows NT in a client/server configuration, KTI will be able to manage the network from multiple consoles, while all data is maintained on a central NavisAccess server.
NavisAccess also allows KTI to generate over 40 reports on service
utilization and network status to monitor bandwidth utilization both
historically and in real-time, and to automatically monitor and update
device configuration files.
Each "SmartAIM Shopper Pavilion" is an ISP that is remotely controlled
from both the central Network Operations Center (NOC) at KTI's
headquarters in Vienna, Va. and the RADIUS Server in Goodrich, Minn.
KTI's NOC monitors, troubleshoots, and measures the performance of Ascend equipment, and the RADIUS Server provides user log-in authentication.
The monitoring universe is divided by the East Coast and West Coast,
and is sub-divided by states. As the network grows, and more units are
deployed, central US will be added.
"We are pleased to be working with Ascend on this project," said Richard Klein, chief executive officer of Klein Technologies, Inc. "We evaluated several vendors, but only Ascend could provide the combination of state-of-the-art, network-tested hardware and software tools, such as NavisAccess that we needed to get the job done. Ascend's solutions will also enable us to provide additional Internet innovations, such as high-speed access and voice over capabilities, for future value-added offerings."
Initial plans call for as many as 550 major malls to be equipped with
"SmartAIM Shopper Pavilion" mall Internet PoPs. Currently there are
over 300 malls under rollout contract with AIM Smart. At 500 malls free Internet service will be offered to 25 million U.S. households, through the national AIM Smart ISP network.
About the MAX family of WAN Access Switches According to Dell'Oro Group, the MAX and MAX TNT WAN Access Switches lead the industry with over 40 percent of the analog modem ports deployed worldwide. In addition, Ascend was the leader in both revenue and ports for the Remote Access Concentrator market in Q1 1998, according to market research firm Dataquest. The MAX and MAX TNT are critical components of Ascend's "best-of-breed" solution set for service providers. As a stand-out in the data networking industry, Ascend provides a complete set ofsolutions, including enterprise connectivity, service provider access, and core systems, as well as technologies and solutions that provide end-to-end quality-of-service (QoS), security, and network management.
These "best of breed" capabilities allow service providers to build and manage revenue-generating services over existing and new infrastructures.
About Ascend Communications Ascend Communications, Inc. develops,
manufactures, sells and services wide area networking solutions for
telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers and corporate
customers worldwide. |
