SouthNet Telecomm Services, Inc. Chooses Ascend as
Voice-over-IP Provider; Nationwide Rollout of IP-based
Voice Services Will Be One of the Country's Largest to Date
[[This is the second major VoIP announcement involving ASND's MultiVoice services in one week.]]
August 7, 1998
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE) via NewsEdge
Corporation -- Ascend Communications, Inc.
(NASDAQ:ASND), a leader in wide area networking
(WAN) solutions for providers and users of the public
network, today announced that SouthNet TeleComm
Services (STS) Inc., a leading ISP and Competitive Local
Exchange Carrier (CLEC) has chosen Ascend's
MultiVoice(TM) for the MAX to roll out IP-based voice
service nationwide. Based on STS's implementation
plans, this will be one of the first and largest deployment
of intra-city, intra-state, interstate, and international
phone-to-phone and PC-to-phone IP-based voice
services network to date.
SouthNet Telecomm Services has selected Ascend's
complete, fully International Telecommunications Union
(ITU) H.323-compliant Voice-over-IP (VoIP) solution,
including MultiVoice DSP cards running on Ascend
MAX WAN Access Switches, and the MultiVoice
Access Manager, which manages telephone-to-IP
address translation, billing and other functions.
After thorough evaluation of competitive offerings, STS
chose the Ascend solution because it offered the best
combination of features.
"For STS, IP telephony is a strategic technology so our
choice of a partner was crucial," said Bob Morris, STS
Vice President of Operations. "We did a thorough review
of the available offerings, and at the end it was clear the
MultiVoice for the MAX was far superior to anything
else on the market.
"STS required a product that offered "toll quality" calling
to meet users expectations, and the Ascend solution,
combined with a frame relay network, fulfilled the
requirement. The product's scalability, combined with the
fact that it is deployable on a tried-and-tested MAX
platform made the decision relatively easy."
Aggressive Implementation Plans
STS is taking a novel approach to deploying IP
telephony in its network. Through a series of resale
agreements with local telecommunications suppliers in
key markets, STS is able to deploy IP-based voice
services cost-effectively.
The company will wholesale Internet dial-access ports to
local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to partially offset
the costs of deploying IP telephony, then will offer the
IP-based voice services for resale by local CLECs and
other resellers, including schools and other fund raising
organizations, in each major market.
The STS roll out of IP-based voice services is on an
aggressive schedule, with plans to complete more than
100 US and international cities by the end of 1998. The
company plans an IPO while adding additional cities next
year for total coverage of 250 US and international cities
by the end of 1999.
"We are very excited to be partnering with such a
visionary company in their rollout of IP-based voice
services," said Roger Boyce, vice president and general
manager of Ascend's Enterprise Access Business Unit.
"We believe that MultiVoice for the MAX provides the
best combination of functionality and scalability, and
STS clearly saw this when they made their choice. We
look forward to working with them to help them roll out
this leading-edge service."
Award-winning Solution
MultiVoice for the MAX was recently given a Market
Engineering award by industry analyst Frost & Sullivan.
The award recognized Ascend's innovative strategy: the
product is part of Ascend's multi-phase voice strategy,
and makes use of Ascend's leading carrier-class
infrastructure solutions to guarantee toll-quality voice
across a service provider's network.
About SouthNet TeleComm Services (STS)
STS, one of the pioneers in Voice IP Networks, offers
complete wholesale solutions for resellers and other fund
raising organizations. With lucrative and simple
wholesale plans for both Voice IP, Internet access, and
all network needs, STS provides resellers the
opportunity to participate in the projected $102 billion
voice and IP fax industry, without the costly equipment
or network expense.
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.
Press and industry analysts, please contact: Lee
Kallman, Alexander Communications, 404/897-2300,
lkallman@alexandercom.com. Investors and financial
analysts, please contact: Kristina Graziano, 510-747-2345,
kristina.graziano@ascend.com; or all other inquiries
please call toll-free: 800/ASCEND4.
For more information about Ascend and its products,
please visit the Ascend web site at www.ascend.com, or
send e-mail to info@ascend.com. Ascend is
headquartered at One Ascend Plaza, 1701 Harbor Bay
Parkway, Alameda, Calif. 94502; phone is 800/ASCEND4
and fax is 510/814-2300.
For more information about STS and its services, please
visit the STS web site at www.stsi.net. For reseller
information, contact Jeff LeMay at jlemay@stsi.net.
Fund raising organizations seeking more information may
contact Gerald Escobar at geraldsts@stsi.net. STS is
headquartered at 2333 Windy Hill Road, Marietta, GA
30067; phone is 800/STS-3221 (770/937-9550 in Atlanta)
and fax is 770/937-9303.
The foregoing statements may contain forward-looking
statements that are based on current expectations and
involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could
differ materially from these expectations as a result of
factors including, but not limited to, the Company's
success in developing, introducing or shipping new
products, competition, the mix of distribution channels
employed, the Company's dependence on single or
limited source suppliers for certain components used in
its products, risks inherent in international sales,
seasonality and general economic conditions. These and
other factors are discussed in Ascend's 10-K, 10-Q and
other filings made periodically with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: Ascend Communications, Alameda | Jennifer
Reidy, 510/747-2761 | jennifer.reidy@ascend.com | or |
Alexander Communications | Lee Kallman, 404/897-2300 |
lkallman@alexandercom.com
[Copyright 1998, Business Wire] |
