Ascend Announces "Get Framed" Program to Expand Worldwide Frame Relay Leadership
New B-STDX 8200 and Frame TNT 7200 Provides Cost-Effective Frame Relay Switching and Aggregation Solution for Small to Medium ISPs and CLECs
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 18, 1998-- Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASND - news) the leading provider of wide area network (WAN) solutions for providers and users of the Public Network, today announced the ''Get Framed'' program to enable small to medium ISPs and CLECs to enter the Frame Relay market. As part of the ''Get Framed'' program, Ascend is offering special bundled solutions based on the multi-service B-STDX 8000(TM) Frame Relay switch, the multi-service MAX TNT(TM) access concentrator and the Pipeline 130 or Pipeline 50LS56 Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). The new B-STDX 8200 switch and Frame TNT 7200 access concentrator provide cost-effective Frame Relay switching and aggregation solutions.
According to Dataquest's 1997 year-end statistics for the WAN networking market, Ascend maintained the number one position in Frame Relay sales worldwide. In the recently released report, Ascend continued to lead the competition, with 38.3 percent revenue market share in Frame Relay.
''Based on Ascend's industry leading multi-service B-STDX Frame Relay and MAX TNT remote access switches, the 'Get Framed' program provides a cost-effective, high-performance and scalable solution that enables small to medium-size ISPs, and new CLECs to enter the Frame Relay market,'' said Tim Kraskey, vice president of marketing, Core Systems Division at Ascend Communications, Inc.
''Our customers rely on us to provide them with state-of-the-art Internet technologies and Ascend's 'Get Framed' program enables us to offer cost-effective Frame Relay solutions designed to improve the overall cost of network ownership and ease of management.
''These product solutions will help us deliver high-performance Frame Relay services that will contribute to increased revenues for both us and our customers,'' said Bruce Keiser, vice president of business development at American Digital Network, a leading strategic Internet services firm that provides connectivity, software, e-commerce and internetworking solutions.
To meet the growing demand for more bandwidth in support of new classes of service such as video, voice, intranets and extranets, and newer ''push'' technologies, many service providers require cost-effective high-end solutions that are flexible and integrated to scale as their business grows. Many small and medium-size service providers don't offer Frame Relay services. Those that do find it to be costly and difficult to deploy and maintain.
''Most small to medium-size providers build their networks with a 'rack and stack model,' which limits network capacity and scalability, and complicates network deployment and maintenance. The B-STDX 8200 and Frame TNT 7200 provide more Frame Relay capabilities and scale better to meet network performance than competitive products, which follow this 'rack and stack model,''' said Matt McGinnis, Internet marketing manager at Ascend.
Additionally, Ascend's B-STDX 8200 and Frame TNT 7200 allows other integrated services to be added on a single platform, such as dial access for analog and ISDN, xDSL, Voice over IP, and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
Delivering the most widely deployed platform for Public Data Services with millions of ports installed, Ascend's multi-service switches are installed in the core of the world's largest service provider's networks. In 1997, Dataquest, IDC, Vertical Systems Group, and Infonetics Research named Ascend's B-STDX the market-leading carrier-class WAN switch for Frame Relay.
The award-winning MAX TNT is the industry's leading carrier-class WAN access switch also with millions of ports installed worldwide. The MAX TNT can scale up to 720 channels and support high-volume, multi-service access requirements, including analog, ISDN, Frame Relay and xDSL traffic. It can also concentrate VPNs, dial-up and dedicated traffic in a single platform.
Pricing and Availability
Ascend is offering seven special promotional product bundles, currently available only in the U.S. Special Pipeline bundles can be purchased with any B-STDX 8200 or Frame TNT 7200 bundle. As part of the ''Get Framed'' program, Ascend is offering a White Paper from Telechoice entitled, ''Understanding the Benefits of Deploying Frame Relay.''
The B-STDX 8200 bundle is available now, and is priced at $69,950 (U.S. pricing). This bundle provides Frame Relay and IP aggregation and switching with the ability to migrate to a high-speed Frame Relay core network. The B-STDX 8200 includes support for a single DS0, multiple DS0 (fractional T1/E1), T1/E1 and T3/E3 Frame Relay connectivity.
The Frame TNT 7200 bundle will be available Sept. 1, 1998, and is priced at $39,950 (U.S. pricing). This bundle provides Frame Relay access termination and aggregation and supports a single DS0 and multiple DS0 (fractional T1/E1 and T1/E1) Frame Relay connectivity.
About American Digital Network
Founded in June 1995, American Digital Network (ADN) is a leading strategic Internet services firm. ADN is unique in that it offers businesses a single source for all of the services and products necessary to develop and implement state-of-the-art E-commerce, Web, Internet, intranet, extranet, VPN, and network strategies. More information about ADN is available at www.adnc.net.
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 Christine Andrews, Alexander Communications, 415/923-1660, candrews@alexandercom.com; Investors and financial analysts, please contact Kristina Graziano, 510/747-2345, kristina.graziano@ascend.com; for 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, CA 94502; phone is 800/ASCEND4 and fax is 510/814-2300.
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. |
