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ASCEND UNVEILS VPN-CAPABLE ROUTERS -- A
SECURE, HIGH-SPEED ACCESS SOLUTION FOR THE
ENTERPRISE AS PART OF MULTIVPN OFFERING
ALAMEDA, CALIF.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OCT. 5, 1998--
COMPANY INTEGRATES
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1998--
Company Integrates Award-Winning Firewall and IPsec
Encryption to Popular Pipeline Family; Enables Flexible Cost-Saving
MultiVPN Solution
Ascend Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASND.O), the leader in wide
area networking (WAN) solutions for providers and users of the public
network, today announced the integration of its ISCA-certified
SecureConnect Firewall and IPSec encryption capabilities across the
Pipeline family of remote access routers, at no additional cost. The
first routers with the functionality to be complete, secure Internet
solutions, the Pipeline family now delivers Virtual Private Remote
Networking (VPRN) capabilities to help enterprise customers build
secure, money-saving Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The availability
of Pipelines with built-in VPRN capabilities signifies the delivery of
a key component in Ascend's MultiVPN strategy announced earlier this
year.
"The Pipeline family, with its long and proven track record in
Internet and remote access leadership, has extended its core strengths
to create secure, cost-effective VPN-capable routers," said Roger
Boyce, vice president and general manager of Ascend's Enterprise
Access Division. "With integrated IPSec and firewall in the Pipeline,
it becomes a building block for enterprise VPNs and empowers
businesses to more fully utilize the new public network. We are
delivering on our MultiVPN promise by breaking down the barriers to
enterprise-wide VPN deployment with innovative, cost effective
solutions."
Ascend's MultiVPN enables the utilization of the public network
infrastructure for private enterprise communications with management
capabilities, assured levels of service and availability, and
compatibility and security through a provider/subscriber architecture.
Ascend MultiVPN is uniquely architectured around three pillars: VPRN,
Virtual Private Trunking (VPT) and Virtual IP Routing (VIPR). With the
MultiVPN strategy and architecture, Ascend has defined the most
comprehensive and effective approach to deliver VPNs in the
marketplace.
Building on Access Leadership to Deliver VPN Solutions
According to industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan, Ascend has
established itself as the leading supplier of VPNs with a 28 percent
market share in the router/switch hardware category. This recognized
leadership coupled with the global acceptance of the Pipeline family -
more than 800,000 Pipelines are at work in public and private networks
all over the globe - proves Pipelines are the premier choice to enable
enterprises and end users to connect securely, quickly and easily to
the Internet or corporate resources. Now, these same organizations can
utilize the Pipeline to build a cost effective and scalable VPN that
supports Internet, intranet and extranet applications.
"Our customers are demanding a complete solution to security when
deploying VPNs," said Bob Heintz, president of The Helfrich Company,
an Ascend VPN integrator. "The Ascend SecureConnect product combines
standards-based IPSec VPN encryption and a strong firewall in a single
product. This product integrated with the popular Pipeline family
makes a very compelling, comprehensive solution for organizations
worldwide that are looking to tap into the power of VPNs."
Security Additions Solidify Pipeline Family as Premier Networking
Platform
Within the last three months, Ascend has witnessed increasing
demand for its award-winning ICSA-certified dynamic firewall. In
addition to adding this popular capability to the Pipeline 50-220
family of routers, Ascend has integrated 40-bit Data Encryption
Standard (DES) IPSec encryption capabilities, all at no additional
charge. These additional features help enterprises protect corporate
assets stored electronically and conduct confidential communications
over the Internet. The firewall and encryption enhancements also
solidify the Pipeline family as a secure, cost-efficient networking
platform.
By integrating the award-winning SecureConnect technology into
the industry-leading Pipeline family, Ascend has simplified VPN
implementation for enterprises of all sizes, including large global
organizations, and mid-sized and small businesses.
Ascend's Support for "Private Doorbell" Initiative
The Security Technology industry has lobbied for quite some time
with the US Government to ease restrictions on the exportation of
strong encryption technology. Earlier this year Ascend joined a group
of companies in supporting an approach called "Private Doorbell" that
would meet the needs of government and law enforcement officials, as
well as the Security Technology industry. In part due to these
efforts, the White House recently announced significant steps that
will now allow companies to export strong encryption technology, such
as the 56-bit DES/triple DES that is part of today's announcement.
Pricing and Availability
The Pipeline family of routers carries a list price of $895
through $2,995 and is available in the United States immediately
through distribution partners and VARs. International availability of
Pipelines with the integrated SecureConnect and IPSec capabilities
will be available on November 1, 1998.
Upgrade and Distribution Information
The added security of 56-bit DES/triple DES will be available as
a software upgrade option through Ascend's distribution channel
beginning November 1, 1998. For customers who purchased any Pipeline
after May 1997, firewall and 40-bit encryption upgrades will be
available this November, at no charge, via Ascend's Web.
About Ascend Communications
Ascend Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASND.O) develops,
manufactures, sells and services wide area networking solutions for
telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers and corporate
customers worldwide.
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. For Investor Relations, please call our
communications hotline at 800-648-3059 or 760-704-4423 (outside the US
& Canada). Additional investor information can also be accessed on our
Web site at: 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.
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.
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