OTCBB FTEL
For Release
September 10, 1996
FRANKLIN PREPARES TO LAUNCH
CYCLONE!
Westlake Village, CA.> Batten down the hatches! Franklin Telecom announced today
that the Franklin Cyclone, its new product developed in conjunction with StarComm
Products of Huntington Beach, has completed preliminary testing and is ready for a
limited-quantity Beta production run. The Cyclone combines Franklin's D-Mark channel
bank with StarComm's V.34 modems, eliminating redundant SLIC functions for each of
the 8 modems as well as the D-Mark's 8 port Analog Voice card.
"The beauty of the Cyclone," enthuses Frank Peters, President and CEO of Franklin, "
lies in the efficient way it utilizes the latest technology. It eliminates the need for about
half the parts currently necessary for the traditional modem card and a D4 digital
channel bank. Internet Service Providers (ISP's) are going to absolutely love this product
because it will drastically cut their per port cost for dial up connections."
The Cyclone can receive a T1 Telco circuit (Franklin's T1 cards have a built in
CSU/DSU so that no other telco equipment is required) and connect it directly to the
modified channel bank. The output then looks just like the output of a 28.8 and 33.6
modem on a DB25 connector. When used by a POP (Point of Presence), the Cyclone
will connect to a terminal server, then to a Router and CSU/DSU. For an ISP, the CSU is
replaced by various file servers using a 10 Mbps Ethernet as the local backbone with a
Router going to a T1 CSU, and then to the internet.
Fred Camerer, Franklin's lead engineer on the project says, "We are very pleased with
the way the Cyclone handled the tests we gave it. It's exciting and highly satisfying to
participate in the genesis of a product like this which has so much to offer."
Final Pricing and delivery schedule were not available at this printing but a spokesman
said the price target is significantly below the U.S. Robotics 'Total Control System'. The
Cyclone will be marketed through Franklin's existing reseller channels and new
distributors as they come on board.
More information can be obtained by contacting Helen West, Shareholder Relations, at 805-373-8688.
Franklin Telecom, founded in 1981, designs and manufactures communications devices and software.
Franklin has an installed base of over 100,000 nodes. Franklin is traded Over The Counter Market as
"FTEL". |
