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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications-News Only!!! (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas M. who wrote (1416)	4/30/1998 8:26:00 AM
From: w2j2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1629

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1998--Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASND) today announced an enhanced SA 600 Broadband Access Concentrator that now provides a high-capacity multi-service entry point into an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) wide area network (WAN). Also announced today is an enhanced Inverse Multiplexing for ATM (IMA) Interface Card, for both the SA 600 and SA 100 Broadband Service Unit. This new IMA card complies with the ATM Forum V1.0 IMA specification, and is available in 4-port T1 or E1 configurations. The card combines multiple T1/E1 interfaces into a single virtual circuit, bridging the gap between T1/E1 and T3/E3, and giving service providers the broadest possible selection of network access options to offer their corporate customers. The enhanced SA 600 joins the SA 100 as part of an expanding family of Ascend broadband access products that enable service providers to leverage the inherent capabilities of ATM while extending their reach to corporate customers. "The phrase 'carrier-class' means much more than compliance with telco regulations," said Fred McClimans, CEO of competitive intelligence firm Current Analysis, Inc. "Ascend has realized this in providing the necessary features to offer carrier-class services, through increased bandwidth flexibility and upgradability to address the gap between T1 and T3 service offerings." "Service providers now have the flexibility to add real value to their carrier-class ATM networks with innovative, managed service offerings that generate additional revenue," said Jim Mooney, Senior Product Marketing Manager in Ascend's Core Systems Division. "Service providers can enter a new service area by deploying SA 100s, and then place a SA 600 to provide high-density concentration when the subscriber area gets saturated. The SA 600, with its high-speed network connections, leverages the initial capital investment of a service provider while having minimal impact on operations overhead." The SA 600 provides a high-density, cost-effective platform for adapting legacy protocols into an ATM data format for high-speed, efficient transport. Regional ATM traffic is economically concentrated for transport to a core ATM network, reducing trunk requirements. Further, service providers can create a broad portfolio of new, value-added services and deliver these services at price points that will differentiate them from the competition. Equipped with this capability, service providers can proceed with broad deployment of ATM services. The SA 600 provides a single carrier-class platform for both locally connecting and remotely concentrating a wide spectrum of high-performance, "plug and play" services. These include Native LAN, Circuit Emulation, Serial Frame, and ATM UNI. ATM WAN connections range from T1/E1 and T3/E3 to OC3/STM1, and the latest release of Ascend's Inverse Multiplexing for ATM (IMA) may be incorporated into the product to provide even greater flexibility. Service providers can use their existing Navis network and service management products to manage the SA 600 and SA 100, enabling service provisioning end-to-end from a single network management platform with a familiar interface. Pricing and Availability The enhanced capabilities in the SA 600 are available now. SA 600 pricing begins at $18,000. The IMA Interface Cards are also available now, and pricing begins at $4,000.