eFusion and Ascend Communications Join Forces to Offer Advanced IP Telephony Services; eFusion to Support Ascend's MultiVoice for the MAX
Business Wire - May 06, 1998 08:03
%ASCEND %EFUSION ASND %CALIFORNIA %OREGON %COMPUTERS %ELECTRONICS %COMED %TELECOMMUNICATIONS %INTERACTIVE %MULTIMEDIA %INTERNET %PRODUCT V%BW P%BW
BEAVERTON, Ore., and ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 1998--eFusion, Inc., a leading provider of Internet telephony application gateways, and Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASND), the leading provider of wide area network (WAN) solutions for network service providers, today announced that eFusion and Ascend have entered into a strategic alliance to support Ascend's MultiVoice for the MAX product architecture across eFusion's IP telephony/data network applications.
eFusion will port its value-added IP telephony applications to support MultiVoice for the MAX, Ascend's complete voice over IP (VoIP) solution. MultiVoice for the MAX platform conforms to the ITU-T H.323 industry standard for handling real-time voice over IP-based packet networks. MultiVoice for the MAX is the first voice over IP (VoIP) solution that meets key requirements for scalability, low price per port and service level choices. With the support of eFusion applications for MultiVoice for the MAX, service providers and enterprise customers can implement innovative VoIP solutions -- such as phone-to-PC, Web-to-phone or Web-to-agent -- delivered through a reliable, scalable architecture.
eFusion and Ascend will engineer their respective products for complete compatibility. In addition the companies will market eFusion's applications and the MultiVoice for the MAX platform through eFusion's and Ascend's sales forces and Ascend's indirect sales channels. Initial sales and marketing programs will target the ISPs and carriers in Ascend's installed base.
"eFusion's Internet Call Waiting and call completion applications will help drive demand for Ascend's innovative voice over IP solutions," said Ajit Pendse, President and Chief Executive Officer of eFusion. "We are pleased to be working with Ascend, as they have strong market share and unique insight into the carrier industry, and we look forward to helping carrier customers advance IP telephony business opportunities."
"Our newly announced voice over IP strategy is designed to deliver toll-quality voice over a scalable network -- a capability that speaks directly to customer requirements," said Roger Boyce, Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Access, Ascend Communications. "We are partnering with eFusion because of their unique vision of IP telephony applications. Together, we offer solutions around which service providers and enterprise customers can build additional business."
Delivering Innovative VoIP Solutions with Toll-Quality Service
Over the MultiVoice for the MAX architecture that enables voice to be delivered through the data network, the following eFusion applications will be made available:
-- Internet Call Waiting: While a subscriber is "surfing" the
Internet, eFusion's Internet Call Waiting application alerts the
user to incoming calls. Until now, the person being called had no
way to recognize and accept incoming calls. Their phone line
would be continuously busy while the user engaged in an Internet
session. eFusion's Internet Call Waiting application allows the
recipient to accept the call, forward it to another phone number,
or take other disposition options, all without leaving their
Internet session.
-- Call completion: This service is similar to the Internet Call
Waiting service, except that the user need not be interrupted in
order to complete the call. Using the Voice over IP (VoIP)
capability of the Ascend gateway, the call can be automatically
sent to the subscriber's existing network-based voice mailbox, or
can be captured by the eFusion system for later on-line
retrieval.
-- Commerce-enhancing applications: At the core of these
applications is eFusion's Push-to-Talk (PtT)(TM) technology which
allows end-users to place voice calls to merchants while
continuing to view Web content. eFusion's applications employ
innovative dynamic call routing capabilities to route calls from
the Internet to telephones or from the Internet to call center
agents, so consumers who are searching the Internet can speak
with businesses about products, without abandoning their Internet
session.
eFusion and Ascend solutions also empower network service providers to build unique Internet telephony applications. eFusion's application architecture provides access to the basic resources, application services and system management functions necessary to build relevant Internet telephony applications. Within eFusion's Enabling Application System Environment (EASE) framework, application services such as managing the connection, identifying routing options, plus streaming appropriate media during the call are comprised of abstracted objects available to developers. EASE also provides facilities for performing much needed operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning (OAM&P) tasks and integrating with legacy systems.
Ascend's MultiVoice for the MAX architecture leverages the company's leading-edge WAN networking technologies, as well as new developments in voice compression, and quality of service (QoS) mechanisms that provide bandwidth. MultiVoice supports the full range of voice networking, including IP, Frame Relay, and ATM, including ATM AAL1, AAL2, and AAL5. By providing a compete set of solutions for data networking, Ascend's MultiVoice solutions are scalable from the customer premise through the service provider Central Office (CO) and Point of Presence (PoP).
About eFusion
eFusion provides value-added Internet solutions that enable enhanced interactive communications. Their telecom-grade, business-ready solutions bring real-time human interaction to electronic commerce -- allowing consumers to share simultaneous voice and multimedia over a single phone line. The company is located at 14600 NW Greenbrier Parkway, Beaverton, Ore. 97006, and can be reached at 888/4EFUSION, 503/207-6300, via the Internet at efusion.com, or by e-mail at info@efusion.com.
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 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, 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.
Note to Editors: eFusion, Push-to-Talk and the eFusion logo are trademarks of eFusion, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners, and are gratefully acknowledged.
CONTACT: Alexander Communications (For Ascend Communications)
Lee Kallman, 404/897-2300, x332
lkallman@alexandercom.com
or
KVO Public Relations (For eFusion)
Jennifer Guimond, 503/221-2335
jennifer_guimond@kvo.com
or
eFusion, Inc.
Janet Johnson, 503/207-6300, x6432
janet_johnson@efusion.com
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