Company Press Release
SOURCE: Hayes Corporation
Four Leading Communications Companies Join Forces With V.90 Work
Group Members Pledge to Insure True Interoperability of 56K Standard
NEW YORK, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Bay Networks (NYSE: BAY - news), Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS - news), General DataComm and NewCom (Nasdaq: NWCM - news) today announced commitment to the V.90 Work Group, an association of leading communications companies dedicated to insuring true interoperability between V.90 products. Early
testing amongst top client and server communications companies has revealed high performance interoperability is not
automatic between differing V.90 implementations. In an effort to bring V.90 technology to consumers in the most efficient and
least confusing manner, this group which also includes Ascend Communications, Cisco Systems and Hayes Corporation
(Nasdaq: HAYZ - news), will work together to establish total interoperability between major modem and server providers.
The V.90 standard was determined February 6, 1998 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Final adoption
and ratification of the standard is expected to occur in September 1998. While the newly determined standard provides very
specific methods and techniques for communicating at up to 56K, differences might exist within each company's V.90
implementation, preventing performance that exceeds the current K56flex(TM) and x2(TM) 56K technologies. To prevent
such problems from affecting end users, the V.90 Work Group was formed to insure interoperability testing is completed and
robust performance is documented between major brands.
Each company within the Work Group is responsible for determining when true interoperability is achieved and its individual
products can be released. Members are also free to respond to market pressures, in a responsible manner, through the release
of product with limited V.90 interoperability.
''Bay Networks has always taken a position of providing standards-based solutions to our customers and sees a truly
interoperable V.90 standard as critical to the simplified flow of information that is Bay Networks' hallmark,'' said Jeff Wolf,
Product Manager for Signal Processing Products, Bay Networks. ''Bay Networks is actively supporting this interoperability by
working with our customers to help them with the migration to V.90, while continuing to develop the software to ensure that x2,
K56flex and V.90 interoperate efficiently at the highest possible speeds.''
''As an early ITU technical advisor in developing the V.90 standard, we have taken a proactive role in supporting
interoperability testing,'' said Karl Nordling, vice president of modem engineering at Cirrus Logic. ''Our relationship with the
V.90 Work Group reinforces our commitment to efforts that enable proprietary 56K and V.90 modem implementations to
communicate seamlessly.''
Charles P. Johnson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General DataComm, Inc., said, ''We at General DataComm are
looking forward to contributing to the V.90 Work Group. Our customers --- which include telephone companies throughout
the world, many Fortune 1000 companies, and our technology licensees --- have high standards for interoperability and
performance. General DataComm is committed to meeting these standards.'' Johnson continued, ''It is in the interests of
everyone in the industry to have a forum like the V.90 Work Group, so that potential equipment interoperability issues can be
discovered and resolved before they impact the systems of end users.''
''The reason standards boards like the ITU set or determine standards is to allow consumers to buy products that interoperate
with correlative products on the market,'' said Ron Howard, CEO of Hayes. ''Hayes and other Work Group participants are
committed to assuring our existing K56flex and x2 products are interoperable using V.90. Any company releasing 'so-called
V.90' products before interoperability exists, without clearly stating its limitations, would be doing a great disservice to end
users.''
''NewCom is committed to selling communications products that interoperate with all applicable industry standards,'' said
David Harralson, NewCom's Vice President of Engineering. ''To this end, NewCom supports the aims and goals of the V.90
work group to ensure true V.90 interoperability and compatibility.''
The Work Group is open to all communications companies. For further information about the V.90 Work Group, contact Bill
Taylor, Vice President of Marketing, Hayes Corporation at (770) 840-9200, x 6341 or btaylor@hayes.com.
Ascend Communications, Inc. 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.
Bay Networks, Inc. is a leader in the worldwide networking market, providing a complete line of products that serve corporate
enterprises, service providers and telecommunications carriers. The company offers frame and ATM switches, routers, shared
media, remote and Internet access solutions, IP services and network management applications, all integrated by Bay
Networks' Adaptive Networking strategy. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, Bay Networks markets its products
and services around the world, providing 7x24 support coverage. For additional information, visit the company's World Wide
Web site at baynetworks.com or call 800-8-BAYNET.
Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of system-level integrated circuits that demand high-performance mixed-signal processing.
The company applies its system expertise to enable high-volume applications in data storage, networking, and multimedia for
both computing and consumer electronics markets as well as ultra-precision data acquisition applications for industrial
automation and instrumentation markets. For more information about Cirrus Logic, visit the company's web site at
cirrus.com
GDC (http://www.gdc.com) is an acknowledged leader in the design, development, and manufacture of multiservice
communications systems for service providers and enterprise businesses. It owns an extensive portfolio of patents, particularly
in the area of analog modem technology, as a result of thirty years of pioneering in the industry. The company has been an
active participant in all of the major modem standards committees, including the EIA/TIA (United States) and the ITU-T
(International). General DataComm's innovative COLOSSAS(TM) architecture includes the flagship STROBOS(TM) and
GDC APEX(R) multiservice switching platforms, used extensively within the world's largest public ATM Wide Area
Networks, and a broad range of Advanced Network Access products to provide integrated E1, T1, IDSL, and HDSL access
to public and private networks, all managed under a distributed, open network management framework, ProSphere(TM).
GDC is headquartered in Connecticut, USA, and has an extensive network of subsidiaries and partners located throughout
North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific Rim.
Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hayes Corporation,
a publicly-traded company, markets its ULTRA(TM), ACCURA(TM), OPTIMA(TM), Practical Peripherals(TM),
Cardinal(TM) and CENTURY(TM) brands of analog, digital and cable modems, remote access servers and terminal adapters
along with Smartcom(TM) communications software worldwide. Today, with distributors in more than 45 countries, it is one of
the largest manufacturers of modems in the world. For more information about Hayes and the company's award-winning
products, visit the Hayes Web site at hayes.com.
Founded in 1994 as a subsidiary of Aura Systems, Inc., NewCom, now a publicly held company has quickly emerged as a
leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of leading-edge communications products for the personal computer
market. Headquarted in Westlake Village, CA, NewCom designs high-speed V.90 data/fax modems compliant with both the
x2 and K56flex protocols, an internet set-top appliance (WebPala), the e-Cama for video e- mail communication, and other
innovative products the world depends on for the efficient flow of information. For more information about NewCom, call
(818) 597-3200 or visit their web site at newcominc.com.
K56Flex is a trademark of Lucent Technologies, Inc. and Rockwell International Corporation. x2 is a trademark of U.S.
Robotics. Other trademarks are trademarks of their respective companies.
''Safe Harbor'' statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward looking
statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products and
pricing, product demand and market acceptance, new product development, reliance on key strategic alliances, availability of
raw materials, the regulatory environment, fluctuations in operating results and other risks detailed from time to time in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: Hayes Corporation |
