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

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (56919)	11/7/1998 10:56:00 PM
From: The Phoenix	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

Frank, They can't. It's a move by Singtel that was no doubt influenced by price and or financing or something other than IP functionality and resume of installing carrier grade IP nets. I can't believe they would deploy an IP service with ASND products at the edge. I think ASND makes kick-ass ATM and frame products but IP is not their core competence. This is going to be a huge challenge for ASND - to deploy a carrier grade IP net - and to support it from 9000 miles away. Eeeesh. OG

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (56919)	11/8/1998 7:14:00 AM
From: H.A.M.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

Can you or someone else here tell me what the hardware platform is within ASND's product line that is going to satisfy the IP component of their claim? Frank, I have no idea about the contract details but according to the press release, "Ascend will provide Frame Relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and IP products that will form the backbone of StarHub's network. This includes Ascend's GX550, CBX500 and STDX9000 switches." The GX 550 is an ATM switch utilized at the WAN core. The CBX 500 is a multiservice switch, which enables an ISP or a carrier to deliver native ATM, Frame Relay, and IP services on a single, high capacity platform, and by directly interfacing their ATM backbone to IP-based file servers, service providers eliminate the need for two separate pieces of equipment and two separate management systems. The B-STDX 9000 is also a multiservice switch, which offers a combination of Frame Relay, ATM, SMDS, ISDN, and IP technology in one platform, and it also offers a higher level of voice, SNA, video, LAN interconnect, Internet and intranet access services in a single, manageable platform. Ascend's software IP Navigator runs on the three switches above (GX 550, CBX 500, and B-STDX 9000). It adds full IP routing capability to Ascend's switches. It is also the only solution that allows service providers to build highly scalable switched IP WANs using native IP routing protocols such as OSPF, BGP-4 and RIP, while utilizing a high speed ATM or Frame Relay backbone network with its inherent end-to-end QoS and bandwidth management capabilities. I see nothing "bogus" in the press release. StarHub's senior vice president said, "We looked at all the major network vendors in the market and Ascend is a clear leader in this field. Their architecture will allow us to provide the high quality solutions for our customers." I think he knows what he is talking about. One of the encouraging things in the report from Singapore is that there seems to be no slowdown in spending from the East Asian telecom carriers on vital next generation technology. Ascend should be one of those who will benefit from that trend due to their superior technology. Hisham