Telia Selects Ascend Intelligent NetworkTechnology for Number Portability Solution
May 5, 1999 11:41 PM
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 1999--
Telia Denmark Deploys Ascend's World Leading IN Platform for Number Portability; Forms Relationship With Ascend for Further Developments
Ascend Communications, Inc. ASND , a leader in wide area networking (WAN) and Intelligent Network (IN) solutions for providers and users of the next-generation public network, today announced that Telia Network Services has awarded a contract for an IN-based number portability hardware and software solution, to support Telia's operations in Denmark.
Ascend and Telia, the leading telecommunications carrier and service provider in the Nordic/Baltic region, will also form a partnership to further the development of additional services, using Ascend's Intelligent Network platform, which is based on European standards-compliant IN software and fault tolerant hardware.
Telia's initial target application for Ascend's IN platform is to support number portability for customers in Denmark. Number portability allows subscribers to maintain their directory numbers while changing service providers, changing physical location, or changing to a different type of telecommunications service.
Ascend's number portability solution addresses every aspect of number portability, from number administration, to service management, and the network element.
The Ascend IN platform allows Telia to implement number portability, with superior support for high speed, high volume traffic, and the flexibility to enable rapid, cost effective service diversification. This makes it easier to introduce new services -- a clear competitive advantage in the telecom marketplace.
The number portability service will cover both Service Provider Portability -- allowing customers to keep their telephone number when changing access operator, and Location Portability -- allowing customers to keep their telephone number when moving from one physical location to another within the same operator area, in this case the whole of Denmark.
In addition the Ascend IN solution will provide Telia with both access screening -- to verify the subscription of the calling party, and destination screening -- to verify the calling party is allowed to call the chosen destination.
Ascend's Service Management System (SMS) provides the centralised service management capability. The Ascend SMS contains the master Number Portability (NP) database and will manage the replication and synchronisation of data across the IN network, including the Ascend Service Control Point, as well as statistics gathering, alarm monitoring and filtering, report generation, user interface and control functions.
Ascend's Service Control Point (SCP), is an online IN database engine based on:
-- A continuously available Distributed Network Control Platform
(DNCP), with a hardware-based fault tolerant architecture -- with
99.999% availability, it almost eliminates unplanned downtime by
way of complementary self checking logic on each major circuit
board, and duplication of all critical components, so the system
remains running when a partner fails.
-- Ascend's Fault Tolerant UNIX (FTX), a native implementation of
UNIX provides an industry standard open computing environment.
-- SINAP Signaling System 7 (SS7) software platform, installed in
over 60 telecommunications networks worldwide, is a full UNIX
based implementation of the European (ITU/ETSI) and North
American (ANSI) standard SS7 protocol for building and linking IN
elements.
-- Service Creation Environment (SCEnic) a suite of
telecommunications software products to assist in the creation,
provisioning, execution and maintenance of customised IN
applications.
-- Ascend's Advanced Calling Services (ACS), an integrated
multi-service application, will provide the highly flexible call
screening and number portability functionality, as well as the
ability to provide Enhanced Freephone (800), Premium Rate (900)
and televoting services.
"Ascend has unsurpassed experience, and an unparalleled record of success in providing number portability solutions worldwide," said Ingmar Jonsson, director of telephony services at Telia's Network Services business unit.
"Ascend's Intelligent Network technology will significantly add to Telia Denmark's competitiveness in the deregulated carrier landscape, and the scalability and flexibility of Ascend's IN platform holds the promise of further developments for Telia on a corporate level."
From the carrier's perspective, number portability will foster competition, providing equal opportunities for all carriers and service providers, and enable customers to select telephony services based solely on quality and price.
To promote deregulation of the European telecommunications market, the European Union has called for number portability between operators in the Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN) to be introduced in all member states by the year 2000.
"Ascend's Intelligent Network platform is a major component of our Next-Generation Public Network strategy, enabling service providers to provision IN services for both existing circuit-switched networks and emerging Next-Generation integrated voice, data and video networks," said Geert Ramaut, regional director, Northern Europe at Ascend.
"Number portability is a truly business-critical application within the new deregulated competitive market, and we are very pleased to have a major carrier, such as Telia, select our Intelligent Network based solution, enabling superior support for high speed, high volume traffic, and cost-effective service diversification."
Ascend's IN Solution for Number Portability
Ascend has extensive experience deploying IN computer based number portability solutions in the world's leading service providers. Ascend's IN approach to number portability offers several advantages over switch-based solutions because of its superior support for high-speed, high-volume porting traffic, as well as its flexibility to enable rapid, cost-effective service diversification.
IN platforms relieve switching systems of number portability functions by locating this functionality on network elements such as service control point (SCP) databases and service management systems.
About Telia
Telia is the leading supplier of telecom-based information services in the Nordic/Baltic region. At the same time, "seamless" pan-European and global services are being realized through powerful alliances and partnerships in Europe and around the world. Annual turnover in 1998 reached 51,240 Million SEK and the number of employees amounted to approx. 30,600.
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.
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. For Investor Relations, please call our communications hotline at 800/648-3059 or 760/704-4423 (outside the US & Canada). Additional investor information can also be accessed on our Web site at: 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.
In January 1999, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with Lucent Technologies, Inc. ("Lucent"), pursuant to which, each outstanding share of Ascend common stock will be exchanged for 0.825 shares of Lucent common stock and each outstanding option or warrant to purchase Ascend common stock will be converted into an option or warrant to purchase Lucent common stock (adjusted for the exchange ratio).
In February 1999, Lucent announced a two-for-one stock split, payable on April 1, 1999, to shareholders of record as of March 5, 1999. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, the exchange ratio will be adjusted for the effect of this stock split and any similar changes in the capitalization of Lucent.
This release, other than historical financial information, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. For instance, factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from anticipated events or results include the rate of development of new and enhanced technology by Ascend and its competitors, the integration of new businesses, the introduction and market acceptance of new products by Ascend and its competitors, competitive pricing actions and marketing programs, among others. Readers are referred to the documents filed by Ascend Communications with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the most recent reports on forms 10-K and 10-Q, which identify important risk factors which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
|
