[January 2, 2002]

Tekelec Extends Partnership With Orange UK

Tekelec (NASDAQ:TKLC) announced that mobile operator, Orange UK, has completed the transition and expansion of its global system for mobile communications (GSM) network to an IP-transport signaling solution provided by Tekelec.

Orange UK has replaced 90 percent of its time division multiplex (TDM)-based signaling network with Tekelec's next-generation technology, representing the first large-scale deployment of an international IP signaling network. Tekelec's solution has enabled Orange UK to expand its signaling network to support its 12.2 million-strong customer base.

The IP signaling network provides the scalable bandwidth required to address rapid subscriber growth in a cost-effective, dynamic manner and enables the delivery of data services such as short message service (SMS) and pay-as-you-go (prepay). Tekelec IP7 Secure Gateways provide translations and signaling for central network routing and call control. The gateways use an IP interface to connect with Tekelec IP7 Edge devices, supporting over 10,000 equivalent SS7 signaling links in the network.

"We recently doubled our network signaling and global title translation (GTT) capacity; this took only two months to complete," explained Graham Baxter, Head of Network Design, Orange UK. "In the past, adding the equivalent amount of capacity in the TDM network would have taken at least 18 months. An IP-based signaling network is simple to maintain and scale, and allows Orange UK to roll out revenue-generating services quickly without being limited by network infrastructure capacity constraints and long engineering lead times. Tekelec's solution provides Orange UK with a technologically advanced, scaleable, and cost-effective signaling network which meets all of our foreseeable needs and maintains our strong position with regards to offering next-generation services to our customers in the future."

David Colbeck, managing director, Tekelec Limited, and vice president for Europe, commented, "We are extremely pleased to extend our partnership with Orange UK. The state-of-the-art network will benefit Orange UK's customers, providing reliable, high-quality mobile service, along with a host of value-added services. Orange UK has taken an important evolutionary step to lay the groundwork for the eventual migration of its core network to a third-generation (3G) mobile system."

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