Siemens (News - Alert) Partners with Crossbeam Systems on Carrier-Class UTM

Crossbeam Systems, provider of unified threat management (UTM) solutions,
announced a partnership with Siemens Networks, which supplies telecom
equipment and service to customers in 190 countries. Under the terms of the
agreement, Siemens will deploy and support Crossbeam's complete line of
industry-leading UTM platforms across its global carrier and mobile operator
customer base.

With this partnership, Siemens combines world-class integration and
management services with Crossbeam's UTM equipment to offer an
unparalleled and complete security solution. As an established global security
integrator, Siemens has deep operational experience that lets carriers protect
their infrastructure and deliver new content services like parental controls with
a uniform and consistently managed infrastructure.

The traditional approach to carrier and mobile network security has focused
on securing the edge of the network.With the convergence of voice, video, data
and wireless services and the emergence of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (News - Alert)(IMS), new security risks will increase dramatically, requiring an integrated approach that spans edge, infrastructure and managed services. Partnering with Crossbeam enables Siemens’ carrier and mobile customers to deliver ondemand security services and solutions from the network cloud to address these new vulnerabilities.

"The convergence of voice, video, data and wireless services, require carriers and mobile operators to deploy a more flexible security solution that dynamically
adapts to new and increasingly complex security threats," said Peter George,
CEO, Crossbeam Systems. "This partnership is a win-win. Siemens is now
delivering industry-leading UTM security to its global customer base and
Crossbeam is leveraging Siemens extensive integration and management
services."

Crossbeam Systems X-Series and C-Series equipment delivers flexible,
scalable network security in perimeter, core, and data center architectures.
Carriers and mobile operators use the X-Series to deliver a new generation of
virtualized services such as firewall, VPN and intrusion prevention.
Crossbeam UTM technology provides a highly-consolidated, security services
solution that allows service providers to deploy the most appropriate security
measures from inside the services cloud, out to where they are needed most.

"By partnering with Crossbeam Systems, Siemens can now offer high-end
UTM solutions to fixed and mobile networks that are increasingly threatened
by complex Internet-borne attacks.These multi-application security switches
increase security while lowering operational costs for our customers," said
Daniel-Rui Felicio, President of the Carrier Services division at Siemens.

www.siemens.com/networks

Integra5 Offers Sneak Peek of New SMS
to TV Application

Integra5, which enables cable and IPTV (News - Alert) service providers to blend quadruple play bundles into converged services for simultaneous delivery across TVs and PCs, demonstrated SMS to TV, the next addition to its i-Communicate application suite for the award-winning i5 Converged Services Delivery Platform (i5 C-SDP) at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES (News - Alert)) in January.

At the demo, visitors were be able to send a text message from a cell phone to a TV in a real-world, home-based scenario.The text message is then displayed on the TV and the visitor can then use the TV remote to reply to the message with pre-set
responses, or to trigger a "click to call" response that initiates a call between the home landline phone and the cell phone that sent the text message. If the person
sending the text message has been personalized via the i5 network address book, the SMS will be flagged with a picture and nickname of the sender on the TV
screen similar to Integra5's Picture Caller ID service.

"The initial focus of wireless integration with the residential triple play has been on moving TV functions to cell phones, such as remotely programming DVRs," said Dr. Eyal Bartfeld, cofounder and EVP of Integra5. "The i5 C-SDP adds an entirely new dimension to the quad play by moving cell phone functions to in-home devices such as TVs and PCs so subscribers can receive and send text messages on devices of their choice."

The IMS-compatible i5 C-SDP features patented technology and is based on a distributed, networkbased architecture.The architecture enables real-time delivery of content and communications across quad play services including voice, video, data and wireless. Moreover, it supports scalability up to millions of subscribers, and provides application-level personalization across multiple set-top boxes, PCs and telephone lines within the home.

www.integra5.com

MetaSwitch (News - Alert) Tops Market

By Cindy Waxer

By unveiling its multimedia-enhanced telephony architecture for migration
of carrier networks from legacy circuit-switching to IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-based services, as well as COMPETE!, a new IMSbased telephony solution aimed at the cable market, MetaSwitch has managed to move into a top spot in North America's Class 5 softswitch market, according to industry analyst firm Infonetics Research.

According to a recent Infonetics report,MetaSwitch has emerged as the
leading vendor in the Class 5 softswitch category for North America, based
on the number of subscriber licenses sold - and is positioned for significant
expansion into new markets during 2007.

According to data, MetaSwitch owns a 46 percent share of the North American market by license shipments, having moved into the number one position in the previous quarter. In total, across the two most recently reported quarters, MetaSwitch shipped over 2.5 million licenses, compared with less than 1.7 million for its nearest competitor.

"MetaSwitch is making a compelling case for itself as the leading provider of Class 5 softswitches in the North American market, and potentially further afield," said Stephane Teral, principal analyst, Service Provider VoIP, IMS, and FMC practice at Infonetics Research.

MetaSwitch announced several key technology enhancements during 2006
that enabled it to dramatically expand its customer base including the release of its multimedia-enhanced telephony architecture and COMPETE.This new platform enables cable operators to offer voice services to both business and residential customers, including services such as hosted PBX (News - Alert), unified communications and converged T1 services over IP.

Carriers have deployed MetaSwitch-based services in all 50 states, Canada, and the Caribbean.They range from incumbent operators of all sizes to rapidly-
expanding competitive providers and cable companies.Analysts suggest that a key trend driving MetaSwitch's success is that carriers are migrating to VoIP faster than ever, with the focus shifting from long distance (Class 4) applications to local exchange (Class 5) services.

www.metaswitch.com

Avaya (News - Alert) Will Buy Ubiquity for $141M

By Greg Galitzine
Avaya announced it will buy Ubiquity Software (News - Alert) Corp.
for 74.3 million pounds or about $144 million. Ubiquity's core software product is one of the leading software platforms for the development and delivery of SIP end-user applications.

Mickey Tsui vice president of global communications solutions at Avaya, said, "We believe that the addition of Ubiquity's next-generation software platform to Avaya's portfolio will help customers and developers enhance the integration of communications technologies and
business processes"

Ian McLaren, chief executive of Ubiquity, said, "The offer by Avaya marks an important milestone in the development of Ubiquity. We believe that there are strong synergies between Ubiquity's core software platform, service creation framework and applications and Avaya's portfolio of enterprise products. As part of the Avaya group, we believe that Ubiquity will be well positioned to gain access to Avaya's customer base and the resources to exploit the opportunities we see in the emerging telecommunications marketplace."

The tender offer has been unanimously
recommended by the board of directors of Ubiquity. The purchase is expected to be funded with Avaya's existing cash resources.

Ubiquity provides deployment platforms, applications, development tools and integration technology for converged voice, video and data services.Their flagship SIP Application Server (SIP A/S) is deployed with several of the world's largest telecommunications carriers.

According to Yankee Group (News - Alert), the market for SIP-based Application Servers will reach $4.7 billion by 2009. Yankee Group also believes the advent of IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) within carrier IP core networks will further drive the adoption of such products.

www.avaya.com and www.ubiquitysoftware.com

T-Mobile (News - Alert) Germany Signs Deal with Tekelec

Tekelec (News - Alert), a developer of high-performance network applications for next-generation fixed, mobile and packet networks, announced a project to upgrade the signaling network of T-Mobile Germany.

The upgrade introduces Sigtran, the Internet protocol (IP)-based Signaling System 7 (SS7) signaling, enabling T-Mobile to make a smooth transition to IP-based platforms and services. The deployment, which began in October 2006, will be completed by the middle of 2007.

Tekelec's EAGLE 5 Integrated Signaling System (ISS) supports a
variety of applications in addition to SS7 signaling, including gateway
functionality, number portability and integrated data acquisition.

"We selected Tekelec because of its proven track record in delivering reliable, high-quality signaling solutions," said Uwe Janssen, vice president of Core Network Engineering at T-Mobile. "Call control and security are essential elements in ensuring that the service we offer our customers is of the highest quality. The EAGLE 5 platform will enable us to do this in the most cost-effective and efficient way."

Introducing Sigtran (SS7oIP) into the signaling network is the "stepping stone" for migrating to session initiation protocol (SIP) signaling in an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) architecture. The introduction of standards-based Sigtran, which is fully compatible with the existing SS7 signaling network, increases signaling capacity at a lower cost. The underlying IP infrastructure can be leveraged for the parallel evolution from SS7 to SIP - as SIP signaling is able to traverse over the same quality of service-enabled IP network.

Wolrad Claudy, Tekelec's managing director in the Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia region, added, "By addressing the challenges not only for tomorrow but also for today, T-Mobile will remain at the forefront of the communications industry in a period of major technological change."

www.tekelec.com

Mobile Video Calling Made Possible by IMS

By Erik Linask

One of the main factors in enabling many of the new features available to mobile users is the advances in and adoption of IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) architectures
by carriers worldwide. AT&T (formerly Cingular (News - Alert)), in fact, recently deployed its IMS platform by Alcatel-Lucent, and is already taking advantage by adding yet another communications feature available to home and business users and adding it to its wireless service. Beginning later this year, AT&T (News - Alert) customers will be able to make wireless video calls using their video capture-capable mobile devices.

Soon, moms and dads nationwide will no longer have to miss their children's first steps, first baseball game, or other
milestone events.With this new service from AT&T - the first mobile service of its kind in the United States - callers
will be able to send a live video stream to a recipient during a standard voice call.While on a standard voice call, users can, by pushing a single button, add a live video stream to the call, so the call recipient is able to see what the camera on the first phone sees while continuing the conversation. All the called party is required to do is accept an invitation to initiate the video stream on his handset.

AT&T demonstrated its newest service in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where visitors got a first hand glimpse into the true capabilities of a 3G network working with an IMS platform - a true outlook into the future of wireless services.

www.alcatel-lucent.com
www.att.com
www.thenewatt.com

Dialogic (News - Alert) Intros Multimedia Processing Platform for AdvancedTCA

By Susan J. Campbell

The availability of Dialogic Multimedia Platform for AdvancedTCA (News - Alert) has been announced by Dialogic Corporation.This is the industry's first multimedia processing platform for the AdvancedTCA architecture.
A provider of world class products and technologies for media processing,
Dialogic now offers this powerful and cost-effective product to be used to
deliver applications such as voice and video mail, color ringback tones,
unified messaging and audio conferencing over IP and PSTN interfaces in
wireline and wireless environments using standard protocols for session and
media control.

The platform offers an integration of an extended implementation of Dialogic's
Host Media Processing (HMP) software with an AdvancedTCA single board
computer.This computer will include two Dual-Core Intel (News - Alert) Xeon LV 2.0 GHz
processors that are designed to boost multitasking computing power.
"Our customers are looking for a path to higher density media solutions that
will allow them to deliver their unique application services into the demanding
environment of carriers," stated Jim Machi, vice president of marketing for
Dialogic, in a statement on Monday.

This media platform addresses the scalability and price-performance demands
in the Service Provider market.According to Machi, the assignment of
processor-intensive operations to the mezzanine card leaves more power for
host media processing.With the core processing algorithms being hosted on
the CPU, the platform has the flexibility to meet ever increasing functional,
operational and mobility demands through software-only revisions.
Dialogic Multimedia Platform for AdvancedTCA is the first open standards
multimedia processor on AdvancedTCA and AdvancedMC (News - Alert) that combines the
benefits of HMP and DSP technologies and continues the company's focus on
innovation to deliver cost-effective solutions to the telecom industry.
Early adopter customers are counting on this promise, and service providers are
demanding solutions that maximize reusability while offering investment
protection as they invest in IMS infrastructures.This multimedia platform is
designed to appeal to service providers who have been burned by early
adoption investments in the past.

High-density voice, as well as other applications in both a wireline and wireless
environment is in huge demand, yet providers want reusability of systems as
new infrastructures are a significant investment.Offering these carriers the
ability to make updates through software-only revisions is significant in that
they will be able to quickly meet customer demand.
www.dialogic.com

www.dialogic.com

Huawei (News - Alert) Intros Fixed/mobile-compatible
IMS 3.0

By Johanne Torres

Huawei introduced the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 3.0 solution recently.The company introduced this commercially available system as an open architecture
so that service, platform and terminal providers can develop multimedia services.

Huawei IMS 3.0 reportedly complies with both 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and TISPAN (Telecoms & Internet converged Services & Protocols for
Advanced Networks).With Huawei IMS 3.0 in place, carriers can create a subscriber-focused architecture based on FMC and CT-IT convergence.This solution will
address many of the challenges operators face today, including intense competition and the need to continually and quickly add new and more advanced services.

"With this solution, carriers can create a subscriberfocused architecture based on FMC and CT-IT convergence, which opens up network and service capabilities, and promotes a healthy environment for
IMS applications," said Wang Jiading, vice president, Huawei Technologies Middle East and North Africa Operations.

With this solution, carriers will be able to accelerate their migration from their existing networks to an FMC network smoothly, with considerable investment protection. It offers a simplified migration process and can significantly lower CapEx and OpEx for the carriers as they transform their service delivery platforms.

"With the deployment of the IMS 3.0 solution, we believe that open, converged All-IP architecture will become a platform for innovations, through which carriers, consumers and our partners in services, platform and terminal domains will benefit," said Ding Yun, president of Huawei core network. "Carriers will easily be able to consolidate resources, information and customer requirements and, at the same time, continue to release cutting-edge services."

www.huawei.com.