LEADING VENDORS AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS UNITE TO ACCELERATE USE OF NEW INTERNET TELEPHONY STANDARD (SIP) Melville, NY-- August 9, 1999: Engineering groups representing leading vendors and research organizations met to jointly test the operation of their Internet telephony products at the offices of pulver.com in Melville last week. The technology "bake-off" was the second event organized to test the interoperability of software and hardware devices using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). SIP can set up and configure Internet telephone calls and multimedia sessions. This protocol was approved in March by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the standards-body governing the technical foundations of products used on the Internet. Participants at the interoperability event linked their products to one another's to test that the devices will work with each other across the Internet. Beyond the basic call setup, participants tested advanced features such as call forwarding, secure registration for portable numbers, automatic call distribution, call cancellation, loop detection, and functionality for web-based call centers. Internet telephony carries telephone conversations as Internet packets rather than the current digital circuits. It promises high-quality voice and multimedia, improved network efficiency, rich computer-telephony integration, advanced services, an open market for providers, and reduced costs for consumers. New services include a single identifier ("universal address") for phone, cellular, fax, email, and paging; user control over incoming calls; and easy integration between email, web, and telephone services. According to a study by the investment bank Piper Jaffray Inc., the IP telephony market will increase to $14.7 billion by 2003. (In 1997, 70 million minutes, less than 0.1 percent of the total call volume, went over IP networks. In four years, the report predicts, this will increase to 70 billion minutes, about 6.1% of all calls.) Organizations participating in the interoperability testing came from Canada, France, and the United States. They included: 3Com (NASD:COMS), 8x8 (NASD:EGHT), Bell Labs (NYSE:LU), BroadSoft, Cisco Systems (NASD:CSCO), Columbia University, dynamicsoft, Ericsson Inc. (NASD:ERICY), MCI WorldCom (NASD:WCOM), Mitel Corp (NYSE:MLT)., Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT), Pingtel Corp., and the University of Waterloo "The message here is that SIP is gaining more momentum with PBX Ethernet phones and virtual switches. The impact of this could be the availability of the feature set envisioned with AIN twenty plus years ago." said Jeff Pulver, CEO of pulver.com. Henning Schulzrinne of Columbia University, co-author of the SIP specification and host of the first SIP bake-off in April, said "The second bake-off allowed more mature implementations to test advanced features like security and proxying, while newer implementations could quickly discover interoperability problems. It also established that a single PBX or Internet-based next-generation phone network can combine servers, Internet phones, PC clients, and gateways from different vendors and function reliably. All participants are looking forward to the next bake-off in a few months." Details about future interoperability tests of other advanced features offered by SIP are not yet available. "8x8 sees SIP as an essential component of IntraSwitch, its multi-protocol Java IP-PBX." said Frederic Artru, General Manager of 8x8's Network Software Division. "With faster development, SIP will be able to evolve quicker than other IP protocols. The results at this SIP bake-off have clearly shown the huge potential for multi-vendor solutions to interoperate seamlessly. SIP is definitely becoming the HTTP of IP-telephony." "The SIP Bakeoff is an ideal forum for the industry to validate the SIP standard and promote interoperability," according to Alex Doyle, Development Manager at BroadSoft. "BroadSoft is a company committed to providing enhanced, value-added services on packet networks. By establishing an environment to promote vendor interoperability, the Bakeoff is key to ensuring that enhanced services can run seamlessly across SIP networks." "Interoperability of dynamicsoft's jSIP product is one of our development team's top priorities," said Dana Stetson, dynamicsoft vice president of sales. "Participating in a forum like the SIP Bake-Off is just one of the ways Ericsson supports the interoperability of IP Telephony networks and the development of standards" said Mark Miller, director of Datacom Networks and IP Services for Ericsson. "We want to thank Jeff for hosting a forum that allows us to assure our customers of complete interoperability." "This event gives participating vendors like Pingtel an opportunity to bullet-proof our products by doing extensive multi-vendor interoperability testing," said Jay Batson, CEO of Pingtel. "Successful implementations of SIP are moving at 'Internet-speed.' This is the second SIP testing event for us in just four months, and the technical advancement among the vendors is breathtaking. In a very short time, customers will be seeing new products that solve many business problems using SIP- based IP telephony." More information about SIP can be found at http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/sip. More information about pulver.com and its Voice on the Net conferences which cover the convergence of Internet and telephony can be found at: www.pulver.com For additional information, contact the press relations department of any of the participating organizations: With more than 200 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people to information in more ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access products and network system solutions to large, medium and small enterprises; carriers and network service providers; PC OEMs; and consumers. (www.3com.com) 8x8 is a leading manufacturer of digital telecommunication products, including both central office and customer premise equipment for Internet Protocol (IP) telephony. By leveraging its vertically integrated technology, the Company provides complete IP telephony solutions to service providers such as ISPs, ILECs, CLECs and cable TV system operators, and to telecommunications equipment manufacturers. For more information, visit 8x81s web site at http://www.8x8.com. BroadSoft is the leader in service creation platforms for next generation networks. BroadSoft's mission is to bring powerful services to operators on a single, integrated platform, enabling the rapid and economical design and deployment of new services, while providing quick response to customer concerns and needs. BroadSoft is located on the I-270 Technology Corridor in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, and on the Web at www.broadsoft.com. Cisco Systems, Inc. is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco continues to expand the current line of multiservice solutions designed to enable Service Providers' customers to migrate their data networks to a single integrated data, voice, and video network. Cisco's multiservice products protect Service Providers' investments in technology, education, and training by providing scalable solutions that grow with their customers' requirements. These products also enable Service Providers to offer integrated voice services like VoIP or multiplexed voice/data, while providing a migration path to packet voice without needing to change equipment. (www.cisco.com) dynamicsoft is the leading supplier of Java technology-based software solutions that enable communications equipment manufacturers and service providers to deliver voice/fax and enhanced applications in converged networks. Receiving Internet Telephony Magazine's "Product of the Year" award, dynamicsoft's Java technology-based jVoIP framework combines a standards-based open architecture with innovative technologies to enable exceptional quality, scalability and configurability. Visit dynamicsoft at www.dynamicsoft.com. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. (www.ericsson.com) Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. (www.lucent.com) Mitel Corporation is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of telecommunications products. With its headquarters in Kanata, Ontario, Canada, and 74 offices and manufacturing facilities worldwide, Mitel employs more that 6,300 people. Nortel Networks delivers value to customers around the world through Unified Networks* solutions, spanning mission-critical telephony and IP-optimized networks. Customers include public and private enterprises and institutions; Internet service providers; local, long-distance, cellular and PCS communications companies, cable television carriers, and utilities. Nortel Networks' common shares are listed on the New York, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and London stock exchanges. Nortel Networks had 1998 revenues of US$17.6 billion and has approximately 75,000 employees worldwide. (www.nortel.com) Pingtel is building hardware and software products for use in business telephone systems. A development-stage company backed by major industry and venture partners, Pingtel will announce and release its products later in 1999. The company is based in the 128 corridor near Boston, and more information can be found on the web at www.pingtel.com. Contact: Donna Levy, pulver.com Phone: (516) 547-0800 Fax: (516) 396-7870 Email: donna@pulver.com Contact: Prof. Henning Schulzrinne Dept. of Computer Science Columbia University New York, NY 10027 phone: 212 939 7042 fax: 212 666 0140 email: hgs@cs.columbia.edu