Ceon Announces IP Provisioning Server for MSO Market; IEM Provides Full Provisioning Support for PacketCable Compliant Devices.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Cable 2002

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2002

Ceon Corporation, the Intelligent Service Fulfillment Company(TM), introduced today its Ceon Intelligent Element Manager (Ceon IEM), a complete IP provisioning platform featuring DNS/DHCP/TFTP/TOD functionality for cable equipment in the customer's home. With this product introduction, Ceon expands its provisioning capabilities to the head-end of the MSO network and beyond to provide full provisioning support for DOCSIS and, later this summer, PacketCable(TM) compliant voice and data devices. Ceon IEM makes it easy for customers to self-provision service, and helps service providers save money by eliminating manual steps and truck rolls.

"Our IEM product truly makes Ceon a complete end-to-end provisioning solution for an MSO's voice, video and data provisioning needs," said Wade Vesey, Executive VP of Marketing and Business Development of Ceon. "The Ceon IEM product is commercially available today, and later this summer PacketCable compliant."

The addition of Ceon IEM to Ceon Integration and Provisioning Suite (Ceon IPS 4.0) will offer a complete provisioning solution for MSOs. Ceon IEM allows service providers to implement either one or both of the following workflow models:

-- Reliability - Ceon IEM provides high reliability, supporting autonomous
head-ends, multiple Device Provisioning Engines (DPEs) -- each of which
includes its own data-caching repository -- a Trivial File Transfer Protocol
(TFTP) server, and a Time-of-Day (ToD) server. During central server outages or
communication problems, Ceon IEM provides continued service to existing
registered subscribers.

-- Scalability and performance - Ceon IEM can support millions of devices in
distributed deployments. Ceon IEM uses multiple DPEs to balance processing of
device requests. A single DPE can support up to 250,000 devices, which can be
combined in groups to provide redundancy and load sharing. Ceon IEM uses a
Regional Distribution Unit (RDU) to handle service requests and modifications.
A single enterprise-class RDU server in conjunction with the appropriate number
of DPE groups can support up to five million devices with a sustained rate of
hundreds of thousands of new devices a day.

-- Integration with current systems - Ceon IEM as part of Ceon IPS integrates
with existing service provider systems, such as billing systems, operations
support systems (OSSs), and other network elements. It can also notify
interested applications of certain events within the system through an
event-notification registration procedure.

-- Extendable technology support - Ceon IEM supports DOCSIS (CableLabs
Certified) cable modems, and Internet telephone cable modems (ITCMs) and it
also can be extended to support other Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP)-based devices.

Ceon IEM is a fast, secure, and scalable system for provisioning tiered services on devices. It is designed for:

-- Reliability - Ceon IEM provides high reliability, supporting autonomous
head-ends, multiple Device Provisioning Engines (DPEs) -- each of which
includes its own data-caching repository -- a Trivial File Transfer Protocol
(TFTP) server, and a Time-of-Day (ToD) server. During central server outages or
communication problems, Ceon IEM provides continued service to existing
registered subscribers.

-- Scalability and performance - Ceon IEM can support millions of devices in
distributed deployments. Ceon IEM uses multiple DPEs to balance processing of
device requests. A single DPE can support up to 250,000 devices, which can be
combined in groups to provide redundancy and load sharing. Ceon IEM uses a
Regional Distribution Unit (RDU) to handle service requests and modifications.
A single enterprise-class RDU server in conjunction with the appropriate number
of DPE groups can support up to five million devices with a sustained rate of
hundreds of thousands of new devices a day.

-- Integration with current systems - Ceon IEM as part of Ceon IPS integrates
with existing service provider systems, such as billing systems, operations
support systems (OSSs), and other network elements. It can also notify
interested applications of certain events within the system through an
event-notification registration procedure.

-- Extendable technology support - Ceon IEM supports DOCSIS (CableLabs
Certified) cable modems, and Internet telephone cable modems (ITCMs) and it
also can be extended to support other Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP)-based devices.

About Ceon

Ceon's mission is to develop software platforms that automate the delivery of any communications service and content over any network at any time or place the customer chooses. Ceon's platforms integrate seamlessly over existing carrier systems, enabling streamlined provisioning for mass-deployment. Ceon's unique Integration & Provisioning Suite 4 (Ceon IPS 4.0) is unparalleled in flexibility and scalability, and specifically is designed for top tier carriers. Ceon IPS 4.0 offers its customers significant competitive advantages by dramatically lowering operating expenses, generating revenue faster, and creating the flexibility to bundle multiple services for higher profitability. Ceon IPS 4.0 with the new addition of Ceon IEM provides a complete provisioning solution for MSOs, enabling true self-provisioning. A privately held company headquartered in Redwood City, California, Ceon has regional sales offices in North America and Europe. For more information visit www.ceon.com or contact [e-mail].

Note to Editors: Ceon is a trademark of Ceon Corporation. All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective holders.