Covergence Announces Support for AdvancedTCA Solution.

Support for Industry-Standard Platform Helps Providers Reduce Costs, Complexity at Access Edge

MAYNARD, Mass. -- Covergence, Inc. the leader in scaling, securing and controlling VoIP and other real-time services at the access edge, today announced that its Eclipse[TM] access-edge Session Border Controller (aSBC) now supports the Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) standard. The Covergence Eclipse-ATCA solution delivers the full implementation of the award-winning Eclipse aSBC as a blade within an ATCA chassis.

Covergence's Eclipse aSBC combines traditional session-border-control functionality with comprehensive security features and management tools to allow service providers to predictably scale performance, reliability and quality at the access edge of the network. Eclipse also enables the rapid deployment of new revenue-generating services such as presence-enabled instant messaging (IM), audio, video, multimedia conferencing, click-to-dial and others. With the new Eclipse-ATCA solution, providers can further reduce the time and cost of deploying new, next-generation network services.

Over the last decade the telecom industry has been moving away from proprietary hardware and software solutions. The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) defines the components and standard interfaces for the software elements of Next Generation Networks (NGN), while the ATCA initiative defines the standards and interfaces necessary for the creation of a common hardware platform for NGN solutions.

"Vendor support for the ATCA standard is required for service providers to get the full cost benefits from their investments in Next Generation Networks (NGN) and the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)," said Joe McGarvey, senior analyst, carrier IP telephony infrastructure, Current Analysis. "Covergence's support for the ATCA standard means that the award-winning Eclipse access-edge session border controller, with its comprehensive security and management capability, can now be deployed as a blade within an ATCA chassis at the access edge of NGN networks."

"It has always been clear to us that service providers must be able to leverage standards to maintain their competitive edge," said Bob O'Neil, CEO and president, Covergence. "We have always leveraged standard hardware platforms to reduce costs and increase our customer's ability to quickly deploy new services. The move to ATCA was a natural extension of our existing business strategy."

The ATCA standard has been defined by the PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group (PICMG) and provides a common hardware platform and flexible architecture for modular application deployment. A single ATCA chassis houses multiple circuit boards, known as blades, which enables service providers to use the same chassis for multiple applications. The ATCA platform reduces both the capital and operating expenses associated with building out NGN networks. Just as importantly, ATCA's modular and flexible architecture reduces the time it takes to deploy new, revenue-generating services.

"By utilizing Intel[R]-based Modular Communications Platforms, Covergence can offer its customers the best price/performance possible," said Keate Despain, director of marketing, Modular Communications Platform Division, Intel Corporation. "A standards-based approach enables Covergence to bring its solution to market more quickly and ensures that the company's customers will be able to utilize the latest trends in high-speed interconnect technologies, next-generation processors and improved reliability, manageability and serviceability for their networks."

Eclipse was developed to meet a full range of needs from the small to medium-sized business (SMB) market all the way up to the world's largest service providers. The new Eclipse-ATCA solution is available from Covergence immediately and can be purchased by contacting [e-mail] or by calling 978.823.5200.

About Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture

The Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture, known as ATCA, is the latest development in standardized hardware platforms defined by the PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group (PICMG). The PICMG (http://www.picmg.org/) is a consortium of over 450 companies that collaboratively develop open specifications for high performance telecommunications and computing applications.

About Covergence

Covergence is the leader in scaling, securing and controlling VoIP and other real-time services at the access edge. The Covergence Eclipse[TM] series of access-edge session border controllers combines traditional session-border-control functionality with comprehensive security features and management tools. The Eclipse is purpose-built to securely and reliably connect users to VoIP and multi-media services while giving organizations the complete control and visibility they require. For more information, visit www.covergence.com.

Covergence and Covergence Eclipse are registered trademarks of Covergence. Intel and Intel NetStructure are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.