DSET Announces General Availability of LSR Order Gateway To Connect CLECs with ILECs at ALTS Convention Booth 1025.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 2, 1998--DSET Corporation (NASDAQ: DSET) has announced at the ALTS '98 Annual Convention that its LSR Order Gateway will be available for shipment on December 15, 1998 to competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) as part of DSET's Carrier Solutions product line. Originally built on a custom basis for a major CLEC, the LSR Order Gateway was rigorously tested with a large incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC). In addition to the custom system, DSET's comprehensive development program resulted in a product that can now be used by any CLEC.

The new DSET LSR Order Gateway allows CLECs to order facilities for their own use from ILECs with the speed and cost-effectiveness essential for the success of CLECs in deregulated telecommunications markets. The DSET LSR Order Gateway can cut the time it takes to process local service request (LSR) orders by as much as 90 percent. For CLECs, such efficient interconnection is basic to winning and keeping customers. The LSR Order Gateway makes it possible for a CLEC to substantially reduce time to market for many services. Orders that can be processed with the LSR gateway include loops, number ports, and directory services.

The DSET LSR Order Gateway is integrated with MetaSolv's Telecom Business Solution(tm) (TBS(tm)) operations support system (OSS) and can be ordered with either an Oracle database or Versant object-oriented database. The LSR Order Gateway can be easily integrated with other order-management or billing systems through a standard CORBA interface. Features of the DSET LSR Order Gateway include conformance with ECIC security recommendations and TCIF EDI mapping for orders, support for back-end communication with operations support systems using CORBA, request validation, and conclusion-of-transaction messages from OSSs.

The DSET LSR Order Gateway is also a key part of the local number portability process (LNP) mandated by the Federal Communications Commission, which will allow customers to keep the same telephone numbers no matter how often they change local service providers. The LSR Order Gateway can be integrated with the DSET Local Service Order Administration (LSOA) Gateway to automate the exchange of LNP information with the Number Portability Administration Centers (NPACs) established to ensure that calls are correctly routed to customers when they change providers. DSET will also integrate the capabilities of the LSR Order Gateway and LSOA Gateway with other gateway systems that facilitate emergency 911 service and the data transactions needed for calling-card calls, collect calls, and calls billed to third numbers. All of these gateway capabilities are available from DSET in a special "bundled" package.

"DSET has been an innovative leader in electronic-bonding solutions for the telecommunications industry since 1993 and local number portability since 1996," said Phillip Cavallo, DSET's vice president for marketing. "Attesting to this leadership is the fact that a systems integrator recently announced that they will build a second, more capable version of the NPAC service management system for Lockheed Martin IMS using the same DSET application-development tools employed to build the first version."

A major feature of the DSET LSR Order Gateway is support for the joint implementation agreements (JIAs) negotiated between ILECs and CLECs. The gateway features a user configurable JIA capability that makes it possible for a CLEC to implement EDI maps for any ILEC LSR format. It accommodates back-end OSS mapping into EDI as well as trading-partner EDI map configurations.

The DSET LSR Order Gateway thus eliminates the significant expense of calling in a third party to reprogram a CLEC's service-ordering system each time the CLEC adds a JIA for a new trading partner or modifies an existing agreement. In addition, the LSR Order Gateway allows CLECs to maintain multiple JIAs on the same system, with the JIA for a particular trading partner easily selected with a pull-down menu.

In describing the new product, Phillip Cavallo said "The LSR Order Gateway is built as an application on top of the DSET OSSInterconnect Gateway Platform. It supports OBF LSOG forms for Local Service Request, End User Information, Loop Service, Number Portability, Loop Service with Number Portability, and Directory Service Request. This is the second DSET gateway built on the OSSInterconnect platform. The first, our LSOA Gateway, began shipping to customers earlier this year."

"DSET will also offer a suite of services that will complement the use of our product with regard to negotiating the associated joint implementation agreement between the trading partners," Cavallo continued. "Implementing this agreement can include the need for project scheduling, documentation, performance definitions, matching of protocols, matching data-transfer needs, interoperability testing plans, and other connectivity issues. The services offered by DSET will allow CLECs to rely on readily accessible subject-matter experts to reduce their implementation time and costs."

According to Kurt Turchan, DSET's product manager for OSS gateways, "The integration of ordering and number portability, which is essential to the CLECs' success, is what DSET has accomplished with the delivery of the LSR and LSOA gateways. CLECs also feel the need to own and manage the databases that are such a vital part of their business. The message we are getting is that the same leading CLECs feel that there is a much higher return on investment if they own rather than rent these databases. They also feel there is tremendous value in being able to analyze and mine the customer data flowing their own gateway interfaces."

About DSET:

DSET Corporation, founded in 1989, is a leader in providing the telecommunications industry worldwide with application-development tools and solutions for operations support system (OSS) interconnection and local number portability. DSET's application-development tools are used by network-equipment manufacturers around the world to build applications for managing network components and for provisioning new services for voice, data, and Internet access. The company's LNP and OSS interconnection solutions facilitate the flow of information among carriers and their respective operations support systems. DSET also provides application-development, interoperability testing, turn-up, training, and other services to clients in the global telecommunications industry.

DSET has offices in Bridgewater, New Jersey; Richardson, Texas; Campbell and Fremont, California; and a wholly owned subsidiary in Chengdu, China. The company also has a global network of distributors and strategic partners.

Except for historical and factual information contained herein, all other information set forth in this news release represents forward-looking statements, including all statements about DSET's plans, beliefs, estimates and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates and projections that involve certain risks and uncertainties and could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Investors are encouraged to consider these risks and uncertainties which are discussed in documents filed by DSET with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, fluctuation of quarterly operating results, dependence on a rapidly evolving telecommunications industry, and dependence on the TMN industry standard. DSET undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

DSET's web site can be viewed at www.dset.com.