Frost & Sullivan Names Versatel Next-Generation Infrastructure Entrepreneurial Company of the Year.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Frost & Sullivan will recognize Versatel Networks with the 2005 VoIP Equipment & Network Infrastructure Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award at tonight's Excellence in Information & Communications Technologies Awards Banquet.

Versatel's innovative offering, the EdgeIQ Intelligent Media Gateway (EdgeIQ), targets a growing market with near-perfect timing and a clear go-to-market strategy that enables it to acquire a definite competitive advantage.

"Media gateways promise to be the largest component revenue-wise for next-generation networks, with a healthy growth curve expected until 2008," says Frost & Sullivan VoIP program leader Jon Arnold. "Applications will be critical for mass adoption, and this translates into carriers needing more intelligent-edge devices to deliver these services."

With its strong telecom engineering legacy, Versatel has developed a very compelling alternative to gateways that are deployed widely by carriers. Versatel's EdgeIQ adds superior intelligence to gateways and is a product the company feels is distinct enough to be a new revenue generating element and not just a higher-end media gateway.

"While most gateways are still focused on time division multiplexing/Internet protocol (TDM/IP) conversion, Versatel is leading the market from the front, taking IP intelligence to the next level, and enabling IMGs to work at any network edge, whether it be IP or TDM, or wireline or wireless fidelity (WiFi)," notes Arnold.

EdgeIQ has the intelligence to address other functions, including media server, border control, and applications support. It incorporates all of this into a single chassis, which means fewer boxes for the carrier, less integration, reduced opex, and immediately deployable support of next-generation services to get a quicker return on investment.

Versatel protects its IMG with system architecture patents, along with a proprietary digital signal processor (DSP) algorithm. Extensive R&D has yielded 16-fold efficiency improvements in DSP processing power, which translates into very attractive pricing with more functionality.

Versatel has also embraced an open architecture, so carriers can easily integrate third-party applications, and have developed a TCL interpreter that allows these applications to be run on the gateway. By incorporating an application-programming interface (API) into the IMG, carriers can now differentiate their services easily, quickly, and cheaply, which is critical in this fast-changing market.

In addition, Versatel has wisely developed a market plan that suits a small, but a rapidly growing vendor poised to emerge as a technology leader. Its traditional success has been with Tier 2/3 carriers. To broaden that base, the company recently acquired Tangerine Inc., an established Versatel technology partner with over 300 active installations worldwide.

With the EdgeIQ, the company is ready for Tier 1 wins. Towards this end, Versatel is aggressively forming partnerships that require high density, carrier-class applications for either wireline or wireless operators. It has also formed a strong board of directors.

These achievements are strong endorsements of Versatel's IMG solution, and the vision that intelligence at the edge is both the key to success in this market and for IP communications as a whole.

This Frost & Sullivan award is presented each year to a company that has demonstrated superior entrepreneurial ability in its industry. It recognizes the company's identification of a unique and revolutionary product solution with significant market potential. It also acknowledges that the company's marketing strategy is sound and poised for success.

Held in Scottsdale, Frost & Sullivan's 2005 Excellence in Information & Communications Technologies Awards Banquet honors world-class companies for outstanding performance and achievements in the information & communications technologies markets. An annual event, the banquet recognizes the quality and merit of distinguished individuals and companies.

About Versatel Networks

Versatel Networks, a spin-off of CML Technologies, has decades of experience building mission critical platforms and applications. Versatel Networks builds intelligent easy-to-operate Media Gateways and IP Voice solutions designed to drive service provider growth and wow end-use customers. Versatel platforms integrate seamlessly with existing network investments and scale effortlessly. Plus Versatel quality means rock solid carrier-class reliability, and the industry's lowest operating costs, hour after hour, day after day.

Versatel's current customers include communication service providers upgrading from TDM-based voice services to VoIP, data service providers adding voice capabilities, and emerging Internet telephony service providers seeking a broad range of integrated voice and data applications.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company founded in 1961, partners with clients to create value through innovative growth strategies. The foundation of this partnership approach is our Growth Partnership Services platform, whereby we provide industry research, marketing strategies, consulting, and training to our clients to help grow their business. A key benefit that Frost & Sullivan brings to its clients is a global perspective on a broad range of industries, markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. With a client list that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, as well as the investment community, Frost & Sullivan has evolved into one of the premier growth consulting companies in the world.