MEF 14 Certification Makes Carrier Ethernet the Technology of Choice for Mission Critical Applications.

MEF launches ground-breaking Service Provider certification program

NEW YORK -- "Carrier Ethernet is now the front-running technology for mission-critical real-time services including VoIP, disaster recovery, conferencing and enterprise applications." This was the message delivered by Nan Chen, President of the Metro Ethernet Forum as he launched the MEF 14 Service Provider Certification Program today. He also pointed out that this is the first time in the history of the telecommunications industry that any forum had put its technical specifications to verification, not just in functionality, but in terms of actual service delivery and performance. "Carrier Ethernet doesn't just deliver - from today it delivers to globally recognized service level specifications" he stated.

"Ethernet is on track toward metro service dominance, as service providers continue to look for ways to reduce operating expenditures and enable new revenue streams," says Michael Howard, principal analyst of Infonetics Research and lead author of a just-released worldwide service provider study. "And now that the number one technical issue that was plaguing service providers rolling out metro Ethernet networks last yearCoQoSCois being addressed by manufacturers, and proven by the MEF 14 testing, the Ethernet adoption curve is speeding up. Manufacturers have added many new QoS features, improving end-to-end QoS with carrier-class Ethernet products, and service providers depend on the MEF testing to insure that these adhere to the standards."

"Our customers are moving rapidly towards converged network architectures" confirms Tom Roche, vice president, marketing, for network voice and data services, Verizon Business. "With the announcement of MEF 14 testing for service providers, enterprises will feel confident that their providers' Carrier Ethernet services can support mission critical and converged applications such as ERP, VoIP, videoconferencing and business continuity".

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), for example, has created Asia's largest mission critical IP-enabled securities and derivatives market network integrating their four major market systems. Gary Chow, Managing Director, Commercial Group, PCCW, said," PCCW's world-class network, using Carrier Ethernet for mission critical applications, provides end-to-end managed services to Hong Kong's major financial institutions. With the MEF's five "Carrier Class" attributes (Standardized Services, Scalability, Reliability, Quality of Service and Service Management) Carrier Ethernet ensures a flexible, scalable, cost-effective, secure and reliable real-time trading foundation and path way for future development."

MEF 14 (Abstract Test Suite for Traffic Management) ensures conformance to the MEF Quality of Service attributes, which provides a foundation for the implementation of Service Provider operational and performance SLA's (Service Level Agreements) supporting simultaneous real-time and data-intensive business applications.

MEF 14 completes MEF 9 (Abstract Test Suite for Ethernet Services at the UNI) by adding requirements and test procedures for Service Performance and Bandwidth Profile Service Attributes defined in MEF 10. These include three EVC Related Performance Service Attributes - Frame Delay Performance, Frame Delay Variation Performance, and Frame Loss Ratio Performance - as well as Bandwidth Profile Service Attributes defined per Ingress UNI, per EVC, and per Class of Service.

"MEF 14 certification testing is based on our Iometrix Test Plan for Traffic Management which has a total of 170 Test Cases covering EPL, EVPL and E-LAN services" according to Bob Mandeville - President of Iometrix testing labs. "Service Providers' Carrier Ethernet must pass no less than 414 individual test cases before being granted MEF 9 and 14 certification.

Ken Fitzpatrick, Senior Vice President, Time Warner Cable Business Class commented: "Our customers rely on the benefits of carrier-class Ethernet and TWC's recent MEF-9 certification is further validation of our commitment to provide reliable and robust Ethernet services. Time Warner Cable is now evaluating MEF-14 performance specifications and their potential to provide further advancements to our customers."

"Verizon is proud to be among the first to commit to this program" added Tom Roche, vice president, marketing, for network voice and data services, Verizon Business. "Our business customers demand strict performance and bandwidth, and Quality of Service is a critical attribute to ensure that Carrier Ethernet services will deliver those". Other companies wanting to apply should contact Iometrix at [e-mail] or obtain further detail on the MEF website www.metroetherntforum.org.

About The Metro Ethernet Forum:

The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) is a global industry alliance comprising more than 90 organizations including telecommunications service providers, network equipment/software manufacturers, semiconductors vendors and testing organizations. The MEF's mission is to accelerate the worldwide adoption of Carrier-class Ethernet networks and services. The MEF develops Carrier Ethernet technical specifications and implementation agreements to promote interoperability and deployment of Carrier Ethernet worldwide.

For more information about the Forum, including a complete listing of all current MEF members, please visit the MEF web site at www.MetroEthernetForum.org

For photos and PPT presentation, please visit www.zonicgroup.com/press_resources/MEF