Natural Microsystems enables wireless infrastructure applications with real-time telephony platform; Initial support for GSM Vocoder TRAU interface; More interfaces to be announced.

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 1996--Natural MicroSystems Corporation today announced the AG Realtime product family, a breakthrough in telephony technology. The AG Realtime platform enables an entirely new group of computer-based telephony applications, including wireless infrastructure telephony, Internet telephony and cable telephony. Any communication mechanism that requires full-duplex realtime compression and decompression of digital voice, fax and other media types for transmission over wireless, voice and data networks based on T1/E1/ISDN, Frame Relay or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology, is an appropriate application for the AG Realtime platform.

The first available product in the AG Realtime family is the AG Realtime/320. The first algorithm available for the board is designed for use in a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network. The AG Realtime/320 will run 32 GSM vocoder channels simultaneously. The AG Realtime/320 can operate as a European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) compliant 8.60 GSM Transcoder and Rate Adapter Unit (TRAU) in a Base Station Controller, Base Station Transceiver or Mobile Switching Center. Natural MicroSystems also will support echo cancellation and data on the GSM product.

Based on the award-winning Alliance Generation family of digital signal processor (DSP) engines, the AG Realtime technology goes beyond the store-and-forward processing typically used in telephony applications. AG Realtime enables direct low latency processing of MVIP data; this means the signals can be digitized, packetized, and transported with no discernible delay to end-users engaged in a live conversation.

"Offering this real-time technology in a standards-based, off-the-shelf platform enables developers to cut costs and greatly speed time to market for the new wireless equipment," said R. Brough Turner, senior vice president of technology and a co-founder of Natural MicroSystems. "With the market for wireless services expected to accelerate over the next several years, Natural MicroSystems is enabling wireless equipment developers to stay on the forefront of the technology wave."

The on-board technology offers large memory model 80 MHz DSPs, with a total of 320 MIPS of computational power, which enable the platform to execute the highly complex signal processing algorithms found in the wireless environment. The platform's architecture allows each DSP to have direct access to the MVIP bus via low-latency serial data streams. The DSPs are able to run algorithms for compression/decompression, echo cancellation and gain control. The AG Realtime/320 has been designed as a daughterboard to be used with NMS' Alliance Generation DSP resource boards to provide a single slot solution.

Pricing and Availability

The AG Realtime/320 platform running the GSM TRAU algorithms has a U.S. list price of $5,818, with the first version (UnixWare) available in the second quarter of 1996.

The AG Realtime/320 (without the GSM TRAU algorithms) is also targeted for use by developers that are interested in porting proprietary algorithms to the platform. It will be available to developers along with an AG Realtime Software Developers Program from NMS. The AG Realtime Software Developers Program includes a software tool kit for Windows NT, variants of UNIX, or OS/2 development environments and a support services program. Contact NMS for pricing and further information on the AG Realtime Software Developers Program. The AG Real Time/320 (without the GSM TRAU algorithms) will be available in Q2 with a U.S. suggested list price of $4,500.

Natural MicroSystems plans to expand the AG Realtime product line and enhance the current Alliance Generation family of products, which include DSP engines for 8,16,24, and 48 ports, and 30 and 60 ports for international markets, with realtime capabilities over the next 6 to 24 months.

About Natural MicroSystems

Natural MicroSystems (NASDAQ: NMSS), based in Natick, Mass., is the leading provider of Open Telecommunications hardware and software technologies for developers of high-value telecommunications solutions. The Company's state-of-the-art technology enables a growing international network of OEMs, VARs, systems integrators and service providers to reduce time to market, leverage development resources, and offer truly global communications products. Natural MicroSystems products are installed in more than 40 countries worldwide. Founded in 1983, Natural MicroSystems developed Watson, the first product to utilize digital signal processor (DSP) technology in PC-based telephony products, and led the creation of MVIP, the industry standard for interoperability in PC-based telephony products. -0-

Natural MicroSystems, Telephony Services Architecture, TSA, Open Telecommunications, Natural Platform, Natural Media, Natural Access, AG Access, CT Access, Distributed CT Access, NaturalFax, NaturalRecognition, AG, AG Realtime and AG Connect are trademarks of Natural MicroSystems Corporation. Alliance Generation is a registered trademark of Natural MicroSystems Corporation. MVIP is a registered trademark of GO-MVIP, Inc. All other product or corporate references are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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