New N.E.T. Voice Compression Product Cuts Toll Quality Voice Costs In Half.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 16, 1996--N.E.T. today announced the immediate availability of N.E.T.(TM) PrimeVoice(TM) compression modules that double toll-quality voice capacity on wide area networks. The new product, which is an internal option for the N.E.T. IDNX(R) multiservice bandwidth manager, also provides global carriers and enterprises even greater savings for near toll quality voice transmission, as well as support for Group III facsimile and Tone Bypass for Voice Mail applications.

The PrimeVoice compression module offers network managers the opportunity to carry 50 percent more subscriber traffic compared to today's industry-standard toll-quality voice compression rate. When PrimeVoice compression modules are combined with ISDN services, variable rate compression options allow network managers to select four different compression rates on a call-by-call basis according to the origination or destination of the call. All of this traffic can be combined with video, frame relay, and LAN internetworking traffic on the IDNX multiservice backbone networks to create extremely cost-effective, reliable networks.

PrimeVoice compression modules have been tested at a variety of customer locations including Ericsson, United Telegroup International and MFS International. Other sites include network service providers, government organizations and enterprises.

"Ericsson combined the capabilities of the N.E.T. PrimeVoice compression module with the ISDN option to create a high quality, network-feature set that gives us a great deal of flexibility," said Michael Clingbjer, network operations manager, Ericsson data AB. "We have been running traffic over our international IDNX network linking MD 110 PBX systems with excellent results in voice quality and reduced costs."

"This new voice compression capability creates an entirely new set of economic factors for network managers to consider in the design and implementation of networks that include voice," said Thomas Combrinck, managing director, United Telegroup International. "Based on our testing of the new module, the compression scheme allows us to maintain excellent voice quality at various levels while extending support for other applications including facsimile transmission and voice mail."

"Corporations and service providers alike have identified the clear need for low-bit-rate voice but neither want solutions that cut corners in other areas. N.E.T.'s newest voice compression modules offer a range of economic voice networking solutions while still retaining a wide range of WAN trunk speeds and comprehensive data protocol support," said Kieran Taylor, broadband consultant, TeleChoice Inc. "The use of dynamic switching also reduces the need for hardware modules, offering a cost benefit over solutions that require dedicated ports for each user."

"We believe that the PrimeVoice compression module creates a new pricing paradigm for voice traffic that rewrites conventional thinking related to bandwidth needs and network configurations," said Sam Ezekiel, vice president, Marketing, N.E.T. "When you have the opportunity to double capacity or reduce transmission costs by 50 percent, it makes sense to take a closer look at proven, standards-based multiservice technology."

The PrimeVoice compression module offers four compression rates on a single module that provide greater compression than the current industry standard 32 kbps toll quality ADPCM rate. The toll-quality 16 kbps rate is achieved through the implementation of the standards-based LD-CELP (Low Delay-Code Excited Linear Prediction) algorithm which complies with ITU recommendation G.728. Two near toll-quality rates, 8 kbps and 9.6 kbps, are implemented through proprietary LD-CELP implementations that create voice quality that is difficult to distinguish from the toll-quality level. A fourth 4.8 kbps rate complies with the Federal Standard 1016 for implementation in government and enterprise networks.

N.E.T.'s PrimeVoice family of voice products includes a number of value-added services including voice compression, ISDN switching, echo cancellation and a variety of industry-standard voice interfaces. When combined with ISDN switching, the flexibility of the PrimeVoice compression module can dramatically lower operating costs. Since each compression module supports traffic at all four compression rates simultaneously, ISDN switching allows network managers to configure networks to carry traffic at fully optimized service levels. For example, executives make outbound calls automatically at toll-quality levels while telephones used for routine internal maintenance orders can be programmed to operate at the lowest rate when voice quality is not an issue.

Two PrimeVoice compression modules are available to support 12 or 24 channels. Each module can support all four compression rates simultaneously and the bandwidth is only allocated when a call is in session, so time slots do not have to be nailed up. Up to 200 calls can be supported on a single trunk -- another benchmark of significance. The new PrimeVoice compression modules, the LD-CELP-12 and the LD-CELP-24, carry customer list prices of $12,750 and $25,500 respectively and are available for order now.

The N.E.T. family of multiservice bandwidth managers consists of five models with sophisticated networking functions that combine efficient multiplexing, intelligent call-routing, LAN internetworking and routing, frame relay switching, ISDN signaling and network management.

N.E.T., headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., is a leading worldwide supplier of multiservice backbone networks used by enterprises and global carriers in more than 50 countries. N.E.T. multiservice WANs integrate voice, data, and video traffic with frame relay, LAN internetworking and ISDN capabilities for today's mission-critical applications. The company is certified to the worldwide ISO 9001 standard for design, manufacturing and servicing. Join us at our worldwide web site: http://www.net.com for further information. -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: Financial Analyst Contact is Ann Candelario, N.E.T. Investor Relations, [phone].

N.E.T., PrimeVoice, and the N.E.T. logo are trademarks and IDNX is a registered trademark of Network Equipment Technologies, Inc.

CONTACT: N.E.T.

Jo Minola, [phone]