NexTone Appoints Larry Schessel to the Office of the CTO; Cisco IP Communications Veteran Joins Session Management Industry Leader.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- NexTone Communications(R), the leader in intelligent and scalable session management for IP and IMS network interconnects, today announced the appointment of Larry Schessel to the Office of the CTO. In this role, Schessel will direct NexTone's session management technology strategy for existing and emerging markets.

Schessel is a veteran for leading industry-wide efforts to raise visibility for the SIP and H.323 protocols. He is currently the Chairman of the SIP Forum Marketing Working Group, which defines initiatives to increase industry-wide SIP awareness. Previously, he served as the founder and president of the H.323 Forum, an industry forum that was focused on expanding H.323 awareness.

"My background is a strong fit for a company of NexTone's caliber -- it is a technology pioneer in the session management space. Early on, NexTone integrated intelligent session management features into its products to enable carriers and enterprises to tackle the technical challenges of VoIP and IMS networks and ensure service quality," said Schessel. "I look forward to joining the existing technical expertise in the company as it expands upon NexTone's award-winning products to support the growth of real-world VoIP deployments in the service provider and enterprise markets."

"NexTone is extending its leadership position in the session management space, a commitment that requires constant innovation," said Sridhar Ramachandran, co-founder and chief technology officer for NexTone. "Larry has a broad and deep knowledge of our market, and a proven track record of developing solutions that fit both our enterprise and service provider customers' technology needs. Larry adds to an already impressive technical staff, which is by far the strongest team of experts in the field of session management."

Prior to joining NexTone, Schessel served as Senior Manager at Cisco Systems for both the Service Provider and Enterprise IP Communications Business Units, where he defined SIP and H.323 product roadmaps. Previously, he served in strategic and technical management roles at Siemens. Schessel was awarded several patents for his work in next generation call processing systems. In addition, he holds a BSCS and a MSCS in management sciences from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

About NexTone Communications

NexTone Communications(R) provides an intelligent session management system that gives service providers and other network operators seamless, secure, and scalable session connectivity between diverse IP and IMS networks. NexTone provides intelligent IP interconnects that enable a common way for operators to exchange, secure, monitor, control, and bill for voice and multimedia sessions flowing through IP networks for instant connectivity and quality compatibility to rapidly add new revenue-generating services, including real-time data, video and interactive gaming, and fixed-mobile convergence. More than 450 service providers and enterprises worldwide use NexTone to accelerate revenue by continually managing technical complexities, optimizing business economics, and eliminating partnership hurdles. The company is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, with domestic and international sales offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.nextone.com.