Siemens Redesigned Ewsd Message Buffer Wins Prestigious Design Achievement Award.

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 1999--

New Design Enables Ten-Times the Throughput on an

Eighth of the Surface

Siemens Information and Communication Networks has been awarded the Design Achievement Award by the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Consortium and Electronic Engineering Times. Presented annually to the industry's two most outstanding electronics designs, the Design Achievement Award acknowledges Siemens' redesign of the Message Buffer D (MBD) for the EWSD switch boosting throughput by a factor of ten, while utilizing just one eighth the surface area of the previous design. Production of the MBD will start in October 1999 and will be available with EWSD Software Release 18.0.

The MBD is part of the coordination processor of the EWSD system, responsible for switching the signaling between the different control units involved in call setup and clear down. While the earlier model comprises a large number of discrete components, the streamlined Message Buffer D utilizes the system-on-a-chip (SOC) design. The new design enables a considerable increase in throughput over a reduced surface area, while also allowing four-times the number of line trunk groups (LTGs), so that a Message Buffer can now support as many as 2,016 LTGs. Plus, a 200 Mbit ATM interface for SS7 signaling is now being made available.

Modular in design, the Message Buffer can be scaled to manage as few as 64 LTGs, up to a capacity of 2,016 LTGs. The smallest version comprises four different modules, designed to be redundant and having a 50-megahertz system clock. Depending on the capacity stage, the number of ASICs varies from 12, with a total of 4,600 Kgates, to 76, with a total of 30,500 Kgates.

With more than 180 million ports installed in over 100 countries, Siemens is a market leader worldwide with its EWSD system. A feature-rich system, designed with the flexibility and scalability necessary to grow with end-user demand, the EWSD switch offers a single platform for local and long distance service, as well as voice and data network communications.

The Information and Communications business group is part of Siemens, a global powerhouse in electrical engineering and electronics with more than $66 billion in sales. Information and Communications consists of three groups: Information and Communication Networks (60,000 employees and $13 billion in sales), Information and Communication Products (33,000 employees and $11 billion in sales), and Siemens Business Services (17,000 employees and $4 billion in sales).

Information and Communication Networks is one of the world?s leading suppliers of end-to-end solutions for voice, data and mobile networks. Information and Communication Networks provides products, systems, solutions, servicing and support for setting up, operating and maintaining complete corporate and carrier networks. It also offers ancillary services ranging from network planning and financial consulting through startup support to user training. Further information on this Siemens Group can be found on the Internet at http://www.siemens.com/ic/networks/.

Based in Boca Raton, Fla., Siemens Information and Communication Networks Inc. provides integrated voice, data and video communications networks to carrier and enterprise customers. Last year the company's 7,000 U.S. employees generated sales of nearly $2 billion. Its parent firm is Siemens, the pioneering electronics giant with more than 400,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.icn.siemens.com.

Siemens and EWSD are registered trademarks of Siemens AG.