Siemens and Newbridge Introduce MainStreetXpress 36177 MultiServices Platform, Extending Core ATM Benefits.

KANATA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 1998--NEWBRIDGE (TSE:NNC.) (NYSE:NN) Leading-Edge Platform Reaffirms Siemens and Newbridge as Leaders in ATM.

Siemens and Newbridge Networks (NYSE: NN: TSE: NNC) today continued their drive to consolidate disparate networks onto one unified, end-to-end, managed multi-services network with the introduction of the Siemens / Newbridge MainStreetXpress(tm) 36177 MultiServices Platform. This is the newest addition to the MainStreetXpress family of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) products jointly developed by Siemens and Newbridge, the ATM industry leaders.

The MainStreetXpress 36177 MultiServices Platform extends the broadband core network capabilities of the MainStreetXpress 36170 MultiServices Switch to the farthest reaches of the network, complementing the strengths of the MainStreetXpress 36140/36144 MultiServices ATM Access Switches. This comprehensive family of products enables service providers to seamlessly and flexibly deliver value-added services and end-to-end network and service management over an ATM infrastructure.

Based on the technology of the MainStreetXpress 36170 MultiServices Switch, this robust, highly scalable, ATM-based platform offers the same rich set of features and functionality as the 36170 MultiServices Switch, including seamless delivery of value-added services and end-to-end network and service management from a single platform. These services include: frame relay, switched voice, advanced private line, local area network (LAN) internetworking, video, native cell relay, permanent virtual circuits (PVCs) and switched virtual circuits (SVCs).

"We are pleased to be introducing an innovative solution that will ensure seamless migration of voice, data, video and multimedia traffic onto an ATM-based platform," said Olwyn Walter, Assistant Vice President, Switching Products Group Marketing, Newbridge Networks. "The MainStreetXpress 36177 MultiServices Platform is particularly advantageous to the over 280 service providers who already use the MainStreetXpress 36170 MultiServices Switch."

The MainStreetXpress 36177 MultiServices Platform's robust feature set includes point-to-point and point-to-multipoint PVCs, soft permanent virtual circuits (SPVCs) and extensive traffic management. These capabilities ensure quality of service guarantees per connection and signaling internetworking with private network-to-network (PNNI) for call-by-call connection setup.

"Carriers and enterprise customers are working to consolidate their multiple, application-specific data networks onto a single backbone, and then adding voice to this converged network," said Jennifer Pigg, Senior Vice President, Data Communications, The Yankee Group. "The MainStreetXpress 36177 MultiServices Platform is a logical extension of the Siemens / Newbridge Alliance's multi-services capabilities. In rounding out its portfolio of multi-services products, the Alliance continues to deliver proven, flexible switching solutions and superior end-to-end network and service management on which customers can build converged networks."

As with the entire Siemens /Newbridge ATM product line, the MainStreetXpress 36177 MultiServices Platform is fully managed by the industry-leading MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager and the MainStreetXpress family of service management products. The MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager provides end-to-end management, incorporating a wide range of capabilities, including: partitioning, virtual channel and virtual path (VC/VP) management, and fault detection with dynamic rerouting. Service providers take advantage of these capabilities to provide feature-rich virtual private networks (VPNs) for business customers.

"We believe the platform we are introducing today will continue to meet our customers' needs well into the future by providing the capability to migrate existing traffic, as well as Internet Protocol (IP) and advanced multiple voice applications, such as voice over frame relay, voice over ATM, and voice over IP," said Thomas Rambold, President of Information and Broadband Networks, Siemens Information and Communications Networks.

The MainStreetXpress 36177 MultiServices Platform capabilities will be demonstrated at Networld+InterOp in Atlanta, Georgia, between October 21 and 23.

The Information and Communications Networks Group (ICN) of Siemens AG and Newbridge Networks, two world leaders in ATM, formed a strategic alliance in 1996 to provide carriers worldwide with the most comprehensive and advanced ATM solution set. Within this agreement, the two companies have unified their ATM product lines under the MainStreetXpress brand and assembled the industry's most extensive ATM research and development operation, consisting of more than 2,000 engineers in five countries.

MainStreetXpress is a trademark used by the Siemens / Newbridge alliance for comprehensive solutions in broadband communication. No agency relationship, partnership, or joint ownership of a legal entity is to be inferred or implied by the term alliance.

Siemens and logo are registered trademarks of Siemens AG, Germany.

Newbridge, logo are registered trademarks of Newbridge Networks Corporation.