With Siemens HiPath 8000 Real-Time IP System, FIDUCIA IT to Create New SIP-based VoIP Business Model to Serve Large German Banking Cooperatives.

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- FIDUCIA IT AG, an IT service provider for the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken banking cooperatives in Germany, has chosen the Siemens HiPath(R) 8000 Real-Time IP system as its telecommunications platform. The session initiation protocol (SIP)-based HiPath 8000 solution will become the central softswitch in FIDUCIA IT's network and act as a hosted, or overlay network, for the company's customers in the banking industry.

By using the state-of-the-art Siemens hosted data-center softswitch, FIDUCIA IT is creating a new business model for delivering voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications and features. With the HiPath 8000 solution, FIDUCIA IT will host real-time communication services such as telephony, CTI applications and unified messaging over IP via wide area networks (WANs).

The HiPath 8000 solution is unique in the industry as a Web-services communication system that can scale very large and is cost-effective and efficient since it can be deployed and managed from a central data center. With carrier-class architecture, for example, the HiPath 8000 system has already been deployed by a major cable provider in the United States, supporting more than 450,000 residential cable subscribers. In addition to service providers, the solution can also support organizations with hundreds of thousands of users.

Built from the ground up as a SIP-based overlay network, the HiPath 8000 offers an unrestricted voice and application communication environment. The HiPath 8000 system is also vendor independent, able to provide unrestricted compatibility with all other commonly used protocols as well as with IBM x345 standard hardware and SuSE Linux operating system software. Most existing IP telephones can be supported by the solution, as can Q.SIG-standard telecommunications systems and third-party gateways with standard interfaces.

Other technology advantages of the HiPath 8000 system include pay-as-you go licensing, easy deployments, interoperability and smooth migration with existing PBX networks from Siemens and other vendors, standards-based architecture support, survivable edge support and the ability to partition the system to accommodate multiple businesses and units. The system architecture supports advanced mobility, end-user self-service portals, media-rich IP applications, SIP clients from Siemens as well as from other vendors and a robust toolkit that enables software developers to create custom support features.

As a hosted service provider, FIDUCIA IT will help its customers save the expenses of procuring and operating VoIP systems on their own. Customers will use and pay for only the communication applications and features they need, eliminating the time and cost required to operate and upgrade their own telephony systems. By choosing this model, it is estimated that the German banking cooperatives could save up to 25 percent on total cost of operation.

Siemens also announced that it will support FIDUCIA IT's deployment and operation of the hosted network with its HiPath Managed Services program. Services will include around-the-clock monitoring of the system and components and provide any on-site work required.

The HiPath 8000 solution is a key component in Siemens' LifeWorks@Com(TM) vision to integrate home, business and carrier networks as well as wired and wireless networks - across networks, devices and geographies. The HiPath 8000 system is one of the industry's most intelligent solutions for the next generation of communication, collaboration and worker productivity.

In a recent InforWorld magazine review, Siemens received the top rating among SIP PBXs (http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/05/02/18TCpbx_1.html). According to the review: "The HiPath 8000 clearly set the standard for SIP support in this test."

About Siemens

Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $91.5 billion in fiscal 2004. Founded more than 150 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services and Home Appliances. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA has sales of $16.6 billion and employs 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Thirteen of Siemens' worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 440,000 people in 190 countries. For more information on Siemens in the United States: www.usa.siemens.com

About Siemens Communications, Inc.

Siemens Communications, Inc., offers its customers a broad portfolio of communication products and services and is a leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. The company's portfolio ranges from devices for end users to complex network infrastructures and complementary services for enterprises, carriers and service providers. Siemens Communications, Inc., is headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/communications

Note: HiPath and LifeWorks@Com are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens AG or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.