Lucent Technologies and Cisco Systems Unveil Joint Voice Over IP Offering For Mobile Service Providers

Lucent Technologies and Cisco Systems Unveil Joint Voice Over IP Offering For
Mobile Service Providers
Combined solution, based on Lucent Softswitch and Cisco MGX 8000 Series Media
Gateway, supports voice over IP, voice over ATM and multimedia communications. 


CANNES, France, Feb. 25  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lucent Technologies  today
announced that it has teamed with Cisco Systems to develop a carrier-class voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and multimedia communications solution for mobile
service providers.  The solution was developed under a development agreement
signed last year, and is in trials in customer networks around the world.

The Lucent-Cisco mobile networking solution -- which combines the Lucent
Softswitch (LSS) and Cisco MGX 8000 Series Media Gateways -- is part of Lucent's
recently announced Accelerate(TM) Voice over IP (VoIP) Solutions portfolio. 
Lucent's Accelerate(TM) solutions support the convergence of traditional voice
services with multimedia services, including Web-based features.

Lucent's industry-leading expertise in mobile networking combined with Cisco's
IP networking leadership offers customers the best-in-class, end-to-end
solutions critical for delivering the high-speed data and low-cost, packet-based
voice services of third-generation (3G) mobile networks.  As a result, mobile
operators can more quickly tap into the new revenue streams being created by the
growing demand for high-speed mobile data.

"This successful integration of the LSS and Cisco MGX8000 Series Media Gateways
puts us in an ideal position to meet mobile operators' growing requirement to
deliver converged IP-based services -- such as VoIP, high-speed data and
multimedia communications -- across third-generation (3G) Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS) and CDMA2000 and CDMA450 mobile networks," said
John Marinho, vice president of offer management with Lucent's Mobility
Solutions Group.  "This will enable operators to take advantage of the
tremendous revenue potential, and cost savings made possible by IP technology."

"With this combined best-in-class packet voice solution from Cisco and Lucent,
mobile operators gain significant operational savings and service efficiencies
with a consolidated packet network," said Kambiz Hooshmand, VP/GM of Cisco's
Carrier Core and Multiservice Business Unit.  "This provides a strong foundation
for the delivery of next-generation, differentiated IP services."

This joint product offering follows the successful completion by the two
companies last year of VoIP and VoATM calls using the joint solution.  The calls
-- completed in Lucent's Lisle, Illinois lab and in Cisco's San Jose lab -- were
made using the H.248 Media Gateway Control Protocol, which allows a Softswitch,
serving as the media gateway controller, to communicate with media gateways that
are used to convert data from the format required for a circuit- switched
network to that required for a packet-switched network.  Calls between mobile
phones, and from a mobile phone to the PSTN (public switched telephone network)
were successfully completed.

Background

In January 2003, Lucent and Cisco Systems entered into an agreement, under which
Lucent is integrating and reselling select Cisco packet data and media gateway
products as part of Lucent's mobile networking product offering for the mobile
service provider market.  Later in 2003 the two companies expanded on their
initial, global supply contract and signed a development to collaborate on
accelerating the mobile operator market for VoIP.

About Lucent Technologies

Lucent Technologies designs and delivers the systems, services and software that
drive next-generation communications networks.  Backed by Bell Labs research and
development, Lucent uses its strengths in mobility, optical, software, data and
voice networking technologies, as well as services, to create new
revenue-generating opportunities for its customers, while enabling them to
quickly deploy and better manage their networks.  Lucent's customerbase
includes communications service providers, governments and enterprises
worldwide.  For more information on Lucent Technologies, which has headquarters
in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, visit http://www.lucent.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Lucent Technologies



CONTACT:  Kurt Steinert, [phone], or cell, [phone], or

, or Glynnis Woolridge, [phone], or cell,

[phone], or , both of Lucent Technologies



Web site:  http://www.lucent.com/ 

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