Evolving Systems Helps Improve Local Telephone Service with Enhanced Local Number Portability Solutions - Product Announcement

Cambridge Telcom Report, Sept 20, 1999

Evolving Systems, Inc., an enabler of converging, new-generation telephony and Internet services, Monday announced it has released enhanced local number portability (LNP) software solutions for the telecommunications industry. The new LNP upgrades help improve local telephone service and enable telephone customers to switch carriers while keeping their existing phone numbers and calling features.

Evolving Systems LNP Suite 1.4 is Y2K ready and helps telecommunications providers economically and efficiently implement Federal Communications Commission mandated LNP services. The LNP software suite enables carriers to manage telephone service orders and changes quickly and reliably, and includes a number pooling feature that reduces the need for new area codes by gathering unused telephone numbers and reallocating them for use in areas where demand is greatest.

"Local number portability represents a significant and expanding market that has yet to near its peak, with much of its future growth lying in the fast-emerging wireless and Internet telephony sectors, and with the adoption of LNP standards in other countries," said George Hallenbeck, president and chief executive officer for Evolving Systems. "No one has more LNP expertise and experience than Evolving Systems. In the past two years, we've successfully installed LNP software solutions for a number of the world's leading telecommunications firms."

Comprised of Evolving Systems' OrderPath, NumberManager and NodeMaster, LNP solutions, the software suite allows carriers to manage connections with U.S. and Canadian Number Portability Administration Centers (NPACs). OrderPath is a local service order administration (LSOA) software product that manages the transfer, conflict resolution, and tracking of phone numbers between service providers. NumberManager is a local service management system (LSMS) that translates information from the NPACs for local network use to ensure proper routing of telephone calls. NodeMaster is a Network Element Management System (NEMS) that provisions LNP data across various types of Service Control Points (SCPs) and Signal Transfer Points (STPs).

LNP Suite 1.4 also gives service providers the ability to manage internal security at nearly every level of the application. Additionally, the software upgrade includes a new feature that ensures no data are lost in the event of a planned or unplanned network outage. "Evolving Systems conducted LNP usability studies to determine which software enhancements users felt would increase productivity," said Brian Curtiss, LNP product manager for Evolving Systems. "These studies prompted us to implement a number of changes in LNP Suite 1.4 that make it the most user friendly and functional LNP software product on the market."

In addition to providing off-the-shelf LNP software to carriers, Evolving Systems develops and maintains the custom LNP software that powers the US and Canadian NPACs, through which every ported number must pass. Evolving Systems' NPAC service management system software allows service providers to port numbers efficiently, to recover lost data if a system goes down, and to easily and quickly download network data to their number portability systems via mass updating features.

Evolving Systems builds software infrastructure that powers telephony and Internet companies' ability to provide the new generation of enhanced and broadband services. Founded in 1985, Evolving Systems develops and integrates products and services that solve complex problems for some of the world's top telecommunications companies. Evolving Systems' areas of expertise include service-order entry and automated provisioning systems, wireless data applications, network management, billing, local number portability solutions, Voice over IP technology and other enhanced services. The company offers a comprehensive training curriculum and is involved in setting standards in the telephony industry. FMI: www.evolving.com.