HP Network Monitoring System Deployed by Major U.S. Service Provider; HP acceSS7 System to Help Southwestern Bell Telephone Company Ensure SS7 Network Integrity and Meet FCC Mandates

Business Wire, Oct 29, 1997

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1997--Hewlett-Packard Company today announces that it has completed installation of the HP acceSS7 network monitoring system across Southwestern Bell Telephone Company's (SWBT) entire SS7 network. The acceSS7 implementation, which took 12 months to complete, will help SWBT ensure the integrity of its SS7 network and help meet Federal Communications Commission (FCC) local competition mandates designed to unbundle network elements and open the local loop to competing network service providers. The cost of the project was not disclosed. The announcement was made here at the U.S. Telephone Association Billing and Customer Care convention.

In addition to leveraging HP acceSS7 surveillance and trouble-shooting applications, SWBT is using software applications developed by Illuminet to deliver usage-measurement capabilities that complement the HP acceSS7 platform. Illuminet's AMAT7 and CDR7 software applications collect, convert and format SS7 messages into industry-standard billing records. Carriers can retrieve these records in near-real-time to monitor network resource consumption, bill on a usage-sensitive basis, allocate costs effectively and track market trends.

The HP acceSS7 system is a flexible, open platform that comes with a family of applications that enable telecommunications operators to manage and extract valuable information from SS7-based networks. The system uses probes located at remote sites to nonintrusively gather and process real-time data from signaling links. The processed data is transmitted over a dedicated wide area network to a central site processor, where the networkwide activity can be correlated and analyzed. HP acceSS7 also can be used for real-time fraud detection and as a source of billing data.

ABOUT ILLUMINET

Illuminet provides advanced SS7 technology and applications to more than 1,000 local, interexchange and wireless communications providers throughout North America. The company delivers a complete range of intelligent network solutions, including network connectivity, database and billing services. For more information, visit Illuminet's Web site at HYPERLINK http://www.illuminetSS7.com

ABOUT HP

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 120,500 employees and had revenue of $38.4 billion in its 1996 fiscal year.

Information about products from HP's Test and Measurement Organization can be obtained on the World Wide Web via http://www.hp.com/go/tmnews .

CONTACT: Hewlett-Packard

Jim Black, 44-131-331-7043

fax: 44-131-331-7024

jim-tsd_black@hp.com

or

John McCreadie, 408/553-7342

fax: 408/983-1006

dearjohn@sc.hp.com

or

Illuminet

Nancy Jackson, 360/493-6235

fax: 360/493-6235

njackson@illuminetSS7.com