New World Networks: Bellcore and Cisco Align To Help Customers Build New World Networks - Company Business and Marketing

EDGE, On & About AT&T, Nov 2, 1998

Bellcore and Cisco Systems Monday announced an alliance to help customers develop and implement New World, next-generation networks. The two companies are developing a New World open telephony architecture for the next-generation, packet-based networks, with advanced services that use Internet technology.

Customers will benefit from the unique and complementary knowledge, experience and technology shared by Bellcore and Cisco, which will accelerate the construction of New World networks. "Bellcore and Cisco are working together to enable service providers to evolve the way that they do business," said Kevin Kennedy, senior vice president for the Service Provider Line of Business, Cisco Systems. "Bellcore and Cisco share a vision of the New World where communications is with anyone, anywhere over any media; delivering the reliability and scale of the telephone network and the content capability of the cable network, with the flexibility and pace of the Internet." "The explosive growth of packet-based services is driving and accelerating the convergence of voice and data networks," said Stephen Chappell, corporate vice-president, Bellcore. "Bellcore's technical depth and experience positions us as the industry leader in developing next generation networks. "I believe Bellcore and Cisco, working together, will give service providers the confidence to build end-to-end solutions." The two companies will focus on the development of a new open telephony architecture including the call agent software, the integration of Bellcore's Operations Support Systems (OSSs) with Cisco's packet infrastructure and the delivery of integrated professional services. In contrast to the current environment with its closed, inflexible systems and multiple networks, the new open telephony architecture will deliver an open, scalable framework to control and build services across a distributed multiservice infrastructure. Key to the architecture is the open interface between the call agent, which provides intelligent call control features, and the packet infrastructure, which provides intelligent transport for data, voice and video traffic. Bellcore and Cisco are teaming to forward this open architecture as an industry standard through work in the IETF and CableLabs. Together, Bellcore and Cisco are integrating Bellcore's next-generation OSSs, based on open systems and standards, with Cisco's infrastructure which will decrease service providers' operational costs, enable them to manage change, mitigate risk and deliver reliability and scale. Bellcore's OSSs will operate, administer, maintain and provision the Cisco infrastructure. In addition, Bellcore is exploring opportunities to license key technologies from Cisco for the MediaVantage product line and control software. Bellcore and Cisco will also collaborate on providing consulting, training and engineering services and network and systems integration. Bellcore intends to become a Global Cisco Systems Integration Partner and act as a channel to integrate and deliver Cisco solutions. "We are excited about this alliance because it delivers the promise of best-in-class solutions for our customers," said Charlie Giancarlo, senior vice president of Global Alliances for Cisco Systems. "This is a compelling combination for service providers who value leadership and open systems, and are ready to build the New World." In a related announcement Monday, Le Groupe Videotron Ltee, the second largest cable television company in Canada, announced it has selected Cisco to provide a packet-based cable infrastructure. Cisco is teaming with Bellcore to deliver a complete, end-to-end solution that enables Le Groupe Videotron Ltee to provide advanced data, voice and video services across the province of Quebec. Bellcore, an SAIC company, is a leading provider of communications software, engineering, consulting and training services based on world-class research. Bellcore creates business solutions that make information technology work for telecommunications carriers, businesses and governments worldwide. More information about Bellcore's products and services is available on Bellcore's web site at http://www.bellcore.com. FMI: http://www.cisco.com.