Sonus Completes SS7 Testing

WESTFORD, Mass. -- Sonus Networks (Nasdaq: SONS), a leading provider of carrier packet voice infrastructure solutions, today announced that it has completed rigorous interoperability testing of its products with BT's research, technology and IT operations business, BT Exact. Based on its successful completion of the Signaling System 7 (SS7) testing, Sonus' solution, consisting of the Insignus( Softswitch, GSX9000( Open Services Switch and the Sonus Insight( Management System, has received the BT Exact 'Blue Stamp' of approval. To achieve approval, the product was tested for its conformance to relevant international and UK standards and its ability to work reliably when connected into networks that contain other manufacturers' products. "We are very proud to have achieved the BT Exact 'Blue Stamp' accreditation for our packet voice solutions," said Michael O'Hara, vice president, marketing, Sonus Networks. "This certification signifies to European carriers that our equipment has been thoroughly tested and ensures them that our systems are suitable for interconnection with BT's UK network. This is an important criteria particularly for service providers deploying multinational infrastructures." BT Exact's SS7 accreditation tests are designed to validate, to a standard agreed with BT Wholesale, BT's wholesale communications network services and solutions business, that products meet the appropriate ITU-T, ETSI, NICC and PNO-ISC standards that apply to SS7-compatible equipment to be used in the UK. The interworking tests are intended to exercise all aspects of the equipment's expected live behavior, including its ability to handle all call types and respond correctly to maintenance actions, as well as the failure of other equipment in the network. Additionally, BT Exact tests the equipment's performance under conditions such as the receipt of specific message contents or sequences, or failures on the BT switch to which it is connected. Certified products are subject to a final network deployment check to confirm they are correctly installed and configured. Paul Challener, head of networks and testing portfolio at BT Exact, said: "For Sonus Networks' solutions, the award of 'Blue Stamp' accreditation recognises the successful completion of a wide range of tests selected to demonstrate the switch's ability to operate correctly as a part of the UK PSTN via SS7 IUP signaling. The tests, conducted in our unique UK PSTN reference environment at our Adastral Park headquarters, showed the Sonus solution to operate reliably under all foreseeable network conditions."

Sonus Networks Inc.