SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Telecom New Zealand International (TNZI), a global provider of international voice termination services, IP voice, data, video telephony and other enhanced services to mobile and fixed operators and Internet service providers, and Veraz Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRAZ), the leading provider of Multimedia Generation Network application, control, and bandwidth optimization products, today announced that they have successfully completed a multi-operator global trial of the GSM Association (GSMA) IP eXchange (IPX) framework for IP-based network interconnect services.

The IP eXchange (IPX) is a global private IP network, supporting end-to-end quality of service, and the principal of cascading interconnect payments for next generation GSM and CDMA mobile operators, fixed line service providers and application service providers. In order to provide these features the IPX is service aware unlike the Internet and the GPRS Roaming Exchange (GRX). With over seven hundred mobile operators, serving three billion mobile subscribers, looking for value-added interconnect solutions to extend their service reach, IPX is expected to quickly become the dominant global peering arrangement.

TNZI's IPX trial network involved four other carriers, including Telekom Austria and MTT, connected to TNZI as IPX Provider-Service Provider pairs. The testing demonstrated the ability of the IPX architecture to provide a secure IP-based platform for interconnecting mobile and fixed operators. In addition to VoIP peering, the trial also demonstrated value-added services including transcoding, security features provided by Veraz's Network-adaptive Border Controller as well as VoIP to PSTN interworking that IPX providers can use to differentiate their offering.

Veraz's IPX solution has been successfully tested by multiple IPX providers interested in offering IPX services and the results of this latest trial continue to validate Veraz's leadership in this market. Veraz's IPX solution includes the ControlSwitch(tm) converged TDM and IP softswitch, the Network-adaptive Border Controller family of security products and the I-Gate 4000 family of media gateways. The ControlSwitch's powerful policy-based routing engine and interworking of SS7, SIP-I and SIP protocols; the I-Gate 4000 media gateways' enhanced media management capabilities; and simplified end-to-end operations support are key attributes of Veraz's IPX solution and provide a complete platform for offering advanced IPX services.

"TNZI was pleased to work with Veraz Networks to substantiate the feasibility of the GSMA-defined IPX," said Ian Neale, President Business Futures, Telecom New Zealand International. "We believe that IPX provides an ideal next generation technical architecture and business framework for interconnecting IP and TDM services between mobile and fixed service providers and that the Veraz-based architecture will give us the capabilities and flexibility needed to be a competitive IPX Provider."

Telecom New Zealand Ltd. (NYSE: NZT; New Zealand: TEL)