Italtel Announces Triple-Play Contract

VENICE, Italy -- Italtel, a company operating in voice, data, andvideo integration on telecommunications networks, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN),have jointly developed a centralized database designed to help Telecom Italiarapidly deploy next-generation network services such as ‘triple play’ (combinedvoice, video and data) over broadband connections. The news was announcedtoday at the Broadband World Europe 2004 conference.

Accenture and Italtel designed a dedicated solution for Telecom Italia (wireline)that allows the leading Italian telecommunications operator to evolve its networktowards NGN (Next Generation Network) and NGS (Next Generation Services)architectures.

The solution developed for Telecom Italia includes the creation of a horizontal,programmable, multi-service platform based on the separation of different layers(service, control and information). The distinctive characteristics of this type ofarchitecture are the adoption of standard protocols and the management of userrelateddata by a single, logically centralized database. This allows the rapidintegration of new services and applications, optimising investments and costs atthe same time.

Using their experience Italtel and Accenture designed the solution, known as i-UDB(Italtel Universal Data Base), a 3GPP-IMS Home Subscriber Server, to be flexibleand easy to integrate, enabling telecommunications operators to develop newmultimedia services for residential and business users more rapidly than previouslypossible. The i-UDB stores and manages user profile elements centrally, facilitatingthe deployment of broadband and new communication services as well as helpingto ensure a level of quality and reliability similar to that of traditional telephoneservices.

In a separate release:

VENICE, Italy -- Italtel, a company operating in voice/data/videointegration on telecommunication networks, announced today it has beenrecognized as the leading Softswitch provider in the second quarter 2004 within theEuropean EMEA market, with a 38% market share in terms of ‘licenses sold’,increasing market share by 11 percent compared to the previous quarter.

The data, released August 19th, examines the major players operating in the VoIPsector. Market share is based on the number of licenses sold by Italtel.Furthermore, Infonetics reports that with an 11% market share, Italtel rankedsecond worldwide in terms of revenue earned within the same market segment,with a strong growth in the last three quarters.

“Italtel understood and sustained the market’s requirements in advance, focusingits core business on VoIP technologies with the iMSS (Italtel Multi Service Solution),working together with carriers and ISPs on innovating their infrastructures towardsNew Generation converging networks” – said Claudio Chiarenza, Executive VicePresident, Business Unit Products at Italtel.

“Italtel is helping lead the adoption of packet voice in Europe. - said Kevin Mitchell,directing analyst of service provider voice and data with Infonetics Research - Incontrast to Europe’s overall slow move to VoIP, Italtel’s largest customer, TelecomItalia is making significant strides towards modernizing their network and bringingnew service options to their customers.”

Italtel SpA