Aricent and IMS Forum Launch the Industry's First Collaborative Repository for Next...

Aricent and IMS Forum Launch the Industry's First Collaborative Repository for
Next Generation Equipment and Service Testing

Global Resource Designed to Reduce Testing Cycles, Complexity and Cost;
Accelerate Time to Market for NGN Equipment and Services

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- IMS Forum, the only industry
association dedicated to interoperability and certification of IP Multimedia
Subsystem (IMS) and Next Generation Networks (NGN) applications and services,
and Aricent, a global innovation, technology and service company focused
exclusively on communications, today announced the launch of www.TestNGN.org.
The www.TestNGN.org site hosts an industry-wide collaborative platform of
comprehensive test cases for the validation of IMS and NGN equipment and
services.

www.TestNGN.org offers the industry's first community-based, open repository
for NGN testing that allows network equipment manufacturers and service
providers to significantly reduce the time, complexity, and cost required to
introduce next generation networks and services, including equipment such as
multimedia gateways, home subscriber and application servers, and services
including voice and multimedia over IP, converged Web-telephony services and
IPTV.

The repository will allow equipment manufacturers and service providers to
download, post and share global testing experiences, quickly creating a high
value knowledge base. This approach will help minimize the time spent on test
case development, planning, writing and preparation, and accelerate the
testing cycle for NGN architectures while reducing complexity and time to
market.

"There is increased competition in the consumer and enterprise multimedia
markets, with an urgent need for NGN equipment manufacturers and service
providers to get new products and services to market quickly," said Michael
Khalilian, chairman of the IMS Forum and NGN Forum. "This joint effort
between Aricent and the IMS and NGN Forum complements our landmark IMS
Plugfest(TM) interoperability events. With easy access to downloadable test
cases, equipment manufacturers will reduce their testing times and be assured
of consistent compliance with the latest standards. Service providers will
benefit from the ability to carry out their own end-to-end testing, and will
be able to swiftly verify vendor assurances of NGN compliance testing. This
site was designed to provide a major addition to the multi-vendor,
multi-network environment created for our IMS NGN Plugfest interoperability
test events to further accelerate the deployment of Next Generation networks
and services."

The IMS Forum's TestNGN and Interoperability Working Groups are focused
respectively on the product interoperability, reliability and operational and
management issues associated with converged IMS and NGN applications and
services delivered over wireless (3G, LTE), wireline (DSL, optical) and cable
broadband. The groups ensure that converged applications and the vehicles
which deliver such services will be timely and well supported from a
provisioning, billing and management systems perspective.

Aricent has developed an extensive NGN testing practice, employing more than
1,600 test engineers and test consultants. The practice has over 70,000 test
cases for wireless, VoIP and IMS, all designed to speed the worldwide delivery
of Next Generation networks and services.

"We are proud to be working closely with the IMS and NGN Forums to co-develop
an innovative method of accelerating the standardized introduction of
cutting-edge NGN products and services," explained C P Murali, senior vice
president at Aricent. "Access to the professionally managed NGN test cases
benefits both equipment manufacturers and services providers. This should lead
to reduced development times for the whole NGN industry."

For more information about the Aricent NGN testing practice, visit:
http://www.aricent.com/Services/TestingAndCertification.aspx. For more
information on the IMS Plugfest visit www.imsforum.org.

Keywords & tags: next generation network, NGN Forum, NGN Testing, testing
practice, IMS forum

About the NGN ForumTM and IMS Forum(R)

The NGN/IMS Forum is the only global telecommunications association devoted to
Next Generation Networks (NGN) service delivery and interoperable IP
Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services architectures and solutions. The Forum's
mission is to enable delivery of M-play(TM): rich multimedia, mobility and
fixed services over wireline, cable, GSM, UMTS, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, LTE and fiber
broadband networks. The Forum is the creator and organizer of the IMS
Plugfests(TM) and NGN Plugfests(TM), the industry's only events focused on
verification and certification of IMS and NGN service interoperability through
the IMS Certified(TM) and NGN Certified(TM) programs.

Through organized Plugfests, technical working groups and other activities,
Forum members develop cost-effective technical frameworks for revenue
generating converged IP NGN solutions. The combined organizations include
over 2000 executives and technical, business development and marketing
professionals from global and emerging equipment vendors, solution providers,
integrators, service providers, and governmental agencies. For additional
information or to join the NGN Forum, IMS Forum, the IMS Plugfest, and/or the
NGN Plugfest, please visit www.IMSforum.org or www.NGNforum.org.

About Aricent
Aricent is a global innovation, technology and services company focused
exclusively on communications. Aricent combines the leading innovation
capabilities of frog design with unparalleled domain expertise in
communications as a strategic supplier to the world's foremost infrastructure,
application and service providers. The company's investors include Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts & Co., Sequoia Capital, The Family Office and Flextronics
International Ltd. For more information, visit http://www.aricent.com.

Aricent is a trademark of Aricent Inc. in the United States and other
jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.

SOURCE IMS Forum

Cathy Clarke of NGN Forum media relations, +1-508-833-8533, pr@imsforum.org;
or Steven Manuel of Aricent, +1-650-391-1621, steven.manuel@aricent.com; or
Chris Lalli of Cohn & Wolfe, +1-415-365-8540, chris.lalli@cohnwolfe.com, for
Aricent Americas; or Paula Muezerie of AxiCom, +44 208 392 4081,
aricent@axicom.com, for Aricent Europe; or Shikha Singh Sehrawat of Text 100,
+91 989 107 1999, shikhas@text100.co.in, for Aricent India