NGN Forum and IMS Forum Announce Plugfest 8 to Focus on Interoperability for IP Applications, BSS/OSS & Security

DENVER, CO, Jul 29 (MARKET WIRE) --
The NGN IMS Forum(TM) announced today that its eighth NGN IMS
Plugfest(TM) will be held October 5 thru October 9th, 2009 at the
InterOperability Lab (UNH IOL) in Durham, NH. The NGN IMS Forum Plugfests
are the industry's only interoperability events covering converged IMS
and NGN services over wireless, wireline and cable broadband. Plugfest 8
will focus on Interoperability for voice and multimedia applications,
BSS/OSS and Security inter and intra network:

-- End-to-end interoperability testing for IMS and NGN applications and
services
-- Interoperability of the Control Plane and the Diameter Protocol
-- Charging functions impacts on BSS

"Plugfest 8 is a cooperative effort between our three technical
working groups, including the Diameter/Control Plane, BSS/OSS and
Security Working Groups," said Michael Khalilian, Chairman and President
of the NGN IMS Forum. "It will showcase the great progress that these
groups have made in advancing NGN and IMS architectures."

Examples of test topics for Plugfest 8 include:

-- Application and Feature Testing across the Control Plane
-- Online & offline charging scenarios for IMS events and sessions
-- Interface Compliance testing: The 3GPP standard interfaces that use
Diameter
-- Topology hiding scenarios: IMS/NGN Control Plane interoperability
including border controllers, legacy network gateways, service location
function, and policy control elements
-- Multi-domain scenarios covering user-to-network and network-to-network
IMS interoperability
-- Further study of IPsec on the Gm interface
-- Inclusion of IPv6 within the core network

"Plugfest 8 is a great opportunity to demonstrate 'smart monetization'
approaches as a way to leverage the full potential of Next-Generation
Networks, and we are honored to be participants," said Gabriel Matsliach,
General Manager, Billing & Active Customer Management at Comverse and vice
chair of the BSS/OSS and Security Working Group.

"Many operators will rely on existing intelligent network technology for
at least the next 10 years, and many will evolve to IMS and NGN
technology in that time, requiring interoperability within networks and
in between global service providers," said Ron de Lange, executive vice
president at Tekelec. "Plugfest 8 continues the NGN IMS Forum's
commitment to accelerating deployment of next-generation technology, and
we are excited to participate and bridge the gaps between networks more
rapidly."

Plugfest 8 participants will include such companies as: Comverse, HP, Mu
Dynamics, Radvision, Tech Mahindra, and Tekelec. Sponsors of Plugfest 8
include T-Mobile, Intel and Radvision. The following media organizations
are also sponsors of Plugfest 8: CTIA, Informa, Supercomm 2009, TMC, and
Virgo Publishing.

Participation in NGN IMS Plugfest 8 is open to all companies. For online
registration and info contact the forum at: info@imsforum.org or visit
www.NGNforum.org.

About the NGN Forum(TM) and IMS Forum(R)

The NGN/IMS Forum is the only global telecommunications association
devoted to Next Generation Network (NGN) service delivery and
interoperable IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services architectures and
solutions.

The Forum's mission is to accelerate the interoperability of IMS and NGN
services and to enable enterprise and residential consumers to benefit
fully from the 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, the IMS Plugfest,
and/or the NGN Plugfest, please visit www.IMSforum.org or
www.NGNforum.org.

For Further Information contact:
NGN IMS Forum Media Relations
Cathy Clarke - CNC Associates
+1 (508) 833-8533
pr@imsforum.org

Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

-0-