Ascend Communications and Microsoft Announce Interoperability between Windows NetMeeting and Ascend's MultiVoice

Strategic Insights -

Ascend Communications, a leader in wide area networking solutions, announced that its MultiVoice for MAX and MAX TNT VoIP solution is interoperable with Microsoft's forthcoming Windows NetMeeting 3 conferencing software. This solution will enable PC users to be notified and answer incoming voice calls while connected to the Internet using a single telephone line. With Windows NetMeeting and Ascend's VoIP platform, users will be able to place phone calls between a PSTN phone and a desktop PC enabled with Windows NetMeeting.

Key Takeaways:

  • Ascend Communications and Microsoft have achieved interoperability between Windows NetMeeting 3 and Ascend's MultiVoice for MAX and MAX TNT VoIP solution.
  • This interoperability enables PC users to be notified and answer incoming voice calls while connected to the Internet using a single telephone line.
  • The solution uses Ascend's VoIP platform to convert PSTN calls to IP packets and route them to the Windows NetMeeting user.
  • Ascend's MultiVoice strategy provides a comprehensive architecture for delivering voice and fax over IP, ATM, and Frame Relay, with integral "Absolute" Quality of Service (QoS) for toll-quality voice and fax delivery over data infrastructure.
  • Ascend's VoIP solution includes the MAX remote access concentrator, carrier-class MAX TNT WAN access switch, and the MultiVoice Access Manager.
  • Microsoft's Windows NetMeeting 3 provides a software application for enabling PC-to-PSTN or PSTN-to-PC phone calls over the Internet and other managed IP networks.
  • Ascend's integration with Windows NetMeeting enables service providers to offer new revenue-generating services to their customers.
  • The interoperability between Windows NetMeeting and Ascend's VoIP platforms delivers a product solution that allows service providers to offer new services to their customers.

Statistics:

  • 1999 denotes the year in which Ascend Communications and Microsoft achieved interoperability between their respective solutions.
  • 1 denotes the single telephone line used for PC-to-PSTN or PSTN-to-PC phone calls over the Internet and other managed IP networks.
  • 0.825 represents the exchange ratio for each outstanding share of Ascend common stock to be exchanged for Lucent common stock in the Merger Agreement.
  • 2-for-1 represents the stock split announced by Lucent in February 1999, payable on April 1, 1999.

Sources:

  • Ascend Communications
  • Microsoft Corporation
  • Lucent Technologies, Inc.
  • Securities and Exchange Commission (specifically the most recent reports on forms 10-K and 10-Q)
  • Business Wire - "Ascend Communications, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation Announce Interoperability between Windows NetMeeting and Ascend's MultiVoice" (May 11, 1999)
  • Ascend Communications - "About Ascend Communications" (www.ascend.com)
  • Lucent Technologies, Inc. - "Merger Agreement" (February 1999)
  • Lucent Technologies, Inc. - "Two-for-One Stock Split" (February 1999)