Italtel and Cisco Systems Connect Telekomunikacja Polska to the New World of Integrated IP Communications

Italtel, the European Softswitch/VoIP technology leader, has been awarded the contract to supply the VoIP network for Telekomunikacja Polska (TP), Poland’s main telecommunication operator. The Italtel Softswitch and the Cisco Systems’ Media Gateway will be at the core of this IP Next Generation Network.

CANNES, France, December 14, 2005 - Italtel, leader in the development and integration of products and services for new-generation IP networks, and Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the internet, today announced that they have been selected by TP, Poland’s main telecommunications operator, for the implementation of a PSTN gateway solution within its multi-service IP network. This infrastructure will enable TP to offer their customers VoIP services and high-speed Internet access.
The contract includes equipment from both Italtel and Cisco Systems. Specifically, Italtel will provide its professional services to TP, including system integration. These extensive skills have been developed through the experience of working with major national and international carriers.

The efficiency and robustness of the proposed Italtel platform have been demonstrated by its performance in other network infrastructures which have commercial traffic capacities of up to 500 billion voice minutes per year. This is strengthened by the fact that some of the main providers in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium have already deployed the Italtel platform.

“We are especially pleased that TP has chosen to introduce our technology into its national network,” said Antonio Cassese, EVP Sales Operations International Markets for Italtel. "We know that the whole east-central European market is not only dynamic but sensitive to new communications technologies. So we are offering ourselves to TP as a technological and systems partner for the development of new communication services using the IP protocol, providing the experience and know-how that comes from our leadership in the European Softswitch sector.

Our position as the leader in the market has continually been confirmed for over the past year by authoritative market analysts,“ continues Cassese. ”We are confident that Italtel is the company best equipped to guarantee the Polish provider a gradual, reliable and competitive transition from traditional PSTN architecture to the integrated IP networks of the future"

“Our team in Cisco Poland has been working in close collaboration with TP over the past six years and today’s announcement with TP demonstrates our continued progress in fast-developing regions such as Central and Eastern Europe,” said Ghazi Atallah, Managing Director for the Service Provider sector in Emerging Markets at Cisco Systems. “We are establishing a strong market presence for our joint solutions with Italtel across Europe, through the close integration of our technologies and the combined experience we bring to help customers successfully evolve to IP Next Generation Network architectures.”

The network solution design for TP is based on Italtel’s Softswitch i-SSW and the Cisco AS5400 Series Universal Gateway and offers tangible advantages in terms of network scalability, optimisation of network management costs (OpEX), complete interoperability with TDM networks, ample network scalability and the possibility of introducing/developing value added services.


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TP Group

TP Group is the dominant player in the Polish telecommunications market, serving over 11 million fixed-line subscribers and over seven million mobile customers. At the end of 2004, our revenues were PLN 18.5 billion, with EBITDA at PLN 7.9 billion, and we employed some 36,500 people. Our major competitive advantage is our highly developed network infrastructure, which guarantees the quality and availability of our services. Since privatisation in 1998, we have been changing the way our business is run, looking to make it more efficient and better able to compete. In an increasingly liberalised market, increasing efficiency is essential in order to compete with agile new entrants. This is all the more important in the wake of Poland’s accession to the European Union.

Italtel

Italtel designs, develops and installs new-generation integrated multi-service networks (voice/data/video). Its cutting-edge products and systems integration capacity guarantee to fixed and mobile tlc operators and ISPs reliable infrastructures that are open to networking and technological development. Revenues for 2004 were 542 million euros. Since 2000, Italtel’s main shareholders are Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Telecom Italia and Cisco Systems.
Website: www.italtel.com

Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, this year celebrates 20 years of commitment to technology innovation, industry leadership and corporate social responsibility. Information on Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information

JoAnne Hughes

Cisco Systems, Inc.

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