MEDIAWAYS GMBH SELECTS DIGI VOIP PRODUCT FOR LARGE IP NETWORKS;
NEW SALES AGREEMENT WORTH MORE THAN $3 MILLION
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire - AsiaNet/ -- Digi International Inc. (Nasdaq: DGII), the leading provider of server-based communication solutions, today announced that mediaWays GmbH, a leading European systems integrator, will deploy ITK NetBlazer 8500 gateways to provide voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) capabilities to its customers. The agreement is worth approximately $3 million.
Under the agreement, mediaWays will purchase the gateway products, which are designed and manufactured by Digi's newly acquired ITK subsidiary in Dortmund, Germany. mediaWays, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, is a systems integrator for intelligent network solutions and manages one of the largest IP networks in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Its customers include America Online, CityWeb and BauNetz.
"Our customers expect high quality, and we were impressed by the superb voice quality of the NetBlazer systems, which equals the quality of today's long distance telephone communication," said Bernhard Ribbock, managing director, mediaWays GmbH. "This excellent quality feature convinced us to select the NetBlazer 8500 as our VoIP solution."
Digi's ITK NetBlazer 8500 gateway converts voice signals received from the conventional telephone network into IP data packets for transmission over the Internet or other IP networks. Using Internet telephony, it is possible to cut communication costs by up to 40 percent. According to a study conducted by analysts from International Data Corporation (IDC), the share of telephone calls transferred via packet-oriented networks will reach 34 percent by the year 2004. The gateway industry alone is estimated to grow from a $125 million market in 1998 to more than $2.5 billion in 2001.
"This agreement with mediaWays demonstrates Digi's ability to offer ISPs and enterprise network managers an Internet telephony gateway solution today," said Jerry A. Dusa, president and chief executive officer, Digi International. "As Internet telephony continues its phenomenal growth, Digi is well- positioned to offer open, reliable and affordable solutions for those interested in taking advantage of the sizeable cost savings provided by voice traffic on the Internet."
Preceding the sales agreement, mediaWays conducted extensive field trials of the ITK NetBlazer 8500. These field trials tested various capabilities of the gateway product, including phone-to-phone connections and computer-to- computer multimedia communications, in a real-world network scenario. Digi's telephony gateway formed the central part of the voice service by connecting the IP network from mediaWays with the public switched telephone network (PSTN/ISDN).
The ITK NetBlazer 8500 is a flexible, complete solution with a port density of 2 to 120 data and voice ports per unit. The gateway also can be cascaded up to 1,000 ports in a system, providing scalability as more ports are needed.
The product uses the protocol H.323, which is recommended by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for multimedia communications via TCP/IP. Furthermore, the NetBlazer 8500 matches the voice quality of today's telephone communications.
About mediaWays
mediaWays was founded in 1996 as a subsidiary of media corporation Bertelsmann and debis System Integration. The high performing mediaWays network incorporates full redundancy in its design and is managed from a Network Control Center. Additional services include Internet, intranet, dial- up solutions, IP-based corporate networks, data security and server-hosting.
About Digi International
Digi International, based in Minneapolis, is a leading ISO 9001-provider of data communications hardware and software that delivers seamless connectivity solutions for open systems, server-based remote access, Internet telephony and LAN markets. The company markets its products through an international network of distributors and resellers, system integrators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). For complete information, see Digi's Web site at http://www.dgii.com
All brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
SOURCE Digi International, Inc.
CONTACT: Rob Clark of Digi International, 612-912-3093, [email protected] or Aaron Pearson of Shandwick Public Relations, 612-841-6217, [email protected], for Digi International/
/Web site: http://www.dgii.com/