MetaSwitch, Minerva Networks Team to Demonstrate Combined Video and Voice Services over IP

Boston, MA: September 11, 2006 (Fall VON Conference). MetaSwitch, a leading vendor of next-generation carrier switching and application solutions, and Minerva Networks, the leading provider of carrier-class solutions for delivering video services over IP networks, will demonstrate this week how carriers can deliver an integrated video and voice service to subscribers over broadband networks, simultaneously delivering full-featured video and phone service over a single connection.

"Carriers are seeking to both increase revenue and to retain their customer base from encroachment by cable operators," said Matt Cuson, vice president of marketing for Minerva. "Converged solutions such as what we are presenting with MetaSwitch will provide new financial opportunities for the operators and at the same time revolutionize the way their customers purchase and enjoy television programming."

The combined solution seamlessly blends VoIP, legacy TDM and next generation telephony services, while adding video content. This application of converged IP telephony and video services offers service providers a significant additional revenue opportunity from existing customers as well as a clear competitive advantage in the increasingly competitive subscriber markets to new customers. Through this service offering, subscribers have access to caller ID information, high definition TV broadcasts, pay-per-view, video on demand and personal video recorder features, enabling service providers to deliver a full suite of interactive IP communications and entertainment services.

"This partnership enables our customers to actively participate today in the video over IP market, which is expected to grow ten-fold by the end of the decade, both in terms of revenue and number of subscribers," said Andrew Randall, vice president of marketing at MetaSwitch. "With competition for last mile subscribers heating up and technology rapidly moving forward, traditional telephony providers must deploy new applications, such as video, to participate in this growing opportunity."

The combined MetaSwitch and Minerva demonstration can be seen at the Fall VON Conference and Expo in the MetaSwitch booth, number 855, at the Boston Convention Center. The Expo floor is open to show attendees Tuesday, Sept. 12 through Thursday, Sept. 14.

About MetaSwitch

MetaSwitch is an industry-leading vendor of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) switching and applications solutions for both packet and circuit-switched networks. Its widely deployed call agent, media/signaling gateway and application server platform supports a full range of legacy Class 4/5 capabilities and hosted unified communications services, and scales from a few hundred to millions of subscribers in both integrated and distributed configurations. MetaSwitch customers include incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers, as well as operators of broadband wireless, cable and fiber networks. MetaSwitch is a division of established telecom technology provider Data Connection. The company is consistently profitable and privately held, with main US offices in California and Virginia, and European headquarters in London, UK. For more information: www.metaswitch.com.

About Minerva Networks

Minerva Networks Inc. is the leading provider of open-platform, carrier-class solutions for the delivery of television services over broadband IP networks. Broadband network operators worldwide use Minerva's products and services to deliver next-generation entertainment and communications applications. Minerva Networks is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, and on the Internet at www.minervanetworks.com.