Al-Pi Launches IPhone, an Innovative IP Communications Service for Enterprises, Based on NetCentrex' Solution

PARIS (France) September 1 (PROTEXT/PRNewswire) - Thanks toNetCentrex' IPCentrex(TM) Solution, Al-Pi is the First ServiceProvider to Deliver VoIP Hosted Communications Services toEnterprises in the Catalonian Region of Spain

NetCentrex(TM), the leading enabler of converged voice-video-data networks and next-generation services, and Al-PiTelecommunications, a subsidiary of Uni2 and France Telecom andone of Spain's major telecommunications service providers in theCatalonian region, announced today that Al-Pi Telecommunicationshas deployed NetCentrex' IPCentrex(TM) solution to launch"IPhone", a hosted VoIP communications service for Catalonianenterprises. Integration services have been carried out by Satec,NetCentrex' partner in Spain, who also provides support for thesolution.

Available from today, "IPhone" enables enterprises to accessany voice and data services required for their activities overone single converged network. With "IPhone", they benefit from anefficient means of communication and increased productivity whileoptimising their telecommunications costs and outsourcing themanagement of telecommunications resources.

This innovative solution provides enterprises with a seamlessmigration path from regular PBX telephony ownership to centrallyhosted business communications services, thus removing the needfor telephony switching equipment at the enterprise premises. Forexample, for a company which counts between 50 and 200 extensionlines, the "IPhone" solution could represent a saving of up to40% on infrastructure and maintenance costs.

It also introduces new multimedia applications such asunified messaging, conferencing, and other PC integrationapplications. A self-care provisioning tool allows enterprises tomanage the telephony services for each user and site themselves,including call forward, international access, access codes anddirectories. Additionally, line customisation can be directlycarried out by the user. Delivered over a single network,communications are simplified and the company benefits from asingle point of contact as well as single integrated billing.

"In our industry, time to market for a new solution such asIP Centrex services is a key factor for success. We choseNetCentrex' open, multi-protocol and proven platform, integratedby Satec, because it showed itself to be the most secure solutionto meet our ambitious challenge" declared Andreu Vilamitjana,Marketing director of Al-Pi Telecommunications. "By deployingNetCentrex' platform into Al-Pi's network, we have created avery attractive and innovative VoIP solution to meet the needs ofsmall and medium enterprises as well as large corporations, andto enable them cost savings and higher productivity. Theextensive multi-level administration tools and self carecapabilities of NetCentrex solutions will also enable usto reduce our operational expenses and to deliver a highlycompetitive price/performance value proposition."

"IP technology enables all services to be accessibleanywhere. Al-Pi's new IP Centrex service will enable small andmedium businesses to benefit from a wide range of servicesusually only available to large corporations. They will alsobenefit from a smooth migration path from traditional to IPtelephony services," comments Theodore Martin, NetCentrex' CEO.

"Al-Pi is the first service provider to enter the SpanishVoIP business services market with a full IP Centrex solutionwhich meets the needs of enterprises of all sizes. We feelconfident about the potential growth of the VoIP services marketin Spain, and Al-Pi is very well positioned to gain a leadingposition in it." concludes Sandra Cortez, Iberica Sales Director,at NetCentrex.About NetCentrex (www.netcentrex.net)

NetCentrex(TM) develops next-generation networking productsand network-based applications for 3 main markets: businesscommunications, customer interactions and broadband residentialcommunications. NetCentrex' solutions include voice portals,network-based multimedia contact centers, voice and video over IPvirtual private networks (VPN), IP Centrex services, businesstrunking, infrastructure and class IV solutions and residentialbroadband communication services.

The solutions enable both service providers and enterprisesto build converged networks and to deploy a wide variety ofadvanced, high value-added communication services which haveminimum installation requirements and lower operational costs.All solutions are built on the NetCentrex Softswitch and MediaServer platforms that provide core infrastructure and networkconnectivity.

Founded in 1998, NetCentrex has over 200 customers worldwide,including Al-Pi, Comunitel, Contactel, Equant, France Telecom,FastWeb, Inclarity, LatAmNap Lyse Tele, MTU-Intel, Noos, Orbitel,Prosodie, Telecom Italia, Telefonica Deutschland, TransTeleComand Xpedite. International partners include Cisco Systems,Hewlett-Packard and Intel. Leading European and US venturecapital firms back the privately held company.About Al-Pi Telecommunications (www.al-pi.com)

Al-Pi is a major telecommunications service providers in theCatalonian region , pertaining to Uni2 group, France Telecom(75%) and to the Telecommunications Center of the Generalitat ofCatalonia (25%). Al-Pi offers global advanced telecommunications,data & internet services. The company's keen knowledge ofbusiness world requirements has allowed it to develop Iphone, arevolutionary professional communication service based on IPtechnology. This IP telephony service brings together the voiceand data solutions necessary for doing business on a singlenetwork. It allows all Catalonian companies, regardless of size,to gradually change to IP telephony services that are adapted tomeet their needs.

The high degree of commitment shown by the company and thehighly specific conditions of this service once again reflect thelevel of knowledge and proximity that Al-Pi Telecomunicacions hasregarding the requirements of the Catalan business market.Likewise, Iphone's characteristics reflect the level of qualityand technological innovation that has always characterised thiscompany's history.Source: NetcentrexPress Contacts: NetCentrex EMEA, Laurence Niola, Tel: +33-1-58-71-33-05 or Madeleine Jeavons, Tel: +33-1-58-71-33-28, Email:pr@netcentrex.net, Web Site: www.netcentrex.net. NetCentrex US /Latin America, Nadine Joullie, Tel: +1-408-521-7411, Email:pr@netcentrex.net, Web Site: www.netcentrex.net. Al-Pi, Dequatroen Adelante, Esther Pie, +34-93-488-30-60, Email:comunicacion@dequatro.com

Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug"PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to bepublished under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial serviceproviding distribution of press releases from clients, who areidentified in the text of Protext reports and who bear fullresponsibility for their contents.

PROTEXT