Horry Telephone Cooperative Selects GENBAND's G6 Universal Gateway to Affordably Migrate Network to VoIP

Plano, TX, October 21, 2009–GENBAND Inc., a market-leading developer of next-generation IP infrastructure solutions, today announced that Horry Telephone Cooperative (HTC), the nation’s largest telephone cooperative and the 18th largest telephone company, has selected the GENBAND G6® Universal Gateway to transition its legacy Class 5 switching to a state-of-the-art Class 5 softswitch infrastructure.

As the industry’s first Packet Line Gateway, GENBAND’s G6 allows EWSD (Electronic Digital Switching System) and DCO (Digital Central Office) line frames to be controlled by standards-compliant softswitches or IMS cores, preserving 70 to 80 percent of a service provider’s infrastructure investment. In 2006, GENBAND acquired part of Siemens’ circuit-switch business which enabled it to provide open interfaces for next generation network solutions to the Siemens North American DCO and EWSD installed base of more than 2,500 host and remote switches.

“In the past, the evolution of EWSD networks to VoIP call control required the costly and unfeasible replacement of the entire network, including all proprietary line frames,” said Frank Sarvis, Chief Executive, Network Engineering of Horry Telephone Cooperative. “GENBAND’s G6 is an ideal solution for our network, enabling us to control existing customer lines on our access platform while still providing all the benefits and functionality of VoIP. Without GENBAND’s G6, replacing our multiple aging Class 5 switches with a centralized IP-based softswitch would not have been practical.”

“HTC is one of the most progressive telephone cooperatives in the nation and we are very pleased to be assisting in the transformation of their network,” said Pablo Gargiulo, President of Global Operations at GENBAND. “We recognized the need among service providers like HTC for a more flexible network migration path to VoIP. Our investment in the Siemens switch business continues to pay off as service providers are looking for viable VoIP upgrade options that let them leverage existing equipment and minimize customer disruptions as they migrate to next generation networks.”

In a typical EWSD network migration, GENBAND is able to replace some of the aging Class 5 components with a single G6, significantly reducing floor space, heating and air conditioning requirements.

GENBAND’s G6 Universal Gateway and G2™ Compact Gateway are the industry’s only solutions that provide a comprehensive next generation migration path for industry standard GR-303, V5.2 and TR-08 DLC/AN equipment as well as proprietary line frames and remotes, including Siemens EWSD and DCO. The G6 and G2 also provide simultaneous trunking gateway support as well as network survivability via integrated, on-board Emergency Standalone (ESA) services. The G6 and G2 allow all access, both legacy and next generation, to be commonly controlled and served by a centralized softswitch/IMS core.

About GENBAND
GENBAND is a global leader and innovator of next generation IP media, session border and fixed mobile convergence security solutions deployed in over half of the world’s 100 largest service providers. These high-performance gateway solutions are at the core of fixed and mobile networks around the world - evolving, securing and enhancing communications networks. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, GENBAND has Centers of Excellence around the world and serves customers and partners in more than 80 countries. Additional information is available at www.genband.com.

About HTC
HTC, Inc. is the nation’s largest telephone cooperative and the 18th largest telephone company. Founded in 1952, HTC celebrates more than 55 years of service to the community as a local communications leader.

HTC offers local telephone service, long distance, Digital Wireless, Digital Cable, High-Speed Internet Access, and advanced business services such as Remote Recovery Services, Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) design, firewall and Virtual Private Network (VPN) security. HTC Communications, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of HTC, Inc., offers local telephone service in the city of Conway, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Little River, Pawleys Island and the city of Georgetown. A full menu of communications services are available from HTC Communications including, local telephone service, long distance, Digital Wireless, Digital Cable and High-Speed Internet access. HTC also provides Home Security and Fiber to the Home technology called HTC Bluewave, a state-of-the-art fiber optic network that delivers unparalleled bandwidth for extremely high-speed Internet access and data transmittal, 100 percent digital cable TV video, and traditional voice service through a single delivery point to a customer’s home.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Kim Lee
GENBAND Inc.
+1.972.265.3766
kim.lee@genband.com

Frank Puglia
GENBAND Inc.
+1.972.265.3612
frank.puglia@genband.com