SkyLine Selects GENBAND for Advanced IP Network Transformation

Frisco, Texas, May 18, 2011 – GENBAND, a leading developer of IP infrastructure and application solutions, today announced that SkyLine Membership Corporation, a member owned telecommunications cooperative serving Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, has selected GENBAND to support a comprehensive migration of its Class 5 network with advanced IP infrastructure and services. GENBAND’s Professional Services Organization is efficiently transitioning multiple sites by replacing the majority of SkyLine’s legacy TDM switches with a GENBAND C15™ Compact Softswitch platform that integrates Session Border Control and Media Gateway functionality to double SkyLine’s network capacity and significantly reduce total cost of ownership. Complementing SkyLine’s Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) initiative, GENBAND’s C15 platform will also provide an advanced suite of applications, including Unified Messaging, Single Number Service, Web Portal, Call Manager and Hunt Group Queuing.

“GENBAND offered a unique combination of efficient IP technology and services expertise in installing, commissioning and supporting multi-node networks through a phased migration,” said Robbie Farmer, Network Engineering Manager, SkyLine. “By utilizing GENBAND’s C15 platform that uniquely integrates call control, softswitch, SBC and media gateway features, we optimized both our upfront switch replacement costs and our ongoing operational costs through significantly reduced floor space and power consumption. The C15’s integrated application suite will deliver the breadth of features we require for our various vertical market segments.”

As the industry’s leading softswitch that enables the retention of legacy line peripherals, GENBAND’s C15 Compact Softswitch enabled SkyLine to manage initial capital expenditure requirements during a comprehensive network transformation. The C15 optical port module provides OC-3 interfaces to simplify the network connectivity and deliver massive media traffic directly into the optical communications ring employed by Skyline.

“We are very pleased to meet SkyLine’s demanding network transformation requirements, and are gratified by the opportunity to deploy our uniquely integrated C15 platform breakthroughs,” said Dan Lakey, Senior Vice President of Sales at GENBAND. “Our network transformation model is focused on lowering upfront transition costs and leveraging prior investments while delivering all the advanced IP innovation, functionality and applications the market demands. We look forward to supporting SkyLine’s ongoing investments in network evolution to meet the needs of its diverse customers.”

About SkyLine Telephone Corporation
SkyLine Membership Corporation is a local, member-owned cooperative, established in 1951 to bring telephone service to rural residents of Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga counties. Today, SkyLine serves five counties and is the second-largest of eight telephone cooperatives in North Carolina. Through its 12-exchange network, SkyLine serves over 33,000 access lines across a five-county, 840-square-mile area in northwest North Carolina and east Tennessee. Democratically governed by a nine-member board of directors representing the membership, SkyLine employs a staff of over 130 and operates customer service centers in Seven Devils, Sparta and West Jefferson. SkyLine, along with two other North Carolina telephone membership corporations, is an owner of Carolina West Wireless, a regional wireless carrier operating in several northwest North Carolina counties and most recently, the Hickory market. In 1998, SkyLine established SkyBest Communications, Inc. as a wholly-owned subsidiary to assume operations of SkyLine's deregulated businesses.

About GENBAND
GENBAND is a global leader of IP infrastructure and application solutions, enabling fixed, mobile and cable service providers around the world to evolve communications networks through IP innovation. The Company offers market-leading Switching, Applications, Networking and Service solutions, with products deployed in over 600 customer networks spanning more than 80 countries. GENBAND is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and has operations in 50 countries. To learn more, visit us on the web at www.genband.com.

GENBAND, the GENBAND logo and icon are trademarks of GENBAND.

Contact:
Kim Lee
GENBAND
+1.972.265.3766
kim.lee@genband.com