Posted: 04/2000
News Briefs
Peregrine Systems to Acquire Telco Research
Peregrine Systems Inc. (www.peregrine.com) and Telco Research Corp. (www.telcoresearch.com) recently announced they have signed a merger agreement under which Peregrine Systems will acquire all Telco Research's outstanding shares. The acquisition brings extensive telephony infrastructure management capabilities to Peregrine's Systems Infrastructure Management product line.
The Telco Research shareholders must approve the merger. It also must meet regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
As consideration for the merger, Peregrine Systems expects to issue nearly 1.28 million shares in exchange for the outstanding equity securities of Telco Research. Based on current market prices, the deal is valued at approximately $110 million.
The acquisition expands Peregrine Systems Infrastructure Management suite to include voice and data collection solutions for telephony Infra-structure Management, which enables companies to allocate costs, measure performance, enforce policies, manage security and control fraud.
Info Directions Adopts TMNG's QBC Methodology
Info Directions Inc. (IDI, www.infodirections.com) will adopt The Management Network Group Inc.'s (TMNG, www.tmng.com) Quality Billing Center (QBC) methodology to enhance its telecommunications rating, billing and customer care solutions.
TMNG's QBC methodology, which the Global Billing Association (www.billing.org) endorses, is an end-to-end revenue assurance model tailored to a carrier's business systems and process environment.
The QBC process model designates one organization to ensure the "health" of billing through its entire life cycle, and to identify and correct problems quickly during the earliest possible point in the billing process.
Universal Access Acquires Stuff Software
Network services aggregator Universal Access Inc. (www.universalaccess.net) has acquired substantial assets of Stuff Software Inc. ( www.stuffsoftware), and its line of telecommunications database products. Terms were not disclosed.
Universal Access reports the acquisition is an addition to its information management service offerings to telecommunications service providers, ISPs and application service providers (ASPs). The Universal Information Exchange (UIX) proprietary databases contain capacity, availability, physical location and pricing information from more than 35 transport suppliers and more than 75,000 physical sites.
Stuff Software's product line includes C.O.Finder!, which lets users look up CO and frame-relay switching locations throughout the United States; LocationFinder!, a telecommunications mapping program; and PriceFinder!, which provides a database of telecommunications tariffs.
SNET Approved as SS7 Aggregator by AT&T Wholesale Markets
SNET Network Marketing and Sales (www.snet.com), the Southern New England Telecommunications Company wholesale unit and a nationwide provider of SS7 and Intelligent Network services, has announced an interconnection with AT&T Corp.'s (www.att.com) SS7 network. This permits SNET to provide SS7 Aggregator Services to AT&T carrier customers.
The arrangement provides SS7 interconnection between AT&T and its carrier customers through SNET's national SS7 hubbing service.
Using a certified signaling connection between SNET and AT&T, carriers connected to SNET's national SS7 network may choose AT&T as a wholesale network provider, and be assured their signaling traffic will reach the AT&T network simply and efficiently through SNET's SS7 network.
MCK Initiates Certification Program for Service Providers
MCK Communications Inc. (www.mck.com), a provider of remote access products, has initiated certification programs for network and service providers.
HarvardNet (www.harvard.net), a DSL service provider, is the first to join the program.
The MCK Service Provider Program allows CLECs, ILECs, ISPs, ASPs and cable operators to certify their networks or to offer value-added voice services to companies that deploy remote data applications.
MCK Certified Network Providers are companies that focus on providing remote access networks. They work with ISPs, ASPs and MCK resellers for provisioning, installation and support of turnkey access solutions.
To qualify as an MCK Certified Network Provider, companies must test and certify MCK remote voice products over their network and reference MCK products on their websites and in marketing collateral.
In addition, they must sell, install, service, support and manage services for MCK solutions to end users. Among the benefits are marketing and technical support and discounts on advances sales and demo equipment.
MCK Solutions Providers are companies that have structured their businesses to provide a turnkey solution, including installation, service, support and managed services.
MCK also will link its certified service providers with its hardware channel partners to deliver complete solutions to customers. MCK products are available through a network of telecommunications resellers and OEM partners, including Lucent Technologies Inc. (www.lucent.com), Williams Communications Solutions (www.williamscommunications.com), BellSouth Corp. (www.bellsouth.com), GTE Corp. (www.gte.com), Sprint Corp. (www.sprint.com), Bell Canada (www.bell.ca), SBC Corp. (www.sbc.com), Ameritech Corp. (www.ameritech.com), Staples Communications, Dacon Systems Inc. (www.daconsys.com), British Telecom plc (www.bt.com) and other value added resellers.
