SYDNEY - August 14, 2003 - Telstra, the leading electronic communications and information services provider in the Asia-Pacific region, has selected Cisco Systems® as its network infrastructure provider for Telstra IP Telephony. Telstra IP Telephony is the largest, national, Internet Protocol (IP) telephony solution in Australia, offering significant productivity benefits for Telstra business and government customers.
IP telephony helps companies reduce operating expenses and simplify network management by using a single, IP-based network for voice, video and data services. Adoption of IP telephony has increased in Australia during the past two years, particularly by enterprise companies as customers take advantage of the operational cost efficiencies, security and scalability benefits. Since 2001, Cisco® has sold more than 50,000 IP phones to Australian business and government customers and has sold more than 2 million IP phones worldwide.
Cisco will provide Telstra with industry-leading IP-based communications products and support for the provision of IP-based voice services to Telstra's corporate and government customers. Cisco and Telstra will work together to identify how business and government customers can improve productivity and manage their network costs more efficiently. Cisco will also advise Telstra and its customers about the productivity benefits available from various applications that operate on IP networks.
Telstra Data Sales and Solutions Managing Director, Paul Geason, said; "Telstra customers will be able to achieve new efficiencies and cost savings with the latest generation of IP technology that eliminates the need for separate voice and data networks. Together with Cisco and our other industry partners, we are committed to promoting the benefits of IP telephony to the Australian market."
Cisco networking infrastructure forms the core of the Telstra IP Telephony network. Cisco products powering the Telstra IP Telephony network include the Cisco AS5300 Series universal gateways, Cisco SIP Proxy servers, Cisco PIX® 525 and PIX 535 firewalls, Cisco 7200 Series routers and Cisco PGW 2200 signaling gateways.
Cisco Australia and New Zealand director of Telstra sales, Gerard Lithgow said; "IP Telephony makes business sense. With Telstra IP Telephony, enterprise customers have greater choice for their voice services. Cisco is delighted to be providing the network to help businesses use IP networking as a competitive tool with real returns and quantifiable business benefits."
The Cisco IP Telephony solution is overlaid with a softswitch application from Broadsoft, Inc. This solution is made available together with Telstra's Wideband IP service and allows Telstra to offer a wider range of IP-based solutions. Leading systems integrator Dimension Data provides the Broadsoft application and support to Telstra.
Dimension Data Australia Chief executive, Steve Nola, said; "Dimension Data has been a Cisco partner in the IP Telephony field in Australia and also internationally. We have been working with Cisco for many years around innovative applications using converged infrastructure, and we are excited about the new opportunities likely to emerge in IP telephony."
About Telstra Corporation Limited
Telstra is Australia's leading telecommunications carrier and a world-class fully integrated, full service provider across wireline, ADSL, HFC, satellite and digital wireless networks and platforms.
Telstra has more than 10 million household, business and wholesale customers. Telstra is Australia's leading ISP, has the most highly accessed family of Internet portals and sites in Australia, and provides entertainment and multimedia content over its broadband network and through its Foxtel pay-TV joint venture.
See www.telstra.com for further information
