GTE Network Services Introduces New FrameWatch(sm)Managed Service Featuring Paradyne's FrameSaver SLV System

IRVING, Texas and LARGO, Fl. - Paradyne Corporation and GTE Network Services today announced the launch of FrameWatch, GTE's new innovative, managed frame relay service offering. The new services, which feature unprecedented frame relay network control, fault management and reporting, are now available to GTE Network Services' business customers nationwide.

Frame Watch is part of GTE Network Services' new portfolio of managed solutions that provides business customers with solutions that optimize their networks. The new managed solutions portfolio provides small, medium and large-sized business customers end-to-end network management with a single point of accountability based upon best-in-class tools and unmatched expertise.

Paradyne's Frame Watch SLV (Service Level Verifier) System was chosen as a best-in-class tool to support GTE's FrameWatch offering. FrameWatch features configuration, fault and performance management as well as carrier coordination for its customers' entire Frame Relay network. GTE will manage and monitor the frame relay service for its customers, from enhanced Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to performance issues and trouble resolution 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"Our new FrameWatch service provides GTE customers with detailed information and a single point of accountability for problem resolution," said Parker Blackwell, director-advanced business products and services for GTE Network Services, the incumbent local exchange carrier unit of GTE Corp. "The offering also meets our high standards for service level management and reporting, allowing us to efficiently manage our customer's critical frame relay networks."

Each frame relay circuit in the FrameWatch customers' network will be terminated with a Paradyne FrameSaver SLV DSU/CSU, allowing the SLA to extend all the way to the customer premises. This provides real time monitoring and troubleshooting information to GTE, as well as Web based reporting of critical network performance information to the customer.

According to service providers, 70 percent of all user reported frame relay network troubles turn out to be non frame relay network related problems. The FrameSaver SLV System allows GTE FrameWatch to conduct non disruptive end-to-end diagnostics, minimizing customer down time by isolating the source of the problem quickly.

"Paradyne's technology enables GTE to enhance its existing services by now offering customers true SLA assurances with unprecedented scope and accuracy," said Andrew May, president and CEO of Paradyne. "With our unique, non-disruptive diagnostics, GTE can more effectively eliminate intermittent problems, those that typically show as No Trouble Found employing traditional diagnostic methods, that are still a major cause of customer dissatisfaction."

With the inclusion of the FrameSaver NNI monitoring devices, GTE's new service level management solutions can effectively manage the performance of multi-carrier networks, giving GTE complete visibility over the performance of their customers' mission critical networks. With Paradyne's Trueput technology, customers can, for the first time, accurately measure data delivery rate above and below CIR. This not only allows accurate measurement of SLA performance but also delivers a very accurate assessment of total carrier service value to the customer.

"With accurate data at the end points, now correlated with core network statistics, GTE can deliver the collaborative, proactive service management experience customers have been demanding," said Jay Jones, product manager-managed services for GTE Network Services. "Customers want a service level management system that helps them better plan and implement network evolution with their carrier, as well as report on performance, and our new service meets those needs."

The FrameWatch service provides extensive performance reports available from the FrameSaver SLV system, helping customers make sound decisions about their evolving network requirements. A key benefit of the service is GTE's analysis of these reports with the customer to ensure optimum network performance as their network needs evolve

Paradyne's FrameSaver SLV solution provides comprehensive network management designed to monitor and ensure frame relay network service levels. The solution incorporates SNMP and RMON (Remote Monitoring) standards, ensuring scalability and portability among applications, as well as interoperability with frame relay services. FrameSaver SLV incorporates RMON performance management capabilities from NetScout Systems, the market leader in enterprise network monitoring and application management solutions. For a complete description of FrameSaver SLV features and capabilities, visit Paradyne's website at http://www.paradyne.com/framesaver-mini.

About GTE

With 1998 revenues of more than $25 billion, GTE is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and a leading provider of integrated telecommunications services. In the United States, GTE provides local service in 28 states and wireless service in 17 states; nationwide long-distance and internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access for residential and small-business consumers to Web-based applications for Fortune 500 companies, as well as video service in selected markets. Outside the United States, the company serves nearly 9 million telecommunications customers. GTE is also a leader in government and defense communications systems and equipment, directories and telecommunications-based information services, and aircraft-passenger telecommunications. Additional information about GTE can be found on the Internet at http://www.gte.com.

About Paradyne

Headquartered in Largo, Florida, Paradyne is a broadband access solutions innovator of products and technologies that facilitate high-speed access to networks worldwide for communications, computing and information. The company is recognized as a marketshare leader in DSU/CSUs* and DSL*. Paradyne markets its award-winning analog products, digital access products, Hotwire DSL and MVL systems and an extensive array of frame relay and access multiplexers to Network Service Providers (NSPs), Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Frame Relay Service Providers (FRSPs) and commercial end-users. Paradyne also licenses ETC², Tripleplay technology and intellectual property incorporated in the V.90 standard. In 1997 and 1998, The Red Herring magazine named Paradyne one of the top 50 privately held high-technology companies.

For more information on Paradyne and its products, call 1-800-PARADYNE (U.S. and Canada), 1-727-530-8623 or visit www.paradyne.com.

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Editors Note: Visit Paradyne's virtual pressroom at www.paradyne.com/news_n_events for product images and/or additional information. Product availability and pricing subject to change without notification. IDC "Trends in the Digital Access Equipment Arena Report 1996-2002"- November 1997 cites Paradyne as the market share leader. According to the "Remote LAN and Internet Access Worldwide" Dataquest study published December 1998, Paradyne is the No. 2 market leader according to revenue and ADSL ports shipped. The Red Herring Communications published these issues in August of 1997 and 1998. Product availability and pricing are subject to change without notification. Paradyne, FrameSaver, Trueput, Hotwire, MVL, OpenLane and Performance Wizard are trademarks of Paradyne Corporation. All other service marks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.