Accedian joins an elite group of industry leaders as Founding Board Member of the newly formed IEEE 1588 Conformity Alliance, formed to promote Precision Time Protocol for synchronization delivery over packet networks.

4G World, Chicago, IL, October 18, 2010 - Accedian Networks— the number one provider of High Performance Service Assurance™ solutions for Carrier Ethernet mobile backhaul networks—joins an elite group of industry leaders as Founding Board Member of the newly formed IEEE 1588 Conformity Alliance. Recently announced as part of the IEEE Conformity Assessment Program (ICAP), the Alliance was launched to advocate and certify IEEE 1588™ 2008 implementations, with an initial focus on the telecom profile for applications such as mobile backhaul. A later project will add certification for the IEEE 1588 ‘power profile’ for smart-grid applications.

Delivering accurate synchronization over packet networks is critical to the successful deployment of Carrier Ethernet for mobile backhaul and other high performance Ethernet applications. As the leading provider of High Performance Service Assurance for Carrier Ethernet-based mobile backhaul networks, Accedian sees this as an opportunity to help develop this important industry certification program and promote the adoption of IEEE 1588 for synchronization delivery over packet networks.

“The 1588 Conformity Alliance founders bring together leaders from the Synchronization and Carrier Ethernet industries with the common goal of advancing IEEE 1588,” said Bob Mandeville, Acting Chairman of the 1588 Conformity Alliance. “Accedian’s expertise in the Carrier Ethernet industry strengthens the Alliance and will help promote 1588 as the de-facto standard for delivering synchronization over packet networks.

“Carrier Ethernet for mobile backhaul has exploded in North America over the past 2 years due to the availability of GPS synchronization information at the cell sites,” said Craig Easley, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management for Accedian Networks. “Outside the US, there lacks a single standard way to deliver synchronization over Ethernet packet-based networks. By promoting the IEEE 1588 telecom profile and certifying individual implementations of that standard, we believe that this will remove the last obstacle to the wide-spread adoption of Carrier Ethernet for mobile backhaul outside of North America.”

About the IEEE 1588 Conformity Alliance
The IEEE 1588™-2008, the "Standard for a Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol for Networked Measurement and Control Systems," is becoming pervasive in the marketplace, ranging from applications in the telecommunications world to Smart Grid applications to manufacturing to digital audio and video broadcasting. Accedian Networks will work in collaboration with the Alliance’s founding member companies—including industry leaders Alcatel-Lucent, Anue Systems, Brilliant Telecommunications, Calnex Solutions, Huawei Technologies, Iometrix, and Symmetricom, Chronos Technology, and Ericsson—to develop a test and certification program that contributes to reliable, high-quality application performance. The program will be managed by ICAP. Testing processes and implementation will be executed by Iometrix with support from all of the Founding Members. The Alliance is also establishing an outstanding constituency of technical experts in the domain of synchronization to review and recommend the technical documents that will serve as the basis of the certification. For more information please visit the 1588 Conformity Alliance web site: http://www.ieee-isto.org/icap-program/current-programs/IEEE-1588-Conformity-Alliance

About ICAP
ICAP is focused on bridging IEEE standards development with the conformity assessment activities that accelerate market acceptance and enablement of new products and technologies. IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO) operates ICAP to support standards developed by the IEEE Standards Association. IEEE-ISTO, a federation of programs, is a membership organization that helps technology industry groups form, function and succeed.

About Accedian Networks
Founded in 2004, Accedian Networks™ is an industry-leading provider of High Performance Service Assurance™ solutions for Carrier Ethernet and IP networks. Today, the Company is the number one provider of performance assurance solutions for Carrier Ethernet backhaul networks with an installed base of over thirty thousand 4G/LTE cell sites. The Company’s hardware-based EtherNID®, MetroNID® and MetroNODE 10GE™ network interface devices (NIDs) also provide real-world service creation and high-speed, high-performance service assurance for Ethernet business, wholesale access, and carrier to carrier exchange services. These solutions—which far outperform more costly switches, routers and test equipment— enable service providers to establish end-to-end, standards-based Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) over converged multi-technology and multi-provider networks, with value-added services backed by assured Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Accedian’s platform is deployed by a global customer base that includes telecommunications providers, cable MSOs and mobile operators offering carrier-grade, packet-based applications. A privately held company, Accedian Networks is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, with regional offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia. For additional information, please visit: www.accedian.com, or call 1-866-685-8181 or +1 (514) 331-6181.

Media Contacts:
Accedian Networks, Inc.
Craig Easley
VP Marketing & Product Management
Tel: 925-699-8272
Email: ceasley@accedian.com

ICAP/IEEE 1588 Conformity Alliance
Alpesh Shah
Tel: 732-570-0526
Email: alpesh.Shah@IEEE.org

Michelle Hunt
Senior Program Manager/Marketing, IEEE-ISTO
Tel: 732-981-3434
Email: michelle.Hunt@IEEE-ISTO.org

Trademarks:
Accedian, EtherNID, MetroNID, MetroNODE 10GE, SLA-meter, Performance Assurance Agent, PAA, Multi-SLA, Ether-PRO, EtherSHELF, Ethernet Service Assurance Platform (ESAP), EVC-Builder, Plug & Go, “Packet Performance Assurance”, “Delivering Service Performance with Assurance”, “Map-out the Health of your Network”, Vision EMS, Fast-PAAs and SLA Radar are trademarks or registered trademarks of Accedian Network Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.