Cox Business Joins SIP Forum, Commits to Advanced Voice Services

Cox Business Joins SIP Forum, Commits to Advanced Voice Services

Cox is First Multiple System Cable Operator to Join Advanced IP Services Group

LAS VEGAS, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Business (http://www.coxbusiness.com/index.html) announced today that it is the first multiple system cable operator (MSO) to join the SIP Forum (http://www.sipforum.org/), further demonstrating the communications provider's commitment to advanced voice services.

SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, is a signaling protocol used for advanced voice, messaging and conferencing services and is the technology of choice for real-time multimedia communications in corporate networks. The SIP Forum's mission is to advance the adoption of SIP-based products and services through collaborative working groups with representatives from leading IP communications companies.

"Traditional telephone service is quickly becoming a thing of the past and Cox Business is committed to delivering advanced IP voice services that meet the evolving needs of customers," said Kristine Faulkner, vice president of product development and management for Cox Business. "Organizations such as the SIP Forum are extremely important for promoting thought leadership and encouraging additional innovation, development and product availability of new generation solutions."

Cox Business launched SIP-based Cox Business VoiceManager(SM) (http://www.coxbusiness.com/voicemanager/index.html) in November, 2007. The feature-rich platform integrates existing desktop phones, PCs and wireless devices and can scale to deliver productivity, mobility, business continuity and unified messaging solutions to small businesses and large enterprises. Cox Business VoiceManager is currently available to business customers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Oklahoma City, Okla., Omaha, Neb., and Wichita, Kan. The company plans to offer this fully hosted and managed IP telephony service in several additional markets by the end of 2008.

Cox Business' future product roadmap includes SIP trunking, a service that will allow direct links between the Cox Business IP network and SIP-enabled IP-PBXs. With SIP trunks, customers who wish to communicate with locations outside their corporate networks using voice over IP (VoIP) can connect to service providers via existing data networks, eliminating the need for duplicate voice networks.

SIPconnect, an initiative of the SIP Forum, was designed to encourage a standards-based approach to SIP trunking. The SIPconnect Compliant program offers a unique certification to ensure interoperability among equipment manufacturers, software providers and service providers, as well as to promote further adoption of SIP as the standard for VoIP communications.

"The SIP Forum has recently reached an important milestone with the ratification of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation v1.0," said Eric Burger, chairman of the board of directors of the SIP Forum. "With the help of Cox Business, we will continue to develop critical, industry-approved recommendations that lead to better interoperability and solutions for customers."

Cox Business provides a full portfolio of voice, data and video services to more than 240,000 business customers in Cox markets across the U.S., including small businesses, multi-location enterprises, regional healthcare providers and federal, state and local government organizations. In 2007, Cox became the first multiple system cable operator to enter the top tier of U.S. business Ethernet providers, according to Vertical System Group. Cox is currently the seventh largest voice service provider in the U.S., with 2.46 million residential and business voice customers.

"Cox Business is an advanced voice services pioneer among multiple system cable operators and we look forward to their thought leadership as a member of the SIP Forum," said Marc Robins, managing director of SIP Forum and president of SIP Forum LLC (the operational, U.S.-based subsidiary of the Swedish-based SIP Forum).

About the SIP Forum

The SIP Forum is an IP communications industry association that engages in numerous activities that advance and promote SIP technology, such as the development of industry recommendations, the SIPit interoperability and testing events, special interoperability workshops and general promotion of SIP in the industry. One of the Forum's recent technical activities is the development of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation -- a standards-based recommendation that provides detailed guidelines for direct IP peering and interoperability between IP PBXs and VoIP service provider networks, and the SIPconnect Compliant Certification Program through which eligible companies can gain SIPconnect validation and the right to license the use of the SIP Forum's 'SIPconnect Compliant' certification mark -- the official brand of the leading standard for SIP Trunking products and services. For more information, please visit: http://www.sipforum.org/ .

About Cox Communications

Cox Communications is a multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company with more than 6.2 million total residential and commercial customers. The third-largest cable television company in the United States, Cox offers an array of advanced digital video, high-speed Internet and telephony services over its own nationwide IP network, as well as integrated wireless services. Cox Business (http://www.coxbusiness.com/index.html) is a full-service, facilities-based provider of communications solutions for commercial customers, providing high-speed Internet, voice and long distance services, as well as data and video transport services for small to large- sized businesses. Cox Media offers national and local cable advertising in traditional spot and new media formats, along with promotional opportunities and production services. Cox Communications wholly owns and operates the Travel Channel. More information about the services of Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at www.cox.com, www.coxbusiness.com, and www.coxmedia.com .

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Source: Cox Communications

CONTACT: Todd Smith of Cox Communications, +1-678-362-8346,
tsmith@cox.com

Web site: http://www.cox.com/
http://www.coxbusiness.com/
http://www.coxmedia.com/
http://www.coxbusiness.com/index.html
http://www.sipforum.org/

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