Many of you have noted that I've been following Siemens somewhat closely the last couple of months. They've got a number of initiatives underway that will impact unified communications space. Here's one example. While this announcment may not appear VoIP related, it laps into municipal networking space. There are a very large number of municipal governments looking at Metro Ethernet deployment and using it for VoIP delivery

SURPASS Carrier Ethernet from Siemens Complies with Metro Ethernet Forum Specifications on Traffic Management for Service Enforcement (MEF 14)

BOCA RATON, Fla. — June 6, 2006 — Siemens Communications today announced that its Carrier Ethernet technology has been certified as compliant with specification 14 of the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), a non-profit organization chartered to help accelerate the worldwide adoption of carrier-class Ethernet networks and services. The MEF 14 standard covers traffic performance and bandwidth profile rate enforcement to ensure quality of service.

Parameter compliance with the specification helps ensure revenue-generating service level agreements (SLAs) in the residential and business sectors. The Siemens® SURPASS® Carrier Ethernet solution, with industry-leading traffic management, enables service providers to offer quality IPTV experiences to residential consumers and guaranteed SLA delivery for business services. For business customers, the certification helps foster easier migration from LL, FF and ATM to high-speed Ethernet-based services.

Traffic management certification of Carrier Ethernet services was conducted by the lometrix test laboratory, as mandated by the MEF. The MEF is made up of leading service providers, major incumbent local exchange carriers, top network equipment vendors, test equipment vendors and other prominent networking companies that share an interest in metro Ethernet.

Siemens’ SURPASS Carrier Ethernet switches – including the SURPASS hiD 6630, 6650 and 6670 – have so far passed all MEF certifications, doing so each time in the first round of certification. MEF certifications are confirmation of the quality of Siemens’ Carrier Ethernet solutions, which have been selected by major carriers such as T-Com, BT and Actel. In addition to compliance with the MEF 14 standard, Siemens’ newly designed Advanced Ethernet Package includes a sophisticated traffic management module enabling carriers to offer various revenue-generating services on a converged network.

“It is very satisfactory to see that a global vendor like Siemens has developed a solution that fits with the MEF 14 standard and hence raises carriers’ levels of services considerably,” said Bob Mandeville, president and CEO of lometrix.
 
The Siemens LifeWorks Vision
Siemens’ Carrier Ethernet technology is another critical component of the Siemens LifeWorks™ vision to help people interact, work and be entertained – without technology boundaries – in an always-on world. The company’s award-winning LifeWorks vision provides the building blocks for the ongoing development of secure, reliable and high-quality converged communication solutions that drive greater efficiencies and improve user satisfaction.

About Siemens
Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $96 billion in fiscal 2005. Founded nearly 160 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services and Home Appliances. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA has sales of $18.8 billion and employs approximately 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Eleven of Siemens' worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 460,000 people in 190 countries. For more information on Siemens in the United States: www.usa.siemens.com

About Siemens Communications Inc.
Siemens Communications Inc. offers its customers a broad portfolio of communication products and services and is a leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. The company’s portfolio ranges from devices for end users to complex network infrastructures and complementary services for enterprises, carriers and service providers. Siemens Communications Inc. is headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/communications

Note: Siemens and SURPASS are registered trademarks of Siemens AG or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens management.  The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements.  Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties  Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy.  Actual results may vary materially from those projected here.  Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.