Press Release

Leading Contractor and Law Firm Save Costs by Teaming with Brooktrout and Cisco for Next Gen IP Fax Communications

MasTec and Hermes Sargent Bates Deploy Fax over IP Solutions

NEEDHAM, Mass., Dec. 7, 2005--Brooktrout Technology, Inc., a leading supplier of media processing and call control products, today announced that it is working with Cisco to deliver fax over IP (FoIP) solutions to customers to reduce communications costs. MasTec, a specialty contractor operating throughout North America across a range of industries and Hermes Sargent Bates, a full service law firm, have migrated to Voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks and are realizing the benefit of having a single IP network for voice and fax communications.

“When we made the shift to VoIP, we wanted a 100% pure IP network, so we could realize the full cost-saving benefits of the technology,” said Edson Araujo, Network Infrastructure Manager of MasTec. “We were a bit nervous putting our fax server on an IP network because we use it to collect time sheets from thousands of employees in the field. This is a critical process that our employees rely on to get paid. We’ve been thrilled with the reliability of the Brooktrout FoIP platform.”

As a Cisco Technology Developer Program partner, Brooktrout’s FoIP products have been tested for interoperability by an independent third-party with Cisco VoIP gateways running Cisco IOS version 12.3. One of the primary reasons companies such as MasTec and Hermes Sargent Bates look to implement real-time fax over IP is the consolidation of voice and data traffic onto a single IP network. Businesses migrating to VoIP that also rely heavily on fax to support key business processes seek to leverage their VoIP investment and reduce the overall cost of operating a fax server by consolidating it on a common network infrastructure.

“Having a FoIP solution that is designed to meet the Cisco Technology Developer Program criteria for interoperability with Cisco VoIP gateways was very important to us and gives us peace of mind,” said Nathan Whitmire, Director of MIS at Hermes Sargent Bates, LLP. “As a law firm we rely heavily on fax and need a reliable solution and a guarantee that the vendor will be available to support it.”

Built on the standard T.38 real-time FoIP protocol, Brooktrout’s FoIP products provide a reliable and low-bandwidth alternative to competing technologies, such as G.711, a voice-based protocol. Brooktrout’s T.38 based FoIP platforms provide highly reliable connection rates while reducing network demands unlike other protocols that can reduce overall network performance by consuming unnecessary bandwidth and offer lower reliability.

“Driven by customer demand, Cisco worked with Brooktrout to provide a fax platform for the Cisco Fax Server and Cisco Unity that meets the high reliability and ease of use requirements of our customers,” said Gary Mintz, Business Development Manager, Unified Communications Business Unit at Cisco. ”We’re very pleased to be working with Brooktrout, a leader in intelligent fax technology, to allow organizations to reduce costs, save time and improve productivity by enabling users to converge business services on IP.”

“We’re very pleased to have met the criteria of the Cisco Technology Developer Program with the Brooktrout FoIP platform that is the basis for the Cisco Fax Server,” said Greg Gies, Director of Market Development for Enterprise Fax for Brooktrout Technology. “We look forward to continuing to build our relationship with Cisco to deliver fax over IP solutions to customers who are making the move
to IP.”

About Brooktrout
Brooktrout is a leading supplier of media processing, network interface, call control and signal processing products that enable the development of applications, systems and services for both TDM and IP networks. Brooktrout was acquired in October 2005 by EAS Group, the parent corporation of Excel Switching Corporation a leading provider of carrier-class media gateways, media servers, signaling gateways, and enhanced service platforms for original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, and service providers. The combined companies will continue their focus on investing in technologies that enable service providers and enterprise customers to develop new products, introduce new services and cost-effectively transition networks to VoIP. For more information, visit http://www.brooktrout.com and http://www.excelswitching.com/.

# # #

Brooktrout, Brooktrout Technology, New Network, and SnowShore IP Media Server are trademarks or registered trademarks of Brooktrout, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts:

Laura Often
(781) 453-4858
loften@cantata.com

Lida Joly
+32 2 658 5190
ljoly@cantata.com