TXN: Brix Networks and Texas Instruments announce collaboration to ensure quality of experience for users of IP-based services

Brix Networks, the leading provider of converged service assurance solutions, and Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) [NYSE:TXN] today announced a collaboration and development initiative designed to deliver pervasive IP endpoint service assurance management. The companies' collaboration will give service providers the ability to collect valuable performance information on an unprecedented scale, and provide crucial, last-mile visibility into the quality of experience of providers' revenue-generating offerings, including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), IP television (IPTV), and advanced data services.

"TI has shipped more than 350 million ports across IP phones, residential modems and gateways, set top boxes, and carrier-class equipment," said Debbie Greenstreet, director of service provider strategy, Texas Instruments. "Working together with Brix Networks, our PIQUATM system automates the process of gathering IP performance metrics and converts this data into actionable information. This integration empowers providers, enterprises, and equipment manufacturers to dramatically improve their subscribers' and users' quality of experience and reduce overall network operating costs."

TI technology provides functional elements that form the foundation of the company's PIQUA real-time, IP quality management system. Based on TI's digital signal processor (DSP) technology and embedded software solutions, TI's PIQUA system utilizes sophisticated, real-time calculations to instantly assess quality parameters related to the user's experience, allowing both equipment manufacturers and service providers to automatically and dynamically adapt to changing conditions and make adjustments which today are either impossible or done manually.

In addition to a comprehensive set of active tests and live service monitoring, Brix Networks' BrixWorxTM central-site correlation and reporting engine collects key performance indicator (KPI) information - such as availability, bandwidth, packet loss, latency, jitter and call quality, - using various standards-based communication protocols, including RTCP-XR, and TR-069, via the new BrixWorx Connector for TI's PIQUA software. This information can be gathered from a wide range of endpoint devices, including residential gateways, IP set top boxes, IP phones, digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable gateways, and others.

"Our customers are increasingly requesting a unified source of quality and IP performance management with visibility to their various endpoints," noted Robert Travis, director of solutions marketing at Brix Networks. "The Brix collaboration with TI offers a mechanism for customer satisfaction, service performance visibility, faster problem resolution, and overall operational efficiency improvement."

Today's announcement was made in conjunction with the Fall 2006 VON Conference & Expo being held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, September 11-14, where Brix is exhibiting in booth 1049 and Texas Instruments is hosting a hospitality suite in room 158. A demonstration of the joint solution, highlighting BrixWorx and TI's PIQUA system, providing voice QoS monitoring and reporting, will be available at both companies' respective locations at this event.