Citel Technologies Launches Scalable SIP-Based Portico TVAs to Accelerate VoIP Adoption

New Product Line Leverages Existing Infrastructure for Rapid, Affordable Migration

SEATTLE - January 24, 2006 - Citel Technologies, The VoIP Migration Company™, today announced general availability of scalable 12 and 24 port SIP-based Portico TVA products designed to accelerate deployment of IP telephony services and applications, both in hosted and onsite configurations.

Citel's Portico TVAs enable small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises, to take advantage of feature-rich IP Centrex or SIP-based IP PBX services while still retaining their existing desktop handsets, wiring infrastructure, and data network. Existing business grade PBX handsets connect directly to the Citel Portico TVA through existing wiring, which connects to an Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP) or IP PBX over Ethernet via the SIP protocol.

"Some of the primary inhibitors to a forklift VoIP upgrade are business disruption and total deployment cost of new LAN infrastructure and IP phones," said Michael Robinson, CEO of Citel. "Portico TVAs enable businesses of all sizes to migrate quickly to IP telephony and benefit from next generation feature functionality without buying or installing expensive new phones or performing costly LAN infrastructure upgrades."

Citel's Portico TVAs interoperate with a wide variety of digital PBX handsets, and robust IP application servers. Citel has successfully completed interoperability testing with a growing number of the world's leading handset and IP PBX manufacturers, including Asterisk, Sylantro, Broadsoft, 3Com, Mitel, Zultys and Avaya's Communication Manager.

Rapid, Affordable Migration

GiftTree.com, an e-commerce website offering gift baskets, flowers, and corporate gifts, recently migrated to IP telephony utilizing Citel's Portico TVAs. As a result of the migration, GiftTree.com now benefits from enhanced call queuing, database integration and call reporting.

"We were not prepared to migrate to IP telephony for the sake of IP telephony," said Scott Hippe, CTO of GiftTree.com. "Our requirements were driven by a need to integrate our Oracle platform into our call center operation, which during peak periods handles thousands of calls per day. By deploying an Asterisk IP-PBX and Citel's Portico TVAs, we were able to complete our VoIP cutover in about five minutes on a Friday afternoon. The following day our employees began using the new system, increasing productivity and customer service response, using the existing PBX handsets."

About Citel Technologies

Citel Technologies is the VoIP Migration Company™. Citel enables SMBs, large enterprises and service providers to realize the cost and productivity benefits of IP telephony while at the same time leveraging their existing PBX infrastructure. Businesses with single or distributed locations and PBX vendors can now deploy next-generation IP applications and services at their own pace, with little business disruption. Service providers can deploy Hosted IP telephony services quickly, without having to "rip and replace" existing enterprise PBX handsets. Citel is a privately held company with corporate headquarters in Seattle, and development offices in Calgary, Alberta (Canada) and Nottingham, England (UK). For more information, visit www.citel.com

Copyright 2006, Citel Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Citel and The VoIP Migration Company are trademarks of Citel Technologies, Inc. All other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.