Power & Tel to Distribute AEP Networks Secure Communications Products

Telco Migration Solutions Particularly Well Suited for Rural Telecom Solutions Providers


SOMERSET, NJ--(Marketwire - July 28, 2009) - AEP Networks and Power & Telephone Supply Company (Power & Tel) announced today that they have signed a distribution agreement making AEP's full range of communication hardware and software available to Power & Tel's customers in North America. AEP Networks' solutions -- which facilitate copper-to-fiber migration, DDS/TDM to IP migration, and systems mediation -- enable organizations such as small and rural telcos to deliver reliable voice and multi-service data communications. Power & Tel is an independent, full-line stocking distributor and material management provider to the worldwide communications market.

Currently, America's independent telephone systems serve more than 40% of the nation's land mass. Small and rural telcos provide rural America with an efficient, technologically advanced telecommunications capability, and thus play an essential role in maintaining the nation's economy. However, intensifying competition from cellular, satellite, and cable are causing telephone services to erode at 5%+. As a result, telcos are seeking to offer competitive services such as high-speed Internet, video, home security, and healthcare monitoring.

"At Power & Tel, we seek to ensure that the products and solutions we offer our customers meet the wide-ranging requirements of the marketplace. There has been a growing need to provide independent/rural telecom operators with migration and mediation solutions. The AEP Networks product line accomplishes this with products that support migration to Fiber and IP," said Jim Drain, vice president of the Telephone Group for Power & Tel.

"Power & Tel offers the most in-demand brands in the industry and impressive customer support, with a reputation of producing results that exceed the expectations of their suppliers," said Pat Donnellan, CEO of AEP Networks. "We are confident that by teaming with Power & Tel, we can offer rural telecom solutions providers a selection of cost-effective and scalable AEP Networks solutions tailored to their specific needs."

Since copper -- such as old copper alarm circuits/lottery terminals, ground-start terminals and switches, etc. -- cannot carry the increased load generated by today's on-demand communications requirements, small and rural telcos are starting to move to fiber. Only 7% of their eight million customers are already connected with fiber, creating significant business opportunities for organizations such as Power & Tel and AEP Networks.

Also of interest to small and rural telcos are IP services to lower voice networking costs and equipment administration costs. DDS/TDM/E&M to IP Migration enables small and rural telcos to centralize network control and management while increasing customer satisfaction. AEP Networks' solutions enable IP services over fiber connections.

AEP Networks will join Power & Tel at upcoming state/regional telecom association expos, as well as nationwide programs such as SUPERCOMM 2009 taking place October 21-23, 2009, at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

More about AEP Networks Products

AEP Networks designs, manufactures and implements a range of communication hardware and software that enable organizations to deliver reliable voice and multi-service data communications at critical points of operation, often where it is impossible to establish traditional communication networks. The single platform product range reflects many years experience in delivering converged integrated solutions in complex environments with the ability to build any protocol over any network. The platform is a robust, reliable and highly supportable solution to the challenge of providing bandwidth-efficient voice and multi-service data communication between organizations' control centers and their regional, remote or even mobile workforce. Our communications equipment provides Quality of Service across efficiently managed network bandwidth. Our wide range of hardware and software use a common operating software platform, the vadOS operating system, which recognizes the importance of each data stream as dictated by business needs and assigns a level of service integrity and quality while dynamically managing bandwidth for optimal use. AEP Networks products are almost the de-facto standard for use by a number of European and Australian telecom providers, large and small.

Products include:

--  Multiplexing, routing, switching and protocol conversion processors.
    A variety of equipment supports a number of data types with simultaneous
    protocol tunnels and voice gateways
--  Mobile communication devices for remote deployment
--  Network monitoring and reporting systems
--  Bandwidth management systems
    

About Power & Tel

Power & Telephone Supply Company (Power & Tel) is an independent, full-line stocking distributor and material management provider to the worldwide communications market. Their recognized high-level of service is traced to experienced sales, technical and warehousing staffs; a state-of-the-art inventory management and customer service system; industry established best practices such as ISO 9001:2000; and mature relationships with manufacturing partners. Serving customers since 1963, Power & Tel is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee and has more than 300 employees globally. The company operates over half a million square feet of distribution space worldwide and has a proven track record of shipping material globally. For more information call 800-238-7514 or visit www.ptsupply.com.

About AEP Networks

AEP Networks offers secure communications, networking and application access for government, enterprise and carriers. We work with systems integrators, managed service providers and the distribution channel to deliver integrated solutions incorporating our leading edge products:

--  Enhanced-grade secure voice and multi-service data platforms (based on
    the vadOS operating system) that support a wide range of communications
    protocols and network topologies
--  High assurance networking via IPSec-based VPN encryptors for site-to-
    site security and remote access
--  Hardware Security Modules (HSM) for cryptographic key management and
    storage
--  Secure remote access to networks and applications -- including virtual
    environments -- via application-layer security gateways and SSL VPNs
    

Headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, AEP Networks has key hub offices in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Australia. For more information, visit www.aepnetworks.com.