NEW YORK, August 2, 2006 – The anticipated surge in demand for Session Initiate Protocol (SIP) technology as a key building block for next-generation telecom services and enterprise networks is driving hundreds of technology suppliers into the SIP market with a wide and sometimes confusing array of products and solutions, according to the latest report published by the subscription research service Light Reading Insider (www.lightreading.com/insider), a paid research service of Light Reading Inc. (www.lightreading.com).

The SIP Market: Trends, Opportunities, & Threats offers an independent and realistic assessment of SIP's likely impact in the telecom and enterprise sectors. It evaluates the drivers for the adoption of SIP, as well as the remaining obstacles that could hamper adoption of SIP by network operators and enterprise users. It analyzes the technology suppliers that are now in the market, and the types of products they offer.

The report also reviews the sorts of services being introduced and highlights some learning points for the different types of companies hoping to generate revenues from SIP. Suppliers targeting the SIP sector include some of the tech industry's biggest players, such as Alcatel, BEA Systems, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Huawei Technologies, Juniper Networks, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Nokia, Nortel Networks, Oracle, and Siemens.

"SIP is already changing telecommunications in a fundamental way, and SIP-based services are altering the way in which telecom companies must think about the markets in which they operate," notes Simon Sherrington, Research Analyst for Light Reading Insider and author of the report. "Next-generation networks being planned or deployed by operators have SIP at their core. SIP-based enterprise infrastructure is increasingly available, and SIP-enabled end-user equipment – including fixed and mobile handsets, PCs, laptops, and conferencing systems – can be readily purchased or created using downloadable softphones."

Even with all that progress, SIP is still far from reaching its full market potential, Sherrington says. "The protocol is still evolving on a number of fronts," he explains. "The technology that uses SIP is still evolving. Widespread interoperability remains a key question mark. Operators are just now introducing SIP-based services, and have a lot to learn yet about managing the delivery of converged services across multiple networks."

Other key findings of the report include:

The SIP Market: Trends, Opportunities, & Threats a 21-page report, is available as part of an annual subscription (12 monthly issues) to Light Reading Insider, priced at $1,595. Individual reports are available for $900.

To subscribe, or for more information, visit: www.lightreading.com/insider. For more information about all of Light Reading's Insider research services, visit: www.lightreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

Jeff Claudino
Director of Sales
Insider Research Services
619-229-9940
[email protected]

Press/analyst contact:

Dennis Mendyk
Managing Director, Heavy Reading
201-587-2154
[email protected]

About Heavy Reading Heavy Reading is an independent market research organization offering quantitative analysis of telecom technology to service providers, vendors, and investors. Its mandate is to provide the comprehensive competitive analysis needed today for the deployment of profitable networks based on next-generation hardware and software.

About Light Reading
Light Reading Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CMP Media, is a B-to-B network information provider. Light Reading publishes www.lightreading.com, the leading global content site for the telecom industry; www.byteandswitch, a storage networking site; and www.unstrung.com, dedicated to wireless networking. Light Reading is also affiliated with www.heavyreading.com, a market research site for quantitative analysis of telecom technology to carriers, service providers, and vendors.

About CMP Technology
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