Brix Networks and Texas Instruments Announce Collaboration to Ensure Quality of Experience for Users of IP-Based Services

Brix Networks and Texas Instruments Announce Collaboration to Ensure Quality of Experience for Users of IP-Based Services

September 21, 2006

-- Companies Will Deliver Pervasive Endpoint Management Providing Embedded Service Visibility to VoIP Gateways, Set Top Boxes, and Other IP Devices

    BOSTON, Sept. 21 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- 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 PIQUA(TM)
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' BrixWorx(TM)
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.  

    About Texas Instruments

    Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP
and analog technologies to meet our customers' real world
signal processing requirements.  In addition to
Semiconductor, the company includes the Educational &
Productivity Solutions business.  TI is headquartered in
Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales
operations in more than 25 countries.

    Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol TXN.  More information is located
on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com .

    About Brix Networks

    Brix Networks is the leading provider of converged
service assurance solutions that allow the world's largest
service providers and enterprises to offer reliable and
high-quality experiences in voice, video, data, and mobile
services to their customers, partners, and employees.  The
company brings a proven heritage of IP expertise unique to
the service assurance marketplace, and collaborates closely
with its customers and partners to assure the delivery of
any IP-based service, over any network, to any endpoint. 
For more information, visit http://www.brixnet.com , or
call 978-367-5600/1-888-BRIXNET.

    Trademarks

    PIQUA is a trademark of Texas Instruments.  Brix
Networks, Brix, Brixnet, BrixWorx, and the Brix Networks
logo are trademarks of Brix Networks, Inc.  All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

    For more information, please contact:

     Debbie Shemony	
     Texas Instruments	
     Tel:   [phone]	
     Email: [e-mail]  

     Erin Arnold	
     GolinHarris	
     Tel:   [phone]	
     Email: [e-mail] 
     
     John H. Ricciardone	
     Brix Networks	
     Tel:   [phone]	
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Texas Instruments Incorporated