Teradyne Launches NetFlare Connect

DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2003--

Teradyne Leverages DOCSIS(TM) to Increase Cable Customer Satisfaction with HSD

“More than 50% of problems reported to call centers today relate to connection issues”

Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE:TER) It takes time to work out the kinks in new technology, and at the same time customers expect reliable service for their hard earned dollars. While cable operators have made great strides in upgrading the cable plant, there are still operating problems keeping customers always online with their High Speed Data (HSD) service.

NetFlare Connect, being released this month, is a new product in the suite of application offerings on the NetFlare(TM) Broadband diagnostic platform addressing these issues for cable providers Customer Care. Leveraging CableEdge(TM) technology licensed from Stargus, NetFlare Connect uses DOCSIS(R)(1) cable access network element data to locate connection faults and respond with specific or probable causes of failure within the access network to indicate cable modem failure, cable modem termination system (CMTS) errors, or plant/node problems. NetFlare Connect returns an informed causal statement (based on the cable operator's business policy) to the customer, technician or call center agent to allow them to identify spontaneous as well as intermittent access network problems.

Additionally, the use of NetFlare Connect on first calls reduces the need to escalate or hand-off to higher support tiers, thus improving the care experience for customers and reducing operational costs for service providers.

"More than 50% of problems reported to call centers today relate to connection issues," says Jay Opperman, Cable Business Development Manager for Teradyne. "While many of these reported problems are associated with incorrect PC configurations, there are other daunting issues associated with the Cable access plant, and newly activated HSD components. Swift and accurate identification of these faults that are both hard and intermittent, and accurate dispatch to repair these problems the first time, will earn cable operators the appreciation of HSD users and keep them as long term satisfied customers."

Field data shows that about 28% of truck dispatches to customers' homes may not be necessary due to problems actually located elsewhere in the access network. NetFlare Connect provides a diagnostic summary that allows a call agent to determine if a dispatch is definitely required, or if the call should be escalated where a problem resolution may not require a costly truck roll. When a truck roll is required, field data shows that up to 47% of dispatches can be made more efficient using NetFlare's cable operation business policy engine to match the appropriate repair skill (cable plant technician Vs. data technician) to the identified problem. This results in lower operational costs and higher customer satisfaction since NetFlare Connect provides a "dispatch to repair" rather than "dispatch to find" point of view.

NetFlare Connect helps cable operators increase customer satisfaction and drive down operational costs by:

-- Empowering Tier 1 operations with deep insight into the cable access network: Operational problems from the cable modem to the headend typically require sophisticated tools normally reserved for technicians at the network operations center (NOC). NetFlare Connect provides immediate answers without having to place the customer on hold or transfer to higher support tiers.

-- Reduce operation costs through increased dispatch accuracy for repair: NetFlare Connect network expert analysis results in increased accuracy of repair dispatches, reducing inconvenient scheduling for customers and reducing repeated truck rolls costs for service providers.

NetFlare Connect combines the strength of the analysis and diagnostic engine of the field proven NetFlare platform from Teradyne with the CableEdge(TM) technology from Stargus. The CableEdge technology that Teradyne licensed from Stargus collects, normalizes and analyzes data on the performance and availability of up to millions of DOCSIS devices in cable access networks. Teradyne announced a licensing agreement with Stargus last September.

About Teradyne Broadband Test Division

Teradyne Broadband Test Division is a division of Teradyne, Inc (NYSE:TER). The group develops state-of-the-art-testing capabilities that support service provider's goals to sell and deploy more broadband services sooner and improve the efficiency of qualification, provisioning, and customer care for CATV high-speed data networks. Teradyne's 10 years of internet protocol testing experience and industry leading background in layer 1 testing enhances its 30 years experience in providing test systems that support voice customer care for approximately 120 Million voice lines worldwide. Teradyne is the world's largest supplier of automatic test equipment and is also a leading supplier of high performance interconnection systems. The company had sales of $1.22 billion in 2002 and currently employs about 7000 people worldwide. For more information on Teradyne's Broadband Test Products, visit Teradyne at: http://www.teradyne.com/prods/btd/.

(1) Data Over Cable System Interface Specification and is a trademark of CableLabs(R).