Generation UMTS

2nd February , 2004

Europe UK : Psytechnics, the global leader in voice quality measurement, is extending its portfolio to include video quality assurance, thanks to a licensing deal with BT Exact, BT's research, technology and IT operations business.

Inset is Mike Hollier, founder and CTO of Psytechnics quoted below.

Under the deal BT Exact will license its ITU standard video perceptual quality model to Psytechnics. The agreement will enable Psytechnics to build a family of video quality measurement products. This complements Psytechnics' current voice quality leadership and responds to market and customer demand for video quality assessment tools to support next generation, dynamic networks.

As with Psytechnics' flagship voice solutions, the video tools will base measurement on human perceptions of quality. The technology will help broadcasters predict and measure the quality of video pictures that are delivered to customers, supporting quality of service initiatives and guaranteeing service levels. The tools will detect and prevent errors before they reach the end user, such as drop-offs in quality, which adversely affect the customer experience.

The technology will also target device manufacturers such as those developing 3G handsets, video phone and IP video conference units, and is well suited for testing newly commissioned video networks.

"Broadening our portfolio from voice quality to a full multimedia capability opens up a vast amount of new opportunities for Psytechnics," said Mike Hollier, founder and CTO of Psytechnics. "We have developed voice quality technology which can be used on any platform or network, whether VoIP, wireless or fixed. We will apply this experience to video measurement, giving next generation network operators the tools they need to manage multimedia communications."

John Seton, program manager for multimedia applications research at BT Exact, said: "Psytechnics is at the vanguard of voice quality measurement, which is why we are confident the company will be equally successful in commercializing a portfolio of video products. Psytechnics has a large voice customer base in place and there is already demand from these companies for video assessment tools. With BT and Psytechnics working together we are confident that Psytechnics will soon establish leadership in the video quality arena."

Psytechnics' first product, aimed at general video broadcast use, will be announced early 2004.

About Psytechnics

Psytechnics is the leading designer of voice quality measurement software solutions, which integrate into telecommunications test equipment, switching platforms, mobile networks and VoIP gateways. The company provides the mean opinion score (MOS), a numerical measure of the quality of human speech, or "customer experience" metric. MOS metrics may be used to manage networks and set SLAs from a meaningful, quality viewpoint.

Psytechnics has operations throughout the US and Europe, and its customers include Agilent Technologies, Empirix, Malden Electronics, Ascom, Inet and Radcom. The company holds over 30 patents in the area of voice quality measurement and its products include the ITU standards P.562 CCI and P.862 PESQ, psyVoIP for IP networks, and NiQA for monitoring the quality of other network traffic.

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