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Italy's FASTWEB Deploys SupportSoft Solutions for Automated DSL and Wireless Home Networking Installation and Service

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 July 2006, 09:00 CDT

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SupportSoft , a leading provider of Real-Time Service Management (RTSM(TM)) software, today announced that FASTWEB S.p.A. (Milan, MTAX: FWB), Italy's second-largest fixed telecommunications services provider with more than 790,000 subscribers, has deployed SupportSoft software to ease the installation and ongoing support of its triple-play service offerings. FASTWEB selected SupportSoft SmartAccess(TM) software for automated installation of DSL broadband VoIP and Internet services. FASTWEB also chose SupportSoft ServiceGateway(TM) software to provide wireless home networking and gateway management for its array of IP service offerings.

FASTWEB's Internet Protocol (IP) based architecture enables the optimized delivery of converged services including voice, data and television over a single broadband connection. According to market analysis from Ovum, the largest European-headquartered advisor on telecoms, software and IT services, "FASTWEB has been resolutely tagged with the triple-play label. This is far from wrong, and we ourselves have praised its efforts in this area. The company is one of the few to have had a network fully geared up for delivering video from its launch, and has taken full advantage of this.(1)"

"Concluding a comprehensive review of alternative solutions, we chose SupportSoft software because it met our criteria for delivering a consistent customer experience for FASTWEB's IPbased services subscribers," said Antonio Carlini, ICT Solutions Manager for FASTWEB. "SupportSoft demonstrated its software's ability to integrate with Thomson customer premises equipment and interoperate in accordance with the DSL Forum's TR-069 specification. SupportSoft also demonstrated itself as an effective organization to support FASTWEB in all phases of the project: analysis and design, development and rollout. The software gives FASTWEB the ability to automate the installation and ongoing customer support process, so that subscribers can realize the value of their services faster, with reduced requests for assistance during the activation phase and overall improvement of quality of their experience."

"As a European trailblazer in triple play services based on its innovative deployment of both DSL and fiber-based technology, we are delighted that FASTWEB has chosen to further innovate with its choice of SupportSoft SmartAccess and ServiceGateway software for new voice, video and high speed data services," said James Morehead, vice president of product management and marketing at Supportsoft. "FASTWEB's decision is closely aligned with the SupportSoft Digital 3600 product vision, which provides for one view of both the network and the household premises for precise problem diagnosis and automated resolution, helping consumers get the most from triple play services, while reducing the cost of service delivery for the provider."

SupportSoft SmartAccess(TM)

SupportSoft SmartAccess lets broadband service subscribers determine if their computer system qualifies for a high-speed connection, and then accelerates broadband installation by automating the service activation process. Because the solution is entirely Web-based, service providers using SmartAccess have the flexibility to dramatically simplify the installation process for their customers. As a result, subscribers can begin to experience the benefits of their new broadband connection more quickly, while service providers can be assured of higher installation success rates and fewer, costly technical support calls.

SupportSoft ServiceGateway(TM)

SupportSoft ServiceGateway is designed to provide broadband customer service and network operations staff with a common tool for the auto- configuration, management and support of customer premises equipment (CPE). ServiceGateway is an open, independent platform that supports DSL Forum TR-069 and proprietary interface CPEs, as well as application programmer interfaces (APIs) for northbound integration to operations support systems (OSS) and billing (BSS). The remote management system supports residential gateways, business gateways, VoIP analog terminal adapters (ATAs), and IPTV set-top boxes.

About SupportSoft

SupportSoft is a leading provider of software and services that resolve technology problems. Digital service providers benefiting from SupportSoft solutions include Belgacom, BellSouth, Bharti Airtel, Charter Communications, Comcast Communications, Cox Communications, Time Warner, TeliaSonera, UPC and Verizon. Enterprises that have licensed SupportSoft products include ADP, Bank of America, BT, Kimberly-Clark, Sony and Symantec. Managed service providers that utilize the Company's solutions to provide outsourced services to their enterprise customers include CGI, CompuCom, CSC and IBM Global Services. For more information visit http://www.supportsoft.com/.

About FASTWEB

FASTWEB is Italy's second largest fixed telephony operator and the first player worldwide to develop an all IP network for Triple Play service delivery, currently operating in more than 130 Italian cities via a network of more than 20,000 km. FASTWEB uses a unique technological model combining extensive use of the Internet Protocol (IP) for voice, data and video transmission with optical fiber and xDSL technology. For business users it offers advanced competitive services in all market segments - public authorities, large, medium and small organizations, professionals, business concerns, universities and research. The residential offer provides Internet access at the top speed available today in Italy (up to 10 Mbit/s for optical fiber; 6 Mbit/s for ADSL, the possibility to raise the access rate up to 20 Mbit/s using ADSL 2 PLUS technology and the transmission rate to 1 Mbit/s), as well as a growing range of high value added video services (including video on demand). http://www.fastweb.it/ - http://www.company.fastweb.it/

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the expected benefits of our products and the expected continued usage of our products by the named customer. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: our ability and our customer's ability to achieve broad adoption and acceptance of our products and their services, the compatibility of our software with hardware and software platforms that are used by our customers and their subscribers now or in the future, system failures that may cause an interruption in our customer's ability to use our products or services, the ability of our software to produce results for our customer's subscribers as well as other risks detailed from time to time in our SEC filings. Statements included in this release are based upon information known to SupportSoft as of the date of this release, and SupportSoft assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release.

(1) ''FASTWEB: The next Steps,'' Ovum Author: Charlie Davies, August 2005

SupportSoft, Inc.

CONTACT: Giovanna Guzzetti, +39 02 4545 2360, orgiovanna.guzzetti@fastweb.it, or Simona Geroldi, simona.geroldi@fastweb.it,+39 02 4545 4350, both of FASTWEB Press Office; or Jennifer Massaro ofSupportSoft, +1-650-556-8596, or jennifer.massaro@supportsoft.com; orCharlie Meredith-Hardy of PIELLE Consulting, +44 (0)20 7323 1587, orsupportsoft@pielleconsulting.com, for SupportSoft

Web site: http://www.supportsoft.com/http://www.fastweb.it/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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