VeriSign leader offers perspective on acquisition

OLYMPIAN NEWS SERVICES

On Monday, VeriSign announced its intent to acquire Lacey-based Illuminet, a leading provider of intelligent network and signaling services to communications carriers. VeriSign President and Chief Executive Officer Stratton Sclavos offers his perspective.

Q: Why did VeriSign decide to acquire Illuminet?

A: Since VeriSign's inception we have worked to build a trusted environment so that everyone everywhere could use networks with confidence. The acquisition of Illuminet is the next step in that mission. VeriSign will utilize its global infrastructure to accelerate the introduction of new services for Illuminet's customers, such as secure short messaging, local number portability and Voice Over IP bridging.

Illuminet also will enable VeriSign to more effectively deliver data-voice offerings such as WebNum, a navigation service that enables wireless phones to link specific numbers directly to Internet domain names and global voice registry services, which enables callers to reach a business simply by speaking the company's name.

Q: What are intelligent network services?

A: Intelligent network services, such as SS7, are certainly not household phrases, but you couldn't make a phone call without them. In that regard, they are like our Domain Name System (DNS), which is also not widely known, but without it you couldn't connect to a Web site or send an e-mail.

SS7 is "signaling system 7," a network that all carriers use to connect to each other and offer new services. It's not the network that carries the actual voice transmissions; instead, it serves as the vital infrastructure that directs and routes calls so they can be made efficiently. It also enables carriers to offer advanced intelligent network services such as toll-free service, 9-1-1, Caller ID and local number portability, which allows you to retain a phone number if you switch carriers.

Q: What are the growth prospects?

A: Not only is the SS7 market projected to experience significant organic growth, but also we expect to see significant expansion opportunities as we deliver the new services we talked about such as WebNum and voice registry services. The reason this is such an exciting deal for us is that, in many ways, Illuminet is the "VeriSign of the public-phone infrastructure."

This establishes a new engine for growth and is entirely consistent with our strategy to provide an ever-increasing range of services to our customers across any network.

Q: Will Illuminet move its offices to Mountain View, Calif.?

A: No, they'll stay right where they are. Illuminet's headquarters are in Lacey, and they also have a significant presence in Overland Park, Kan., and Dallas. While it's a complementary company, it offers different services so there is little to no overlap.

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