10/30/2003

QSC connects 75 HypoVereinsbank locations

Cologne, October 30, 2003. Some 800 HypoVereinsbank branches in Germany are supported by the bank´s in-house IT service provider HVB Informationsverarbeitungs GmbH, or HVBInfo for short. In order to increase the flexibility and performance of its network, HVBInfo replaced the legacy solution over a period of several months as part of the project called PING (Provider Independent Network HVB Group). 75 locations are connected over a Virtual Private Network (VPN) from QSC AG. A total of four providers are involved in Project PING. "Our experience has shown that large enterprises are increasingly looking for alternative operators for their networks in order to improve performance and cost-effectiveness", explains QSC AG´s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bernd Schlobohm.
Internet and intranet, e-mail communication and the bank´s proprietary software programs are running on QSC´s VPN as well as automated teller machines, statement printers and deposit terminals that are connected to the network. The VPN is based upon symmetrical Q-DSL lines with transmission speeds of up to 2.3 Mbit/s in both directions. Since QSC runs its own dedicated backbone and does not share the public Internet, unauthorized access into the enterprise network is considerably more difficult. In addition, the data is transmitted in encrypted form (128-bit under the IPSEC standard), thus providing reliable security for sensitive bank data.
Robert Neumaier, WAN Team Leader at HVBInfo GmbH, explains the decision to work with QSC this way: "With the exception of only very few locations, QSC offered us a virtually nationwide solution. Q-DSL is a very good product that offers high availability and very good modern, transparent technology." The team leader is thus far highly satisfied with the results. "We´ve been able to significantly increase the performance of our network, multiplying our data transfer bandwidth. What´s really nice about it, though, is that we´ve also been able to achieve a 40-percent cost-reduction effect."
QSC Chief Executive Officer Schlobohm views the decision by Germany´s second-largest bank to sign up QSC as confirmation of the company´s strategy: "We want to establish ourselves as the premier integrated telecommunication provider for business customers in Germany. The fact that a major bank, with its particularly demanding performance and security needs, has opted for our solution demonstrates that we´re on the right track." In this context, he also points to recent orders from MakroMarkt and TÜV Rheinland, as well as to the steadily growing percentage of QSC´s revenues that are accounted for by business and project customers.

Brief profile
QSC AG (QSC) is a nationwide integrated telecommunication provider with its own DSL network in Germany, supplying business and residential customers with broadband connections for data and voice communication over local loop telephone lines, as well as VPN based custom made solutions for large enterprises. The company now serves more than 40 of the largest cities in Germany with its own broadband network infrastructure, thus enabling QSC to reach more than 25 percent of the population. QSC currently employs a workforce of 400.

Queries to:
QSC AG
Claudia Zimmermann
Corporate Spokeswoman
Mathias-Brüggen-Str. 55
D-50829 Cologne, Germany
Fon: +49(0)221/6698-235
Fax: +49(0)221/6698-289
E-Mail: presse@qsc.de