Hilversum, The Netherlands, February 23, 2006 - Philips Business Communications (PBC), a division of Philips Royal Electronics (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG), has successfully concluded certification tests with Inode (Austria) and Toplink (Germany), two leading communications providers, for use of its SOPHO iS3000 hybrid communication system with SIP.

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), a signalling protocol used for opening, checking and terminating IP sessions on the internet, is an open standard and is expected to become the universal, worldwide IP telephony standard of the coming decade. Standard SIP telephone terminals can be connected to an IP network as easily as a conventional terminal can be connected to the public telephony network. SIP also facilitates the interfacing to public networks by means of SIP trunking.

In order to enable existing and new customers to benefit from new SIP functionality and facilities, Philips Business Communications (PBC) has integrated SIP into its acclaimed SOPHO iS3000 series of hybrid communication systems. The first logical step has been to provide SIP trunking through its latest Call@Net software release. With SIP trunking significant cost reduction can be obtained in charges for external calls.

So far Philips has successfully concluded interworking tests with both Inode and Toplink, SIP carriers in respectively Austria and Germany. Functionalities supported by the SOPHO iS3000 when interworking with these carriers were meticulously checked and documented. Certification of the iS3000 platform means that users in mentioned countries can take full advantage of the economic benefits and user-friendliness of SIP trunking.

“The Inode and Toplink certification of our SOPHO iS3000 demonstrates how future proof the system concept really is,” says NEC Philips Business Manager Ruud Klaui. “Our customers will benefit considerably from thislatest addition of features. Certification by other SIP providers will follow soon”.