Intel Corp. has announced it had reached an agreement to sell of its media and signaling business to Eicon Networks Corp. The move is a yet another example of Intel’s refocus on computing technologies, namely microprocessors. Nevertheless, Intel stresses that it will continue to offer its customers appropriate solutions with the help of the new partner.

“Intel is sharpening its focus on communications and embedded market segments that are aligned with our core businesses. The media and signaling business continues to present an attractive market opportunity, and these products will continue to be an important part of the Intel ecosystem. We will continue to collaborate with Eicon to ensure that customers have complete and competitive Intel Architecture-based solutions,” said Anthony Neal-Graves, general manager of Intel’s modular communications platform division.

Intel’s media and signaling business includes all of the product lines from Intel’s Dialogic acquisition, as well as Host Media Processing (HMP) software and HMP-enabled blades. Intel’s complete line of SS7, PBX integration and gateway solutions are also included in the sale.

Intel’s media and signaling business includes approximately 600 employees involved in a variety of functions, including engineering, product testing and validation, operations and marketing. It is expected that a significant number of these employees will become employees of Eicon. The two companies will be working together during the coming months to seamlessly transition the business in order to continue to offer high quality service and support to all customers.

This sale does not impact Intel’s communications infrastructure products for telecommunications equipment manufacturers, including its industry-leading Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) blades and carrier-grade rack mount servers, and its CompactPCI compute blades and chassis.

The acquisition is expected to allow Eicon to become a leading player in the media processing and signaling market segment. The sale will enable Intel to focus its investments on its core communications and embedded businesses, including Intel Architecture and network processors, modular communications platforms and optical modules. The transaction is expected to close in approximately four to six weeks and is subject to regulatory review and normal closing conditions. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

With Eicon’s complementary Diva Server line of products, it is anticipated that the acquisition will enable Eicon to provide enhanced enterprise and service provider offerings to current Eicon and Intel customers as well as future customers. Eicon plans to continue to work closely with Intel as an active member of the Intel Communication Alliance.