National Technical Systems Selected as First Test Lab for nVoy™ Certification Program

CALABASAS, Calif., Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- National Technical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTSC) (NTS), a leading provider of testing and engineering services, announced today that it has been selected to perform certification testing for the nVoy™ Certification Program, a program to certify products implementing a networking standard designed to enable simple self-installation of hybrid home networks for wired and wireless devices. As the first authorized test lab for the nVoy Program, NTS will perform compliance and interoperability testing to verify products of various third-party manufacturers at its NTS Advanced Technology division located in Culver City, CA.

"NTS's selection as the test lab for the nVoy Certification Program solidifies our position as a leader in the testing of network technologies and standards," said NTS CTO Osman Sakr. "The nVoy Certification Program will interconnect the devices many of us already have in our homes, such as computers, set-top boxes, smart TVs, and home automation devices. We look forward to continuing to work closely with HomePlug^® and other supporters of the nVoy Program to provide timely, cost-effective certification services to extend the network of nVoy Certified devices."

Based on the IEEE-1905.1 standard, "nVoy" is the brand name of the program to promote the adoption and certification of the hybrid networking standard. Using a common communications protocol, nVoy Certified products support connectivity between HomePlug™, Wi-Fi, MoCA^®, and Ethernet networking technologies. Based on 1905.1 technology, nVoy Certification will validate these features for new devices while maintaining backward interoperability with widely deployed HomePlug, Wi-Fi, MoCA and Ethernet devices already in consumers' homes. NTS will be responsible for performing testing of third-party products to verify that they comply with the nVoy Certification Program, based on a test specification created by a collaborative working group consisting of members of the HomePlug Alliance, Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), and Wi-Fi Alliance^®.

"nVoy Certification will allow consumers to quickly and easily create hybrid home network using HomePlug, Wi-Fi, MoCA and Ethernet technologies. Paramount for this to work is a galaxy of products that seamlessly interoperate," said Rob Ranck, President, HomePlug Alliance. "NTS was selected to certify products implementing nVoy technology based on their years of experience in running certification programs and performing network testing with these technologies. NTS is an ideal fit to help us expand our footprint, and provide consumers with interoperable products on our behalf."

The nVoy Certification Program will focus on the common communications protocol connecting various network technologies. Testing will cover areas including bridge discovery, frame headers, message containers, message handling, topology discovery, security, configuration and link metrics. All nVoy Certified products will require prior certification to their underlying standards (e.g., HomePlug, MoCA, or Wi-Fi), as appropriate.

About nVoy Technology

nVoy networking enables hybrid networks using any combination of Wi-Fi, HomePlug, MoCA and/or Ethernet networking technologies. Features of nVoy technology include advanced diagnostics supported locally or remotely with TR-069, topology discovery, simplified security setup, automatic configuration of Wi-Fi access points and link metrics. Consumers will benefit from the consistent authentication procedures defined by nVoy networking to enable very simple self-installation of hybrid home networks for wired and wireless devices. nVoy technology provides these features for new devices while maintaining backward interoperability with widely deployed HomePlug, Wi-Fi, MoCA and Ethernet devices already in consumers' homes. For more information about the nVoy Certification program, visit www.nVoy.org

About NTS Advanced Technology

NTS Advanced Technology, located in Culver City, CA, provides a wide range of testing and compliance services, as well as managed services, to the consumer products industry including computer software and hardware sectors. As a leader in the computer testing industry, NTS provides high quality testing services which range from standard hardware and software testing to the development of complex certification and compliance programs for the telecom and other industries. Highlights of the NTS Advanced Technology capabilities include quality assurance testing services, performance and benchmark results, certification and compliance programs, development tools—customer automation tests and validation tools and customized program development tools. For more information about NTS Advanced Technology, visit www.nts-at.com.

About National Technical Systems

National Technical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of engineering services to the aerospace, defense, telecommunications, automotive and high technology markets. Through a world-wide network of resources, NTS provides full product life-cycle support, offering world class design engineering, compliance, testing, certification, quality registration and program management. For additional information about NTS, visit our website at www.nts.com or call 800-270-2516.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties pertaining to customer orders, demand for services and products, development of markets for the companies' services and products and other risks identified in the companies' SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The companies undertake no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding National Technical Systems' business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

SOURCE National Technical Systems, Inc.