"ILEC in a Box" Offers CLECs Comprehensive Interconnection Capabilities.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 1999--DSET Corporation (NASDAQ: DSET) has announced the availability of ILEC in a Box, which includes electronic-bonding gateways and services designed to help facilities-based competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) interconnect quickly and efficiently with incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to deliver service to customers who choose a CLEC as their new local provider.

The introduction of ILEC in a Box was timed to coincide with the press conference held January 7 in New York City to announce the interconnection between Allegiance Telecom and Bell Atlantic using DSET's electronic-bonding gateway. At the conference, executives from Allegiance and Bell Atlantic indicated that their announcement of this interconnection, enabled by DSET, was an historic event. The gateway facilitates real-time electronic ordering of services between their respective companies' order management systems.

ILEC in a Box includes two electronic-bonding gateways: the DSET LSR/New York Gateway and Local Service Order Administration Gateway. The LSR gateway automates the processing of the local service requests (LSRs) sent by a CLEC to an ILEC to order loops, number ports, and directory services. Previously, this process required considerable manual intervention and hundreds of faxes, and it was prone to data-entry errors, which greatly slowed the transfer of customers' service from the ILEC to the CLEC. It's anticipated that the time required for such transfers will be reduced from more than 25 business days to possibly as few as five days.

The LSOA Gateway facilitates the local number portability (LNP) process. Local number portability, which has been mandated by the Federal Communications Commission, will allow businesses and individual consumers to keep the same telephone numbers when they change service providers. In addition, ILEC in a Box offers comprehensive assistance with installation, testing, and training.

The LSR gateway includes support for the technical interfaces as defined in the joint implementation agreement (JIA) negotiated between Allegiance Telecom and Bell Atlantic. The LSR gateway can easily be adapted to support the technical interfaces with other ILECs around the country. According to Bill McHale, president and chief executive officer of DSET, "Our electronic-bonding gateways are critical to a CLEC's ability to initiate local service almost as easily as it happens today when changing long distance carriers."

McHale also stated, "In addition to the electronic-bonding gateways that are available to all CLECs today, specifically for connection in the Bell Atlantic North region, ILEC in a Box will be expanded to include other electronic-bonding gateways that address ordering T-1 circuits, emergency services, calling-card verification, and caller ID services. Combined, these gateways help a CLEC turn on their revenue stream quickly."

About DSET:

DSET Corporation, founded in 1989, is a leading provider of software and services to the telecommunications industry. The company's application development tools are used by network equipment manufacturers around the world to build applications that manage network components and facilitate the provisioning of new services, such as voice, data, and Internet access. DSET's local number portability (LNP) and OSS interconnection solutions facilitate the flow of information between carriers and their respective operations support systems. The company's services include custom application development, consulting to engineering teams and OSS process teams, as well as interoperability testing, maintenance, and training.

Except for historical and factual information contained herein, all other information set forth in this news release represents forward-looking statements, including all statements about DSET's plans, beliefs, estimates and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates and projections that involve certain risks and uncertainties and could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Investors are encouraged to consider these risks and uncertainties which are discussed in documents filed by DSET with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, fluctuation of quarterly operating results, dependence on a rapidly evolving telecommunications industry, and dependence on the TMN industry standard. DSET undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

DSET's web site can be viewed at www.dset.com.

DSET and the DSET logo are registered trademarks of DSET Corporation.