3Com Corporation Unveils Next-Generation Total Control 2000 Multiservice Access Platform At Supercomm 2000.

Business/Technology Editors

SUPERCOMM 2000 Booth #3807

Press Suite #114

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2000

Platform Combines Media Gateway, CommWorks(R) 4000 Softswitch

and Enhanced Back-end Servers to Support Multiple Access Media

for Telecommunications Service Providers Evolving from PSTN to

IP Infrastructure

3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS), a leading provider of carrier-class systems for delivering Internet Protocol (IP)-based enhanced services, today unveiled its next-generation Total Control(R) 2000 multiservice access platform at the Supercomm 2000 show in Atlanta. The Total Control 2000 platform is a carrier-class, high-density multiservice platform that will support a variety of access media, including narrowband data services, IP telephony, wireless data, and broadband services. The platform addresses the requirements of telecommunications services providers for an evolutionary service access platform as they migrate from circuit-switched networks to more efficient IP networks. Customer trials of the Total Control 2000 platform are expected to begin in January 2001.

"The Total Control 2000 platform advances public networking with its multiservice support for IP telephony, wireless data, narrowband and broadband services," said Irfan Ali, senior vice president and general manager, 3Com Carrier Networks Business. "Customers can use the same packet-based network for voice and data, resulting in operational cost savings and ease of network maintenance. And the multiservice design of the Total Control 2000 solution will enable service providers to expand the platform to support new services and access technologies."

The new Total Control 2000 platform complements the current, award-winning Total Control 1000 multiservice access platform to provide efficient scalability within the same network. The Total Control 1000 platform is ideal for smaller points of presence (POPs) where tens of thousands of subscribers are served, while the Total Control 2000 platform is designed for areas of higher population densities where hundreds of thousands of connections are needed. The platforms will share common digital signal processor (DSP), routing and network management technologies. Both feature fully redundant system components and a common equipment architecture that will significantly simplify capacity expansion. (For more on the Total Control 1000 platform, see today's companion press release: 3Com Corporation Announces Major Enhancements for Total Control(R) 1000 Enhanced Data System at Supercom 2000).

Like the Total Control 1000 platform, the Total Control 2000 platform is a critical piece of the CommWorks(R) architecture, the evolutionary solution from 3Com Carrier Networks Business for migrating service provider infrastructures from the circuit-switched public switched telephone (PSTN) to efficient packet-based networks. Within the three-tier CommWorks architecture, the Total Control 2000 platform resides in tier one, the media-processing layer. Together with the CommWorks 4000 softswitch and a series of back-end servers, the Total Control 2000 platform offers a complete system, delivering fast, reliable, carrier-class functionality.

Initial Product Application Features Class 4 Switch Bypass Solution

In its initial product application, the Total Control 2000 platform will be a voice-over-IP (VoIP) media gateway that will offer wireline service providers a Class 4 or tandem/toll switch bypass solution to offload voice traffic from the circuit-switched PSTN to efficient IP networks. The Total Control 2000 media gateway's transparent trunking solution seamlessly integrates IP networks with the PSTN for delivery of toll-quality voice as well as a complete suite of value-added enhanced services and applications. Using the transparent trunking solution, service providers can offload a desired portion of their long-distance traffic from their network of tandem switches to a network of Total Control media gateways, CommWorks 4000 softswitches and back-end servers.

In the transparent trunking configuration, the Total Control 2000 media gateway will packetize the voice call and route it over the IP-based packet network to the optimal egress media gateway. The egress media gateway sends the call to the destination carrier's network for delivery to the recipient.

The resources on the Total Control 2000 media gateway are controlled by the CommWorks 4000 softswitch via the interfaces specified in the H.248 protocol. The system architecture distributes the call control and media processing functions over the CommWorks 4000 softswitch and the Total Control 2000 media gateway as specified in the MEGACO standard. The CommWorks 4000 softswitch acts as the primary call-control and device-control engine in the signaling network.

"3Com's transparent trunking application is unique because it enables service providers to move end-user customers to the new IP-based infrastructure without changing their dialing patterns," said Houman Modarres, director, IP telephony product management, 3Com Carrier Networks Business. "With this transparent trunking application, service providers can augment their existing long-distance network with a carrier-class IP telephony solution."

Target customers for the Total Control 2000 media gateway include:

--inter-exchange carriers (IXCs) and global long-distance providers;

--wireless carriers looking for a Class 4 bypass solution;

--carriers' carriers with packet-based infrastructures;

--facilities-based competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) with an installed base of legacy Class 4 switching equipment;

-- CLECs looking to deliver converged services via a cost-effective architecture; and

--postal, telegraph and telephone authorities (PTTs)

Unparalleled Port Density

The Total Control 2000 multiservice access platform will offer high-density functionality in an IP-based network to meet key service provider requirements. It will feature unparalleled port density with 52,416 DSO voice ports and support for over 1 million busy hour call attempts in a fully configured system, which will require only two 84-inch equipment racks. The system is scalable from one to six shelves in a two-rack configuration. A single shelf can host as many of 14 DSP line cards, each with a DS3 PSTN interface. One data shelf can accomodate as many as 9,408 PSTN ports.

The Total Control 2000 platform also will lead the industry with an internal switching capacity per shelf of 20Gbps, allowing it to easily accommodate technological advances on the DSP and other I/O interfaces that demand high capacity switching fabric. The next release of the platform will support high capacity transport mechanisms like SONET, enabling service providers to phase out fiber multiplexing equipment. Other features of the platform will include:

--Open interfaces to all back-end servers, making them available to all network users regardless of access media; and

--A fully fault tolerant system that offers system bus, timing and power supply redundancy for guaranteed network availability that matches the PSTN.

--Support for compressed and uncompressed codecs, and a variety of echo cancellation schemes that directly address unique carrier feature requirements;

--Distributed routing, hardware-based central forwarding and a high-end routing architecture.

About the CommWorks Architecture

The CommWorks architecture encompasses all areas of 3Com's carrier portfolio, reflecting the multiservice nature of the company's offerings in enhanced data services, IP telephony, wireless data access, and broadband access. The CommWorks architecture gives service providers a cohesive, methodical migration path as they shift from circuit-based networks to feature-rich and efficient packet-based IP networks. The architecture includes a full line of products and services to support complete IP-based infrastructures. With open interfaces throughout, the CommWorks architecture allows service providers worldwide to quickly develop differentiated enhanced services and stake out leadership positions in their markets. 3Com developed the CommWorks architecture in a standards-based environment designed to drive the evolution of IP-offerings through partnerships that will provide the building blocks for the next-generation of telecommunication service providers.

About 3Com Corporation

With more than 300 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people and organizations to information and each other in more innovative, simple and reliable ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers web-enabled solutions to consumers, small- to medium-sized business locations and network service providers. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.

3Com, CommWorks and Total Control are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.