ACASIA Selects Cisco Systems to Provide ASEAN IP+ATM Network; Cisco's Multiservice Networking Equipment Allows ACASIA to Offer IP MPLS Services on Existing ATM Network.

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif. & KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 26, 2001

ACASIA Communications, a global leader in business communications, today announced that it has selected equipment manufactured by Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) for significant expansion to their ATM network with a Cisco IP+ATM Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) solution. ACASIA's multiservice network allows ACASIA to offer their customers multiple services including ATM, IP VPN (Virtual Private Network), Private Line and Frame Relay all on a single network. By using Cisco's multiservice switches, ACASIA is able to guarantee quality end-to-end service and ubiquitous availability and connectivity to their customers in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).

The Cisco IP+ATM solution is based on the Cisco MGX 8850 and Cisco BPX 8650 multiservice switches as well as the Cisco 7200 series routers. The solution enables ACASIA to provide access-independent, any-to-any connectivity IP VPNs over their ATM backbone and to centrally manage and provision their network, eliminating the high cost and time required for manually provisioning circuit-switched services.

"We launched our IP/MPLS VPN service in Singapore recently and we chose Cisco to team with us in helping us to differentiate our IP VPN service offering to our customers," said Donatus Herry Swandito, chief executive officer of ACASIA. "We needed a powerful solution that would allow us to monitor both QoS (Quality of Service) and flexible IP capabilities to deliver new, high-margin voice and data services to our customers and we found that Cisco is able to meet our requirements to deliver MPLS on an ATM backbone. This solution also gives the security and scalability that our customers demand."

"IP VPNs are a fundamental building block for service providers like ACASIA to deliver high value IP-based services that benefit their business customers as well as themselves," said Gary Jackson, Vice President of Asia Operations for Cisco. "As one of the few carriers able to provide seamless services to multiple sites within ASEAN, ACASIA's competitive advantage is further heightened with the security, scalability and reliability of a Cisco end-to-end architecture."

The ACASIA IP VPN is a combination of high-quality networking and fully managed infrastructure coupled with end-to-end security designed to maximize accessibility. It is deployed on a Cisco multiservice backbone using MPLS technology. By incorporating IP into a dedicated customer access via the local leased line, this new technology guarantees high performance and optimizes customer applications.

About ACASIA

ACASIA's business is global communications, which is ASEAN-focused to meet the networking needs of business customers in the region. ACASIA are uniquely positioned to focus in ASEAN by synergistically deploying the commercial, technical and financial resources of our shareholders, who are the six major leading international carriers in the region.

Andrew Brian
Marketing Communications
ACASIA Communications SB
18th Floor, Wisma TELEKOM Semarak
Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz off Jalan Tun Razak
50300 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
[e-mail]

About Cisco Systems, Inc.

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