ADC Kentrox Supports Frame Relay to ATM Translation; One of six new capabilities announced by market leading ATM access concentrator vendor.

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 1996--ADC Kentrox (Nasdaq: ADCT) today announced Frame Relay to ATM Translation as one of several new capabilities to their modular AAC-3(tm) ATM Access Concentrator.

Strong growth in the ATM access equipment market, coupled with feedback from early ATM adopters and customers, accelerated the development for:

-- Frame Relay to ATM Translation

-- Higher-density Frame Relay service distribution

-- Higher-density Circuit Emulation

-- End-to-end connection management

-- Remote software upgrades

-- Graphical User Interface (GUI) based on HP OpenView

"There is an increasing market demand within the carriers, ISPs and end users to interwork their non-ATM equipment and services to ATM, a primary application for ATM access concentrators," commented Dan Murray, Broadband Program Manager at ADC Kentrox. "Our customers can now communicate end-to-end between their Frame Relay and ATM equipment. And the new higher-density modules for the AAC-3 provide these capabilities at an even lower price per port."

Flexible Architecture. With the availability of these new modules and software, the AAC-3 is an even more economical solution for a wide range of ATM concentration applications.

-- Frame Relay to ATM Translation enables Frame Relay equipment to communicate end-to-end with ATM equipment, without requiring the ATM equipment to be Frame Relay aware.

The AAC-3 adds the "Translation Mode" option to its current user selectable Service or Network Interworking of Frame Relay to ATM. By selecting "Translation Mode," AAC-3 users can convert RFC1490 Frame Relay traffic to RFC1483 ATM traffic, enabling communication with most ATM CPE.

With translation of RFC1490 Frame Relay to RFC1483 ATM, carriers and ISPs can fully interoperate between services, and end users will be able to utilize an optimized mix of Frame Relay and ATM equipment/services.

-- Higher-density Frame Relay for the AAC-3 doubles previous Frame Relay density. The new Quad Packet module provides 4 ports of T1, E1 or V.35/X.21 Frame Relay, and each port is software selectable for ATM DXI, ATM FUNI, SMDS DXI and HDLC, giving users flexibility to support mixed environments. The higher-density Frame Relay module gives carriers a lower price per port solution for distribution of Frame Relay to ATM interworking services.

-- Higher-density Circuit Emulation modules for AAC-3 double previous Circuit Emulation support with four ports of T1, E1 or V.35/X.21 interfaces. The increased circuit emulation capability provides additional capacity for end users to connect PBX voice, TDM multiplexer and video applications over ATM, such as distance learning and ATM enterprise backbone networks.

-- End-to-end connection management with the AAC-3's mapping of Frame Relay Link Management to ATM OAM cells is an industry first. By mapping Frame Relay Link Management information to F5 OAM cells, the AAC-3 provides end-user equipment, such as routers, complete end-to-end real-time connection status and management to multiple locations across the ATM network (previously the link management either terminated at the FR/ATM conversion point or could only go to one remote FR switch).

-- Remote software upgrade capability enables the AAC-3 firmware to be loaded over the local Ethernet interface or in-band over an ATM or Frame Relay WAN with the easy-to-use TFTP file transfer, simplifying maintenance of distributed AAC-3 networks.

-- SMARTools AAC-3 Manager is an easy-to-use HP OpenView application that simplifies AAC-3 management with automatic discovery, mapping, near real-time performance and alarm management. OpenView access to the AAC-3 is supported via an Ethernet connection or in-band over any ATM or Frame Relay interface, providing local or remote access flexibility.

Powerful ATM Concentration. The modular AAC-3 ATM Access Concentrator provides economical integration of multi-service protocols over ATM private and public networks. For maximum bandwidth utilization, the AAC-3 combines dynamic ATM cell concentration and advanced bandwidth management capabilities. The concentrator supports ATM interfaces: T1/E1, T3/E3, OC-3/STM1 UNI and non-ATM interfaces: Frame Relay, SMDS and Circuit Emulation/CBR. The AAC-3 features in-band SNMP management, intelligent congestion control, full traffic management, and direct connectivity of local traffic.

Price and Availability. These new AAC-3 capabilities are currently available, with the exception of the Quad Packet module and "Translation Mode" option, which are available in September 1996. The AAC-3 pricing ranges from $10,000 - $60,000, depending on system configuration.

For additional information on the AAC-3 ATM Access Concentrator or other ADC Kentrox broadband products, please contact Customer Service at 503/643-1681 or the Web site at www.kentrox.com.

ADC Kentrox is the leading supplier of network access and ATM WAN Access Concentration equipment for global voice/video/data networking. The company holds a preeminent market position in T1 DSU/CSUs and CSUs and is a pioneer in SMDS and ATM connectivity products.

Based in Portland, ADC Kentrox is a subsidiary of ADC Telecommunications Inc. of Minneapolis. ADC Telecommunications (NASDAQ: ADCT) is a leading supplier of transmission and networking systems to both public and private networks, with $586.2 million in FY95 revenues.

CONTACT: ADC Kentrox, Portland

Lynn Epstein, 503/526-6153

lynn(at)kentrox.com