AVAYA DEBUTS ENHANCED MULTIMODAL 10GB/S FIBER OFFERING.

Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a provider of business communications solutions and services, has debuted its new SYSTIMAX LazrSPEED 550 Solution guarantees 10GBASE-S (10-Gigabit Ethernet) transmission up to 550-meters. This latest addition to its fiber portfolio, the first of its type in the marketplace, maintains Avaya's position as a market-leading supplier of laser optimized multimode optical fiber for use with low cost 850nm laser technology.

The new LazrSPEED 550 cable exceeds the 300 meter fiber standard for 10Gb/s connections by 250 meters allowing users to extend 10Gb/s backbones to satellite communications rooms throughout large buildings and across campuses. This affords customers greater design flexibility, while avoiding the high cost typically associated with singlemode electronics. The SYSTIMAX LazrSPEED 300 solution was the world's first 10 Gb/s fiber solution and set the blueprint for the recently ratified international fiber standard.

The 50 micron LazrSPEED 550 fiber meets a growing demand for 10Gb/s connections in the backbone. A recent Avaya survey of current and planned technologies for enterprise backbone cabling, showed that 7 percent of organizations with more than 250 employees already have fiber connections operating at 10Gb/s, and by 2007 this will increase to a dramatic 59 percent.

"Ten gigabit backbones are now essential in many businesses to support fast growing data traffic, but without a lower cost alternative to singlemode solutions, large sites face high capital expenditure," said Luc Adriaenssens, director of SYSTIMAX R&D at Avaya Labs. "As gigabit desktop connections and 10-Gigabit Ethernet inter-site links drive the move to faster backbones, LazrSPEED 550 fiber removes the need for costly singlemode electronics in connections less than 550 meters."

To do this, the LazrSPEED 550 Solution delivers 570 percent longer distance support than generic 50 micron multimode fiber. It also supports 83 percent longer distance than the maximum specified in the IEEE 802.3 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard for TIA Laser Optimized Multimode Fiber (LOMMF) and ISO/IEC OM3.

Launch of the new LazrSPEED Solution coincides with certification of fiber testing facilities at the Avaya Labs facility in Richardson, Texas by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. An extensive audit of the SYSTIMAX Differential Mode Delay (DMD) fiber te st bench capabilities, the key to ensuring laser optimized fiber performance, showed that it exceeded the TIA and IEC testing requirements. The Avaya Labs SYSTIMAX DMD test facility is the first in the world to be independently verified for compliance to the measurement requirements in the above standards. This is further demonstration of Avaya's commitment to quality and performance assurance embodied in all SYSTIMAX structured cabling solutions.

The new fiber will complement the existing LazrSPEED 300 and 150 Solutions. Cables of the LazrSPEED 550 Solution will be available with fiber counts up to 288 for both indoor and outdoor applications. It is also offered in LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen) and plenum rated designs for installations that need high levels of fire safety. For more information on the SYSTIMAX LazrSPEED 550 Solution, visit http://avaya.com/connectivity/systimax/lazrspeed.

About Avaya

Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than 1 million businesses worldwide, including 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500. Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a provider of secure and reliable Internet Protocol (IP) telephony systems and communications software applications and services.

Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business applications -- and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services -- Avaya helps customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results.

Avaya can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.avaya.com/.

For more information, call 908/953-6152.