Actelis Networks Announces General Availability of The MetaLIGHT 1500 System.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2002

MetaLIGHT 1500 deployed by incumbent carrier to solve current real-world problems by delivering 10Mbps Ethernet service over 14,500

feet of embedded copper to a technically savvy high school

Actelis Networks(TM), the first company to enable fiber-quality transport services over local loop copper, announced today that its MetaLIGHT 1500(R) system is now generally available and is delivering revenue bearing services in carrier networks.

The MetaLIGHT 1500 is the first system from Actelis Networks based on its industry-leading MetaLOOP(TM) technology. The MetaLIGHT 1500 system delivers unprecedented rate and reach, with fiber reliability, over carriers' existing copper loop plant. It has been deployed by an incumbent carrier to provide transparent LAN services to a mid-western school. The MetaLIGHT 1500 system is delivering 10 Mbps of fiber-quality bandwidth to the school over 14,500 feet of aerial plant, which had previously been discarded by the carrier as unsuitable for broadband services.

"The carrier needed a cost-effective solution to a typical problem. Fiber wasn't feasible and traditional xDSL solutions couldn't do the job. They had to choose between denying the service or finding an alternative way to deliver it. The MetaLIGHT 1500 system enabled the carrier to serve the customer and generate revenues," said Tuvia Barlev, president, chief executive officer and co-founder of Actelis Networks. "The end user was able to gain six times the bandwidth for the same cost as their previous T1 service."

The carrier selected the Actelis MetaLIGHT 1500 product to provide the service because of rate, reach, scalability, and fiber-like performance. Prior to deployment, the carrier conducted extensive lab trials that showed the system was sufficiently robust to meet its real-world deployment needs for a carrier-grade service including immunity to temperature effects on the cable as well as noise and other interference. The MetaLIGHT 1500 was able to intelligently gage the needs of the plant and consistently provide the high quality broadband required by the customer and the carrier. The carrier is currently planning further deployments of the MetaLIGHT 1500 system.

Editor's note: For a detailed case study of this customer deployment, please contact Actelis Networks: [e-mail].

"It's clear that Actelis is shipping a superior copper solution that bridges the gap between the need for fiber quality and the reality of fiber deployment," said Michael Kennedy, principal and co-founder, Network Strategy Partners. "The MetaLIGHT 1500 and the underlying MetaLOOP technology are perfectly timed for today's market. The strong growth in Metro Ethernet service demand will create many more opportunities for copper solutions like the MetaLIGHT."

MetaLIGHT 1500 and MetaLOOP Technology

The Actelis MetaLIGHT 1500 is a high-speed symmetrical, point-to-point, fiber quality transport system that allows service providers to leverage their existing copper infrastructure to gain immediate revenues through the delivery of high-performance services to more of their customers. It can be deployed within hours with no need to trench for fiber.

By optimizing the existing copper access network, MetaLIGHT 1500 reduces the cost and deployment time required to deliver high-performance broadband services, dramatically improving ROI, reducing service turn-downs and cutting the time form service order to first revenue.

MetaLIGHT 1500 is an environmentally hardened system that offers unparalleled ease and flexibility for broadband transport deployment. The system is fully OSMINE compliant. Upon power-up, MetaLIGHT 1500 self-calibrates within minutes for immediate delivery of a fiber-quality transport for network services within the Carrier Serving Area and beyond to distances of 18,000 feet.

MetaLIGHT systems are based on Actelis' patented MetaLOOP technology. MetaLOOP combines Spatial Division Multiplexing, advanced bandwidth management, proprietary noise cancellation algorithms and sophisticated error correction techniques to transform multiple copper pairs into a reliable, high-speed transport system. MetaLOOP carries scalable, symmetrical bandwidth at speeds previously limited to fiber optics, with the maximum possible reach, while complying with established international spectral compatibility standards.

With a typical Bit Error Rate (BER) performance of 10 to the negative 12 or better, minimal delay and high noise immunity, MetaLOOP-based systems can easily meet all quality of service (QoS) requirements with the highest available packet throughput efficiency, making them suitable for transport of voice, video, and data traffic.

Bridging the gap between broadband demand and fiber deployment

According to figures released by RHK, only 11% of fiber candidate buildings are served today by fiber. RHK predicts that this may increase to 38% by 2005 if economic conditions improve. In a recent customer survey by Infonetics, spending on metro access services will surge 552%, from $420M in 2002 to $2.7Bn in 2006.

"The telecom industry is in dire need of a way out of its current conundrum of a growing demand for fiber in the local loop versus the ability to provide it," said Hamid Lalani, senior vice president of global marketing and business development, Actelis Networks. "Actelis spent considerable engineering resources to ensure a deliverable product that allows carriers worldwide to get significantly more of their most valuable asset -- namely the copper in the local loop. Our OSMINE and NEBS certifications and this customer deployment are proof positive that we can help carriers get more revenue with minimum outside plant investment in this difficult capex environment."

About Actelis Networks

Actelis Networks is the first company to enable fiber quality transport over local loop copper. By radically boosting the speed, range, and reliability of copper to achieve fiber performance in the local loop, Actelis allows carriers to deliver bandwidth today to points further from the core of the network without further cabling investment. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in the Silicon Valley, Actelis Networks is backed by preeminent telecom investors, including New Enterprise Associates, The Walden International Investment Group, U.S. Venture Partners and The Carlyle Group. Actelis was named one of the top 100 private companies in the United States by Upside Magazine and one of the Ten Most Intriguing VC fundings of 2001 by Red Herring. For more information, please visit the corporate Web site at www.actelis.com.

MetaLIGHT is a registered trademark of Actelis Networks, Inc. Actelis Networks and MetaLOOP are trademarks of Actelis Networks, Inc. One or more U.S. and foreign patents pending cover the product described above. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.