Albert Cohen, Carrier Networking Executive At Siemens, Joins Tachion Networks as Chief Operating Officer.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2001

Tachion Networks, innovators of the Collapsed Central Office, today announced that Albert Cohen has joined the company as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Bringing over twenty five years of experience in all aspects of voice and data telecommunications with one of the largest equipment vendors in the industry, Cohen will be responsible for overseeing all operational matters at Tachion Networks including the development, manufacturing, marketing, sales and support of its revolutionary FUSION 5000(TM) Broadband Services Switch.

With a telecommunications career beginning in the 1970s, Cohen is one of the rare executives in the telecom industry with extensive senior management experience spanning marketing, engineering, contract manufacturing, product development, business development, operations, and general management issues.

Cohen's list of accomplishments covers a wide variety of voice and data technologies including Class 5 digital Central Office switching, packet switching (where Cohen holds a patent), metropolitan area networking (MAN), broadband switching, and data-voice multiplexers. In addition to his technical expertise, Cohen was CEO of Siemen's Packet Switching division and also held senior executive positions in product line management, customer service, corporate development, strategic planning, business process management, change management, and supply chain management.

"Tachion has built a strong company and a revolutionary product. Now, as the company begins shipping product for general deployment to dozens and even hundreds of customers, Tachion will enter a new phase in its life, with new challenges and issues in scaling the corporation," said Jeff Matros, president and CEO of Tachion Networks. "Al's specific expertise in all aspects of operations in a company of this sort, his vast depth of knowledge spanning the entire telecommunications technology spectrum, and his strong management experience will benefit Tachion immensely as it moves to supplant the traditional legacy class 5 switch based network architectures with its revolutionary FUSION 5000."

"To deliver on the promise of the Collapsed Central Office, Tachion is scaling to support the tremendous growth that analysts have projected for the company'" said Cohen. "I believe my extensive experience in both the technical and business aspects of running a large telecommunications equipment company will be invaluable to Tachion as the company becomes one of the leading suppliers of a next-generation Collapsed Central Office product to the telecom service provider market."

About The FUSION 5000

One of the most closely watched innovations emerging in the service provider infrastructure market, the Collapsed Central Office based on the FUSION 5000 bridges the gap between the promise of the all-packet, all-optical networks of the future and the reality of the predominately circuit switched, copper based networks of today. The FUSION 5000 Broadband Services Switch is the first system to integrate in a single switch all voice and data functionalities of a telecommunications Central Office network, including: switching (ATM, TDM and Frame Relay), signaling (SS7/C7, MF, etc.), Call Control, business voice services and Services Mediation.

The highly intelligent and compact FUSION architecture features several innovations designed to improve business models, rollouts and ROI:

-- Cost effective migration from circuit- to packet-based networks,

-- Increased service margin per square foot,

-- Exponentially reduced time/effort required in network buildouts,

-- Flexible uncoupling of service profiles from physical line and
trunk-interfaces,

-- Efficiency gains from reduced number of separate network components, and
from dual circuit/packet switching matrix allowing services to either be
switched in native format or fully interworked, and

-- Cost-efficient growth with ATM, TDM, Voice Service support software, Frame
Relay, and IP selectable on a port-by-port basis from DS0 to DS3.

About Tachion Networks

Based in West Long Branch, NJ, Tachion Networks builds next-generation networking infrastructure equipment enabling communications service providers to achieve higher profits while expanding geographic coverage and packet-based service portfolios. Founded in 1996 by veterans of Lucent/Bell Labs, Tachion unites top talent from industry leaders including Siemens, Cisco, AT&T and Telcordia. Tachion's investors include some of the most prestigious investors and entrepreneurs in all of telecommunications: Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Roy Wilkens (Williams Communications Board of Directors member), Clark McLeod (Chairman and CEO of McLeod USA), Gabriel Communications, LightYear Communications, Walden International Investment Group and Morgenthaler Venture Partners.

For more information, call Tachion Networks at [phone] or visit the company web site at http://www.tachion.com.