Amperion Announces High-Speed Powerline Trial With Progress Energy.

Energy Editors/Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2003

Amperion, Inc.:

-- Industry milestone: multiple cascaded repeaters carry data

greater distances

-- 20 Mbps of broadband throughput with 45Mbps raw speed

-- WiFi(TM) connected end users

Amperion, Inc., the premier medium-voltage Powerline technology company, today announced that Progress Energy is testing Amperion Connect(TM) products serving homes and businesses in Raleigh, North Carolina. Customers easily and inexpensively gain broadband access using PowerWiFi,(TM) a blend of Powerline and 802.11 wireless technology.

An industry milestone was achieved with the deployment of multiple cascaded repeaters on the medium-voltage (MV) power lines. Amperion repeaters broadband enable an entire MV circuit with a single Powerline injection point. The use of repeaters eliminates costly backhaul circuits and gets bandwidth exactly where the service provider needs it.

Unlike other Powerline solutions, Amperion's unique solution is not tied to the transformer to deliver the broadband signal. Since each Amperion device serves as a PowerWiFi extractor, customers only have to be within wireless range of a device to receive service. Amperion's standards-based access solution enables the provisioning of broadband service in minutes.

Additional results include:

-- Bandwidth control on a per user basis to optimize price and

performance

-- Powerline speeds exceeding 20Mbps at layer 3

-- Powerline reach of half a mile before a repeater is required

-- Two sites deploying a single injector with multiple connected

repeater and extraction points

"We continue to lead the industry with technical innovations that ultimately benefit end customers. With Progress, we have demonstrated multiple aspects of our technology and, in particular, repeater functionality. The results validate our architectural approach, performance, and business model," stated Jeff Tolnar, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing. "Progress has been a wonderful partner. Their desire to be a leader in Powerline technology is evident and is reinforced by their exceptional staff."

"Our trial customers are very pleased with the results. We now can use our grid to deliver broadband to our customers, and at the same time, we are able to improve our internal operations with many utility centric functions such as cable monitoring and system automation," remarked Matt Oja, Director, Emerging Technologies, for Progress. "We have been very encouraged by the results."

Amperion previously disclosed technology deployments in Allentown, PA with PPL and Dublin, OH with American Electric Power (AEP). Additional deployments are in process and will be announced in the near future.

About Amperion

Amperion, Inc. develops networking hardware and software that enables the delivery of high-speed broadband data over medium-voltage power lines. Established in June 2001, investors include American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP), a leading wholesale energy provider and one of the largest electric utilities in the US; Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking; and Redleaf Group, Inc, venture operating company. For additional information, please visit www.amperion.com.

About Progress

Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN), headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 diversified energy company with more than 21,900 megawatts of generation capacity and $8 billion in annual revenues. The company's holdings include two electric utilities serving more than 2.8 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Progress Energy also includes nonregulated operations covering competitive generation, energy marketing, natural gas exploration, fuel extraction, rail services and broadband capacity. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company's Web site at http://www.progress-energy.com.