Applied Innovation to Partner With Leading South African Telcom Provider.

Business Editors, High Tech Writers

DUBLIN, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2001

Applied Innovation Inc. (Nasdaq:AINN) said today that it has been chosen by Telkom SA, the sole fixed line operator in South Africa, to assist with South Africa's rapid telecommunications network expansion. AI will supply Telkom SA with its core AIswitch and AIscout products for the management of all network elements beyond their Primary and Secondary sites, as well as provide special engineering support for the country's SDH management solutions. The Company said that it has already received orders exceeding $2.0 million in the 2001 first quarter, under the three year multi-million dollar agreement.

"We are very pleased that Telkom SA has chosen to partner with AI," said Bob Smialek, Applied Innovation President and CEO. "South Africa is undergoing a major capital-intensive telecommunications network expansion and modernization program with Telkom SA leading that effort. In the last three years, Telkom SA has added more than 1.6 million new lines to its network and is in the third year of its five-year capital expenditure plan. We believe Telkom SA's need for our sophisticated network management equipment and services will continue to grow as they reach further out into the regions they service."

Bill Mrukowski, Applied Innovation Senior Vice President - International Sales, said, "Our agreement with Telkom SA represents our first major endeavor into the global marketplace. Our products are supplied through Access Telecommunication Systems (ATS), a leading distributor in Africa. The exposure we gain from our partnership with Telkom SA will greatly benefit our global market expansion efforts. The products we provide will assist Telkom SA to further increase the quality service they provide to their customers. It enables Telkom to know the status of any network element from a national network operations center (NNOC) and to take pro-active remedial action when necessary."

Applied Innovation is a leader in the design, manufacture, and deployment of state-of-the-art management solutions for simplifying the control of today's complex networks of physically dispersed and technically diverse elements. AI also recently entered the high-speed data transport market with the formation of LuxPath Networks, a division focused on the development of broadband Ethernet aggregation and transport products, which provide high-capacity, carrier-quality, fiber optic transmission solutions. For more Information about LuxPath Networks, visit www.luxpath.com, or call 1-877-781-4900.

Applied Innovation, headquartered in suburban Columbus, Ohio is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol AINN. For further information, please visit us at www.aiinet.com or call 1-800-247-9482

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Those statements include, but are not limited to, all statements regarding intent, beliefs, expectations, projections, forecasts, and plans of the Company and its management, and specifically include statements regarding: projected sales for the agreement (paragraph one); the growing demand for our products by Telkom SA (paragraph two); and global market expansion (paragraph three). These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation: the Company's ability to generate sales orders during fiscal 2001, the acceptance of the Company's present products and services and its ability to develop new products and services as planned and on budget, the impact of competitive products and services, the ability to hire technical staff, the Company's ability to adapt to technological changes, the availability of capital, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000. One or more of these factors have affected, and could in the future affect, the Company's business and financial results in future periods and could cause actual results to differ materially from plans and projections. Therefore, there can be no assurances that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the Company, or any other persons, that the objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are based on information presently available to the management of the Company. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.