Ariel's SS7-Enabled Remote Access System Wins Internet Telephony's Product of the Year Award.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

CRANBURY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 2000

Ariel Corp. (NASDAQ:ADSP), a leading provider of high-density network access equipment, today announced that its BypaSS7 system has received Internet Telephony Magazine's Product of the Year Award.

The innovative SS7-enabled network access system enhances network efficiency and slashes equipment costs by allowing carriers to provide Internet traffic without tying up critical parts of the public switched telephone network such as class 5 switches.

"Ariel's award-winning BypaSS7 system redefines the way that carriers and ISPs provide dial-up Internet service," said Dennis Schneider, president and CEO of Ariel Corp. "Carriers and LECs no longer have to tie up expensive class 5 ports while providing Internet access, and ISPs registered as CLECs can offer Internet access without buying a class 5 switch at all. Ariel's solution provides them with a substantial capital savings and better network infrastructure."

"The Internet Telephony Product of the Year award allows us to honor exemplary products like Ariel's BypaSS7 system across a broad span of the marketplace," said TMC President and Group Publisher Rich Tehrani. "Ariel Corp. saw an opportunity and developed a system that encompasses much more than just a product or a service, but a complete solution for network access. These awards, selected by the editors of Internet Telephony Magazine and the engineers of TMC Labs, are designed to honor companies like Ariel as they continue to forge ahead with the development of the next generation of global telecommunications."

BypaSS7 combines one or more Linux network access servers (NAS) with an SS7 signaling gateway (SSG). The NAS, equipped with Ariel's 96-port RS4200 56K/ISDN PCI plug-in cards, receives 56K and Basic Rate ISDN (BRI) subscriber calls from the PSTN via Inter Machine Trunks. The SSG, based on a telco-grade Sun Netra server running the Solaris operating system, uses signaling information from the SS7 network to terminate subscriber calls destined for the NAS.

Until now, most carriers have delivered subscriber calls to ISPs via T1/PRI lines provisioned from the nearest class 5 switch. The drawback to this approach is that it occupies expensive PSTN resources that were designed to handle short-duration voice calls, not long-hold-time Internet calls. The result is inefficient use of the public switched telephone network and large capital expenses. Ariel's new SS7-enabled network access system bypasses the end office switch by enabling carriers to connect ISPs to the PSTN via Inter Machine Trunks (IMTs) rather than PRIs. This approach frees up voice ports and enables carriers to expand their ISP business without purchasing new switches.

About Ariel Corp.

Ariel Corp. is a leading provider of high-density dial-up access equipment for applications such as Internet access, corporate Intranet/Extranet access, on-line services, telecommuting, transaction processing and unified messaging. Ariel's dial-up access products make it easy for ISPs and OEMs targeting ISPs and other service providers to create high-density dial-up solutions using open systems platforms running a variety of popular operating systems, including Windows NT and Linux.

For more information on Ariel products, please contact Ariel Corp. at 2540 Route 130, Cranbury, N.J. 08512. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Email: [e-mail]. World Wide Web: www.ariel.com.