Ariel Unveils Industry's Highest Density ADSL System; CommTel First to Receive New HORIZON II Systems.

Atlanta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 1998--Ariel Corp.(NASDAQ:ADSP) announces the availability of HORIZON II, the industry's highest density ADSL system.

The new system, which supports up to 132 ports per rack-mount shelf, can be scaled to support millions of users, providing low cost residential and business DSL services in applications ranging from small Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) and ISPs to mass deployment by RBOCs in large metropolitan areas.

HORIZON II also provides a number of unique features not available in competitive products that make it ideal for wide scale deployment by telephone companies. Included are sophisticated queuing capabilities, which make it more adept at handling real-time multimedia traffic; low power consumption, which enables it to provide higher density; an integrated test port, which makes it easier to perform remote automated testing and diagnostics from a central Network Operations Center; and sophisticated switching functionality, which enables it tobe integrated into existing ATM networks without the need for additional gateways.

"Until now, the ADSL equipment developed for central offices has had limited functionality, suitable only for small field trials or limited service offerings," remarked David Sobin, vice president and head of Ariel's Communications Systems Group. "HORIZON II is the first central office based ADSL system that offers the density, scalability and multiple-service features that carriers need to facilitate widespread deployment of ADSL."

The first HORIZON II units have been shipped to CommTel, a local exchange carrier based in Winthrop, Maine currently conducting ADSL trials. "We are proud to be working with Ariel on the first ever service featuring simultaneous Internet browsing and live video, said Mike Randolph, chief operating officer of CommTel.

"We selected HORIZON because it can service customers across more than 18,000 feet of copper plant and support multiple, concurrent services. We were also pleased with the HORIZON Element Management System (EMS), which makes the system simple, easy to configure and allows advance notice of impaired conditions on telephone lines for trouble shooting."

ADSL is a broadband service that gives personal computer users persistent, unlimited, high-speed access to the Internet, corporate networks and other on-line services via ordinary copper phone lines. HORIZON II achieves downstream transmission rates (from the central office to the customer premises) over 7 Mbit/sec and upstream transmission rates over 1 Mbit/sec, depending on line conditions. HORIZON II supports several xDSL line technologies, including splitterless ADSL, which enables subscribers to purchase and quickly install an ADSL modem in their residence using existing wiring.

The HORIZON II product line consists of three components: an ATM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM), which resides at the central office; a line of customer premises equipment (CPE); and the HORIZON II Element Management System (EMS), which provides end-to-end network management for data service delivery.

HORIZON II's NEBS-compliant DSLAM is a scaleable 23-inch rack-mount system with an integrated ATM backplane and full redundancy. The system supports up to 132 subscribers per shelf, and can be readily scaled to support millions of users.

In addition, the DSLAM gives each subscriber access to more than 64 virtual circuits, each with its own Class of Service. This enables subscribers to access multiple services and applications (such as Web browsing, remote corporate LAN access, and videoconferencing) simultaneously, with a choice of several priorities, using a single ADSL connection. It also gives service providers the ability to offer a broader range of services with different prices and performance levels.

The HORIZON II Element Management System (EMS) provides comprehensive ADSL network management. The Java-based software supports OA&M (Operation Administration, and Management) functions such as database administration, security, status and performance monitoring, and statistics management. The software runs on any platform that runs the Java Virtual Machine, such as UNIX or Windows NT. The EMS can be accessed from any PC or workstation using standard Web browsers.

The HORIZON II EMS also includes a provisioning system that allows quick and easy provisioning of subscriber services. Using a point and click browser interface, services can be added to individual subscribers from a set of pre-defined service profiles, making it cost effective to provision millions of subscribers.

The HORIZON II DSLAM interworks with its own and third party ADSL modems, which reside at the customer premises. Ariel has completed successful interoperability testing and certification with FlowPoint Corp.'s customer premises modem. Interoperability testing with other CPE, including PC installable Network Interface Cards (NIC), is in progress.

HORIZON is currently in trials in the United States and around the world, including China and Thailand. Pricing for HORIZON II is less than $500 per port for large installations.

More on Ariel

Ariel Corp. (NASDAQ:ADSP) offers the industry's most robust end-to-end ADSL/ATM systems, which give PC users ultra-high-speed, round-the-clock access to the Internet, corporate Intranets, and on-line services. Ariel also is a leading supplier of remote access equipment for applications such as Internet access, corporate Intranet access, on-line services, transaction processing, and unified messaging. Ariel provides the industry's highest density V.34, 56-kbps, and ISDN remote access solutions for open systems platforms.

For more information, please contact Ariel Corp. at 225 Old New Brunswick Road, Piscataway, N.J. 08854. Phone [phone]. Fax [phone]. email: [e-mail]. Web site: www.ariel.com.

HORIZON, HORIZON II, and Ariel are trademarks of Ariel. Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft. Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems.

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