Ascend Max 1800 Wins 'World Class Award' for Remote Access from Network World; Surpasses Six Competitors for Interoperability, Ease of Use, Protocol Support and More.

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1996--Ascend Communications, Inc., (NASDAQ:ASND) today announced that its MAX 1800 has won the Network World "World Class Award" for ISDN Remote Access Servers.

The award was the result of an extensive comparison and evaluation of seven manufacturers' ISDN remote access servers, conducted by Jeffrey N. Fritz, chairman emeritus of the North American ISDN Users' Forum Enterprise Network Data Interconnectivity Family.

"The clear-cut winner based on interoperability, documentation and ease of configuration is the Ascend Communications, Inc., MAX 1800," Fritz wrote. "The best that can be said of any RAS (remote access server) device is that it works properly and transparently. This was definitely the case with the Ascend MAX 1800."

Fritz went on to say that the MAX 1800 was the only server that supported frame relay DSU/CSUs and analog modem connections, in addition to ISDN. All of the remote access servers were evaluated for features, interoperability, ease of use, configuration, protocols, installation and documentation. Ascend was the only vendor to garner all "9s" and "10s" across the board.

"Vendors often promote a particular feature or capability at which their product excels, but the customer really wants and needs the whole package," said Bernie Schneider, Ascend's vice president, strategic business development. "Ascend has a rigorous commitment to delivering a quality, total-package solution -- everything from ease of use and robust features, to quality documentation and technical support -- and this award is particularly gratifying because it confirms that we have delivered on that commitment."

The MAX 1800 is a high-performance remote access server designed for telecommuting, remote office networking, and Internet access. It supports eight BRI access lines to provide up to 16 simultaneous dial-up connections for any combination of ISDN, Frame Relay, analog modem and videoconferencing users.

Ascend Communications

Ascend Communications, Inc. is a leading, worldwide provider of remote networking solutions for corporate central sites, Internet Service Providers' points of presence, remote offices, mobile workers and telecommuters.

Ascend develops, manufactures, markets, sells and supports products which utilize bandwidth on demand to extend existing corporate networks for applications such as remote LAN access, Internet access, telecommuting, SOHO connectivity and videoconferencing/multimedia access. Detailed information on Ascend products, news announcements, seminars, service and support is available on Ascend's home page at the World Wide Web site http://www.ascend.com.

Ascend is headquartered at 1275 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, California 94502. Phone: [phone]; Fax [phone]; E-mail: [e-mail].

CONTACT: Gallagher PR

Kevin Gallagher, 510/743-7830

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