Ascend and Sprint/North Supply Sign National Distribution Agreement for Video Access Products.

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 1995--Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASND), a leading supplier of video access equipment today announced that Kansas City-based Sprint/North Supply, a leading national distributor for videoconferencing equipment, will distribute Ascend's complete Multiband and MAX product lines. This agreement is part of Ascend's plan to augment its distribution strategy to include two-tier distribution channels to better serve smaller resellers and system integrators.

"Sprint/North Supply is the premier two-tier national video equipment supplier," said Robert Ryan, Ascend's founder and CEO. "They provide dedicated marketing management, technical and application support and a full line of products for smaller resellers and industry-specific integrators who are implementing turnkey solutions for a wide range of video-based applications such as telemedicine, electronic banking and publishing, distance learning and multimedia. We are pleased to have Ascend's Multiband and MAX products included in this very focused program."

"Ascend is the clear market share leader for inverse multiplexing and videoconferencing access equipment," said Gerry Gleissner, marketing director for Sprint/North Supply. "We chose Ascend's products so that we can provide our resellers with the best available access equipment for all their video-related applications."

Ascend's Multiband and MAX products provide ISDN BRI, ISDN PRI, Tl, El, and switched and leased 56kbits/s access to the public switched digital network for high-speed video access on a dynamic, "as needed" basis, saving users money over dedicated access. Multiband was Ascend's flagship product and pioneered the inverse multiplexer market when it was introduced in 1991.

Ascend's Multiband and MAX product lines offer a complete range of video access products -- from the newly announced Multiband VSX, for single-session video access, to the mid-range Multiband Plus for multiple connections and higher bandwidth, to the Ascend MAX for multipoint video-conferencing, LAN bridging and routing, and integration of voice, video and data traffic at the central site.

Sprint/North Supply is a leading nationwide provider of integrated solutions for voice, data and teleconferencing needs, cable television, security and alarm systems and electrical products, through its 11 strategically located distribution centers. Sprint/North Supply stocks more than 30,000 products and represents more than 1,200 manufacturers.

Ascend Communications, Inc. develops, manufactures, sells and supports a broad range of high-speed digital wide area network access products. These products use bandwidth on demand to enhance and extend existing corporate networks for applications such as remote LAN access, Internet access, bulk file transfer, videoconferencing, imaging and integrated voice, data and video access. Ascend is headquartered at 1275 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, Calif., 94502. Phone: [phone] or 510/769-6001; Fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. Ascend's home page on the World Wide Web is http://www.ascend.com.

CONTACT: Ascend Communications

Jerri Emm, 510/814-2325

[e-mail]

or

Sprint/North Supply

Jeff Xouris, 913/791-6804

or

Gallagher PR

Kevin Gallagher, 510/743-7830

[e-mail]