Avici Systems Forms New Business Unit, Soapstone Networks(TM).

Redefines Resource, Application, and Network Control for Service Providers

N. BILLERICA, Mass. -- Avici Systems (NASDAQ:AVCI), today announced that it is forming a new business unit, Soapstone Networks [TM], that leverages Avici's deep knowledge of carrier-world transport elements and its leadership role in industry forums. The Soapstone solution is designed to enable carriers to bring orderly, predictable, business-driven behavior to their networks, regardless of vendor or technology composition.

Carriers need to provide meaningful Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to the packet infrastructure based on characteristics of legacy "high-touch" services and define services that are independent of the technology. The Soapstone product is an abstraction layer that sits between IT-hosted services and network/transport, enabling services to be defined by their desired behavior rather than the underlying network technology.

The Soapstone solution is based on key industry standards such as ITU NGN, SOA, TMF eTOM, and others, and utilizes open application programming interfaces (APIs) between the network and IT/OSS systems. It maps the abstract service needs expressed by the business plane into a simple configuration command set that can be applied to any technology or equipment. With this capability, even the simplest network devices can provide support for complex service provisioning and SLA management.

"Avici has finally done what a half-a-decade of standards activity has only promised to do," said Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corporation, a Voorhees NJ consultancy. "A separate and technology-independent network control layer would provide carriers worldwide with a powerful tool in managing the cost of operations and service features together, instead of trading one against the other. This is a critical step in exploiting the best of the widening set of network technology choices now being offered, and since Avici is the provider for the most reliable IP network deployed in the world, they've certainly got the credentials to validate their strategy with service providers."

Phase One of the Soapstone product rollout will include the availability of a Provider Backbone Transport Controller (PBTC) [TM]. PBT is a significant step forward for the IP/MPLS industry because it provides greater control of converged service QoS and traffic management than MPLS, but uses low-cost Ethernet switching. PBT is a true "under-IP" service framework that avoids the adaptive and relatively unpredictable behavior of IP networks for those services that have traditionally been rigorously traffic-managed and actively controlled.

PBT defines a fixed feature Ethernet switch and links the OSS and network with a simple API. In order for PBT to support automated provisioning and fault management and ultimately control operations costs, it requires a reliable and scalable control plane. Soapstone PBTC is a virtual control plane for PBT, but also one that is compatible with other network technologies such as IP. Soapstone makes PBT and MPLS a choice not a dilemma for customers by delivering a transport abstraction layer above both PBT and MPLS that enables seamless migration from already deployed MPLS solutions to emerging low-cost, high touch alternatives such as PBT. It makes PBT operationally functional, and makes MPLS more powerful and more orderly. Soapstone allows providers to simply pick the technology that offers the best price/performance overall.

Soapstone is also designed to deliver key capabilities for IMS applications by decoupling IMS from the network, a function IMS recognizes in its definition of a Resource-and-Admission Control Function (RACF). Soapstone supports the full ITU NGN RACF capability set, making it compatible not only with IMS but also with emerging FMC applications and even session-based wireline applications including voice and video over IP. Soapstone registers network elements, selects the optimal transport elements, provisions the network, and monitors the actual characteristics for compliance of a service against a desired behavior.

The Soapstone abstraction layer can create a "virtual resource" that also maps to emerging standards for service management from Telemanagement Forum (TMF) and IPsphere. Soapstone controlled virtual resources can also be integrated with SDP-based features and applications that support IPTV, videoconferencing, SaaS, and other services. By providing a simple and technology-neutral interface for applications to use in brokering network resources, Soapstone facilitates the trend toward application-driven networking.

"Soapstone represents a significant step forward for the industry. Avici is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this opportunity by leveraging our experience in carrier networks," said William Leighton, CEO of Avici Systems. "We are in the midst of the perfect storm for both emerging application-based opportunities and expanding technology choices like PBT, enabling us to deliver a compelling NGN software solution that brings the best of IT and network domains together."

About Avici Systems

Avici Systems Inc., headquartered in North Billerica, Mass., is a leading provider of purpose-built carrier-class routing solutions for the Internet. Avici's family of routers is designed to meet carrier requirements for the highest scalability, reliability and network availability, while lowering the total cost of building and operating their networks. The company's routing systems provide new IP solutions to some of the world's leading service providers. For more information, please visit us at www.avici.com.

About Soapstone Networks

The Soapstone Networks solution is designed to enable carriers to bring orderly, predictable, business-driven behavior to networks, regardless of vendor or technology composition. It utilizes an SOA-based modular architecture that provides the agility and nimbleness to target different applications. It shares the attributes of soapstone itself, a material that can be easily carved and taken to finish quality easily and flexibly by taking advantage of available tools and expertise.

This release contains information about Avici's future expectations, plans, and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. When used in this press release, the words "will be" and other similar expressions are intended to identify such forward looking statements.

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market acceptance of Avici products, services and enhancements, customer purchasing patterns and commitments, development of the market place, product development and enhancement, intensity of competition of other vendors, technological changes and other risks set forth in Avici's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.