Bell Atlantic unveils ATM cell relay services based on Cascade 500 ATM Switch.

WESTFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1996--Cascade Communications Corp (NASDAQ:CSCC) today announced that the Cascade 500 ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) switch has been selected by Bell Atlantic to support its initial rollout of ATM services in the metropolitan Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. areas.

With Bell Atlantic's expansion of service offerings, the Cascade 500 joins the Cascade B-STDX 9000 multiservice switch as a key backbone technology for Bell Atlantic's industry-leading, high-capacity global services network.

"Our great success with the implementation of the B-STDX 9000 and CascadeView prompted us to turn to Cascade for ATM products," said Joseph Cascio, vice president of marketing at Bell Atlantic. "We have built a strong relationship with Cascade and rely on their technically advanced products to assist us in remaining at the forefront of an increasingly competitive industry."

A major provider of public Frame Relay and SMDS (Switched Multimegabit Digital Services) services, Bell Atlantic is currently upgrading its Frame Relay and SMDS infrastructure so customers can interwork ATM cell relay services with their existing networks, without costly network equipment upgrades.

"Bell Atlantic continues its commitment of providing customers with a broad range of application-focused digital communications alternatives," said Bob Deaven, ATM product manager for Bell Atlantic Large Business Services. "As such, Frame Relay-to-ATM Interworking is a significant component of Bell Atlantic's plans for ATM. Cascade's system level WAN (wide area network) switching infrastructure enables us to rapidly deploy new services to customers, enabling them to take advantage of advanced ATM services while continuing to maximize existing network infrastructures."

The Cascade 500, a standards-compliant ATM WAN switch, provides the industry's highest scalability on a single platform, enabling Bell Atlantic to easily and cost-effectively expand its network as requirements dictate. The switch features a unique Quad Plane cell switch architecture that guarantees 100 percent throughput and response time of networked multimedia and data applications in ATM networks.

This provides Bell Atlantic with the performance and quality of service guarantees necessary for supporting advanced delay-sensitive applications, such as distance learning while simultaneously supporting high volume data applications.

"The demand for ATM WAN services is increasing and Bell Atlantic is moving quickly to respond to changing customer needs," said Chris Baldwin, ATM business manager at Cascade Communications Corp. "We have worked closely with Bell Atlantic for a number of years and are pleased to support their network backbone expansion to support ATM."

Cascade's tightly integrated software-based switch family and network management system work together to deliver unmatched network scalability and end-to-end quality of service throughout a network. Through the seamless integration of Cascade's Virtual Network Navigator switching software in the Cascade 500 and B- STDX switch families, Cascade provides one of the only proven and deployed switch systems that allow Service and Network Interworking of ATM, Frame Relay, ISDN, SMDS, and management of Interworked services in a single network.

The CascadeView/UX HP OpenView-based network element manager delivers ease of administration by enabling Bell Atlantic to manage diverse network services from a single management station by simply pointing and clicking on user-friendly icons.

About Cascade Communications Corp.

One of the world's fastest growing data communications companies and price/performance leader in frame relay, Cascade Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:CSCC) of Westford, Mass. is a global provider of wide area networking products for the public carrier, internet service provider and enterprise markets.

Cascade delivers multiservice WAN switches and network management solutions that enable customers to seamlessly integrate existing technologies with ATM for cost-effective network expansion and investment protection. Cascade's B-STDX multiservice WAN switches and the Cascade 500 ATM switch offer the highest scalability and network capacity in the industry.

Worldwide, private and public networks such as Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, GTE, Pacific Bell, US West, LDDS WorldCom and BT rely on Cascade products for unparalleled quality of service and high-performance WAN services. The heart of the Internet, Cascade switches are deployed by leading Internet Service Providers such as PSINet, UUNET, NETCOM, AGIS (Apex Global Information Services Inc.) and CRL Network Services.

About Bell Atlantic Corporation

Bell Atlantic Corp. is at the forefront of the new communications, entertainment and information industry. In the mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the largest investors in the high-growth communications marketplace.

Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing high-growth national and international business opportunities in all phases of the industry.

The company's Large Business Services organization offers customers Bell Atlantic All@once Solutions: integrated voice, data and video applications and the professional consulting and support services that add up to a precise solution that fits and evolves to meet customers' specific communications needs.

CONTACT: Lucia F. Graziano

Cascade Communications Corp.

508/692-2600

or

Maureen Liberty/Susan Shelby

Neva Group

617/441-4000