Coherent Grows Wireless Market Share; Replaces competitor's equipment at major US PCS operator.

ASHBURN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 1997--Coherent Communications Systems Corporation (NASDAQ: CCSC) today announced another significant contract for its EC Duo(tm) wireless echo canceller. The agreement is for over a million dollars per year and involves installing the EC Duo at a major US PCS operator, providing a high performance echo cancellation platform in replacement of competitive equipment. The contract also includes the installation of Coherent's c/mor(tm) (Coherent Management Observation and Response) network management system, and a range of support services under Coherent's Customer Assurance Programs (CAP).

This latest contract underlines Coherent's fast-growing lead in the provision of wireless echo cancellation and associated voice enhancement equipment. Since its launch earlier this year, the success of EC Duo, highlights the market demand for this innovative and highly flexible wireless echo canceller. Coherent reported that its North American operations have grown at a rate of 60%.

"At the recent PCS '97 show in Dallas, several wireless carriers who are not yet Coherent customers told us that they do have echo, especially acoustic echo in their networks," stated Linda Jensen, Coherent's Vice President of Marketing. "Apparently they had been told that the technology is not yet available to eliminate acoustic echo from CDMA networks. This is absolutely not true. EC Duo is an effective product in eliminating both traditional hybrid echo as well as acoustic echo prevalent in wireless environments. EC Duo has proved to carriers that they no longer have to put up with poor voice quality in their digital wireless networks."

EC Duo is the only bi-directional solution currently available that incorporates complete echo cancellation and the ability to optimize voice quality at both ends of the call across a digital wireless network. The result is significantly improved customer satisfaction and retention, with operators also reporting increased talk-time revenues as a result. Based on Coherent's patented RISC-based signal processing techniques, EC Duo incorporates two EC-6000 echo cancellers in a single-board solution, resulting in considerable network hardware space and cost savings. This two-in-one configuration also delivers greater dedicated processing power to eliminate echo and enhance voice quality on both ends of the call.

Management of the EC Duo is facilitated by Coherent's c/mor system, which enables operators to configure newly installed or existing equipment quickly and effectively from remote locations or from a centralized network management center. With c/mor, operators have remote control of multiple echo canceller sites, complete with customized monitoring and tracking features to provide the degree of monitoring flexibility their operation requires. Alarm notifications, active speech signal levels and detection of voice/non-voice signals contribute to a powerful and comprehensive management package.

Under Coherent's Customer Assurance Programs, customers have access to extended product coverage and services, enabling them to maintain the optimum voice quality on their network and enhance the level of service they in turn provide to customers. The CAP services are provided by Coherent's Technical Assistance Center (TAC), which is on-hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to deliver worldwide support and training - including configuration and network performance assistance, turnkey installations and tailored training programs. Under the CAP program, customers also receive an annual software release for each of their Coherent products via the TAC, updating the product with the latest software and feature enhancements.

Coherent Communications Systems Corporation is the worldwide leader of state of the art voice enhancement technology, spanning echo cancellation platforms and associated network software. The Company's products are used globally by major wireless and wireline telecommunications companies and network operators, including Ameritech, AT&T Wireless, BT, Cable & Wireless, Cellular One, Cisco Systems, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Mercury, Nokia, NORTEL, Omnipoint, Telia, and Telmex among the extensive list. Coherent is a fully accredited ISO 9001 company, dedicated to maintaining the highest quality standards.

Also available on Coherent's Web Page: http://www.coherent.com This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements of the Company's sales and marketing expectations, that involve risks and uncertainties associated with the marketplace, intense competition, variations in market growth, market requirements, developments in technology, and competitive pricing of products as well as other risks detailed in the Company's SEC reports.

CONTACT Diane McClelland at Coherent(tm) [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

or

Georgina Garrett at Garrett Axford [phone]