CommWorks Corporation Makes Public Debut At COMNET Conference and Expo.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2001

COMNET 2001 Booth No. 826

CommWorks Corp., a 3Com (Nasdaq:COMS) company, is using this week's COMNET Conference & Expo as a showcase for its Internet protocol (IP) based networking solutions for service providers. These networks allow service providers to deliver enhanced data and voice services to their end users through dial, wireless and broadband access. COMNET marks the public debut for CommWorks, established on Dec. 21, 2000, as a wholly owned subsidiary of 3Com. CommWorks Corp. is comprised of the entirety of 3Com's former Carrier Networks Business and its rich legacy of delivering customer centric, IP-based networking solutions to service providers on a global basis.

"COMNET has always been an important event for our carrier business, so it is only fitting that we use this stage to publicly launch CommWorks," said Irfan Ali, president, CommWorks Corp.

CommWorks' activities at COMNET are highlighted by the first demonstration of live IP telephony voice calls carried over its next-generation Total Control(R) 2000 multiservice access platform. Other news from CommWorks this week includes:

-- a major customer win for its IP telephony program with a leading North
American inter-exchange carrier;

-- the first trial customer for the Total Control 2000 platform; and

-- the CommWorks carrier-grade IP telephony system surpassing the one
billion-minute mark in voice traffic carried in service provider networks
around the world.

"We pride ourselves in being a leader in developing network strategies and technologies that empower individuals and their organizations, making CommWorks a key player in building the most advanced networks for access and transfer of voice, video and data information," Ali said. "The CommWorks family of products delivers everything service providers need to deploy revenue-generating communications solutions and services to their end users."

A New Architecture for Next Generation Networks

CommWorks builds IP networks that deliver enhanced data and voice services through dial, wireless and broadband access. These networks are based on the CommWorks architecture, a flexible, open system that allows service providers to build their networks as they see fit.

"Routers and pipes are fine for a data-only network, but IP networks that carry voice, video and data need to be architected in a fundamentally different way," Ali said. "Our view is that IP as a technology will be the fundamental cornerstone of next-generation networks. It is an inherently more efficient technology, and one that lends itself to future communications requirements.

"CommWorks focuses exclusively on IP services," Ali continued. "Our experience in developing IP-based networking solutions for the service provider industry sets us apart from our competitors. We design, develop and deploy IP-based systems and enhanced networks that offer more services for less cost, with the same high availability and better performance than the traditional telecommunications network. Our customers choose us and stay with us because we maximize their initial investment and continue to enhance that investment with new opportunities for revenue-generating services."

CommWorks focuses on the telecommunication service provider market around the world, building IP networks for local exchange carriers (ILECs); interexchange carriers (IXCs); post, telephone and telegraph administrations (PTTs); competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs); Internet service providers (ISPs) and other alternative service providers. In fact, 17 of the world's 20 largest telecommunications service providers -- representing 71 percent of the world's public telecom service revenue -- and scores of other customers use CommWorks solutions in their networks.

Rich Product Portfolio

The CommWorks product portfolio includes hardware and software products for IP telephony, wireless data access, enhanced data systems, cable data access, digital subscriber line (DSL) data access, call control and signaling, gigabit routing systems, and network and service management. The thread that links together these product lines is the CommWorks architecture.

"The CommWorks architecture is a service-creation engine for telecommunications service providers," Ali stated. "The architecture has open interfaces throughout, so it is designed to enable service providers to deliver new differentiated services quickly and easily. It gives them a cohesive, methodical migration path to move from circuit-switched networks to feature-rich efficient packet-based IP networks."

The CommWorks architecture is a three-tier packet-based architecture that enables service providers to customize solutions independently at each tier to address individual customer needs. The Media Processing layer (Tier 1) employs media gateway functions to integrate multiple types of traffic and accommodate disparate access networks. The Control and Network and Service Management layer (Tier 2) bridges different signaling and call control protocols, enabling multimedia traffic to seamlessly traverse disparate networks. The Service Creation layer (Tier 3) provides an open service creation environment that leverages open interfaces and strategic partners to enable rapid application and service deployment.

About CommWorks Corp.

CommWorks, a 3Com Company, supplies network service providers around the world with access infrastructures and IP services platforms that open new business opportunities and help them establish unique positions in a competitive marketplace. With flexible multi-service hardware platforms and modular software components, the comprehensive CommWorks architecture makes it possible for service providers to integrate their existing infrastructures with innovative technologies to deliver an array of next-generation IP-based enhanced services to their customers. For further information, visit www.commworks.com.

About 3Com Corp.

3Com simplifies how people connect to information and services through easy-to-use, connectivity products and solutions for consumers and commercial organizations. The company also provides access infrastructures and IP services platforms for network service providers. For further information, visit www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.

Note to Editors: 3Com, CommWorks and Total Control are registered trademarks of 3Com Corp.