CoreComm Awards WatchMark Corp. Multi-Year Contract to Manage Growing Wireline and Internet Network Traffic.

Business & Technology Editors

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 29, 2000

Ohio-Based Carrier Will Install WatchMark's Innovative Software

at New Cleveland-Area Technology Management Center

WatchMark Corp. today announced that CoreComm (NASDAQ:COMMF), a leading competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) based in Cleveland, Ohio, will use WatchMark's innovative suite of service assurance software to manage its growing network of local, long distance, toll-free, and Internet services for Ohio business and residential customers. WatchMark Corp. is a venture owned by Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU), Argo Global Capital, Pequot Capital, and Origin Partners.

The multi-year deal includes the integration and ongoing professional support of WatchMark software into the new CoreComm Technology Management Center (TMC) in Cleveland. CoreComm is the second customer to use the new WatchMark Prospect(TM) Web-based network management tool. In addition, CoreComm will install WatchMark Pilot(TM), which will provide visual displays of the CoreComm network; WatchMark Control(TM), which will deliver real-time messages regarding the status of the CoreComm network, and WatchMark Extreme(TM), which will enable CoreComm to monitor its network over the Web. All WatchMark software will be integrated into the CoreComm TMC to provide real-time fault and performance management capabilities to the facility. CoreComm is the first CLEC customer for WatchMark's software, which has been installed in more than 40 service provider networks worldwide, mostly in the wireless sector, including AirTouch Cellular (U.S.); PrimeCo (U.S.); Kansas Cellular (U.S.); CellularOne Baltimore (U.S.); Westel (Hungary); One 2 One (U.K.); Eurotel (Czech Republic and Slovakia); T-Mobil (Germany), Binariang (Malaysia), and Era GSM (Poland).

"CoreComm is an ideal customer for WatchMark software, since it operates a multi-vendor network with diverse, and growing, service requirements," said Steve Roberts, the president and CEO of WatchMark Corp. "The ultimate competitive advantage for CLECs today is highly-reliable service with efficient network maintenance. We believe that CoreComm represents a new breed of competitive carrier, and we look forward to working with it as it grows its business."

WatchMark's suite of integrated network management tools provide a wide range of feature-rich functions for network operations controllers and managers. In September, 1999 WatchMark introduced its WatchMark Prospect software, which integrates Oracle Corporation's 8i database and Web technology to bridge the gap between equipment vendor-provided systems and other performance measurement products in the marketplace.

Full support is provided across all WatchMark products for multi-vendor networks for fault, performance and configuration information from different equipment types. The WatchMark network management tools are fully configurable and can be easily customized to meet special customer requirements. This allows WatchMark to rapidly accommodate changes in the network, including additions or upgrades to network elements.

"There is a growing shift in telecommunications management to real-time, vendor-independent software, and WatchMark offers the true cutting-edge technology and professional support that will carry providers into the future," said J.C. Huang, director of wireless ventures in Lucent's New Ventures Group. "WatchMark has moved quickly since Lucent created it about five months ago, not only introducing new product and attracting new venture capital funding, but also expanding its customer base to include the emerging integrated service providers that are generating so much activity in the telecom industry. This win for WatchMark is a validation that the company's product suite has significant appeal beyond its traditional set of wireless customers."

With offices in Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL, and New York, NY, CoreComm is a full-service telecommunications company providing local, long distance, and Internet services for both home and business voice mail, paging, cellular, Centrex, calling cards, and toll-free (800/888/877) services. For more information on SmartPack and CoreComm's other products and services, call toll-free 1-877-CORECOM. Visit the company's Web site at www.core.com.

WatchMark Corp., a venture of Lucent Technologies and Argo Global Capital, Pequot Capital, and Origin Partners, is known worldwide for meeting the needs of modern telecommunication networks by supplying best of breed TMN-based network management and decision support systems. The company has offices in Bellevue, Wash., Richardson, Texas, and Naperville, Ill., a London-area office serving the UK and Europe, and an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that serves the Asia-Pacific region. For more information call 972-470-3507 or visit www.watchmark.com. Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N. J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit the company's web site at www.lucent.com.

Note to Editors:

Lucent is hosting a media conference call concerning this announcement Tuesday, February 29 at 12:30 pm Eastern Time Inside the U.S., the dial-in number is 800-288-8961; Outside the U.S., the dial-in number is 612-332-0107.

The call will be replayed for 48 hours, starting at 3:00 pm EST on February 29. The dial-in number for the replay is 800-475-6701 in the U.S.; outside the U.S., the number is 320-365-3844. The access code for the call is 504854.