Corvis Corporation Unveils Its All-Optical Multi-Terabit Product Line With Series of Network Demonstrations At Supercomm '99.

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 1999--

Transparent all-optical switching, transport and network management solutions will revolutionize the way traffic is moved and business is

conducted in the new Internet-driven telecommunications industry

Corvis Corporation will unveil the industry's first all-optical network at Supercomm: the CorWave(tm) product family. With order of magnitude savings compared to available networks, Corvis networks provide carriers with strategic and competitive advantages enabling them to lead the information age revolution. By delivering high-capacity all-optical switching, transport and network management, Corvis combines the three critical capabilities required for the next generation Internet backbone. Each of the CorWave(tm) products provides far higher performance than any other products available today. Key advances include:

-- Transport of 160 densely-packed OC-48 optical signals or 40 OC-192 optical paths on a single fiber,

-- Transmission distances of 3200 kilometers without any electronic regeneration: a distance that makes all-optical networks a reality and optical switches immensely valuable,

-- Transparent optical switching with a capacity of up to 2.4 Terabits,

-- Enhanced optical network management software permitting carriers to provision ultra-long optical paths remotely and without field intervention, and

-- Innovative protection capabilities in the optical layer.

"Corvis has been able to execute on three key market fronts: transport, switching and network management in a very short time," states Mathew Steinberg of RHK (Ryan, Hankin & Kent). "This permits Corvis to pursue a combined annual market space of $5-7 billion."

Corvis combines all-optical switching, transport and network management into a transparent physical mesh. This mesh may be organized into many logical architectures, permitting more flexible configurations that support different traffic and protection requirements across large networks. The Corvis mesh allows carriers to allocate wavelengths in a manner that optimizes network efficiency and minimizes interference. Carriers will enjoy a smoother migration path from ring-based topologies to mesh topologies; a move that can result in a 60 percent gain in network capacity using existing fiber in the field.

With Corvis, carriers can take a new and different approach to network design and build a single, unified network to carry all kinds of traffic - IP/ATM, video, voice, etc. - instead of "stacked," overlay networks, each devoted to a single traffic type.

"We are offering to both the switching and transport sides of the industry the lowest `cost per bit' network," said Dr. David Huber, President and CEO of Corvis. "We can do this because we are the first to combine all-optical switching with an ultra long distance optical transport layer to create a flexible mesh network. This is a breakthrough which lowers costs by an order of magnitude and creates many more service possibilities for carriers."

The benefits of the Corvis approach are seen in lower acquisition and operating costs for a range of network operators:

-- Optical transparency at network nodes that will eliminate combinations of discrete network elements, such as WDM terminals, SONET add/drop multiplexers and electrical cross connects - meaning a three- to ten-fold reduction in cost compared to current systems, depending on route configuration and capacity,

-- Increased transmission distances for optical signals -- up to 3200 km for coast-to-coast routes without electrical regeneration - meaning a five- to eight-fold reduction in the number of electrical regenerator sites in a long-distance network,

-- Reduced provisioning time for coast-to-coast routes - from weeks to minutes - meaning lower operations costs and faster return on investment for carriers.

Corvis has demonstrated its products to many carriers, including Williams Communications Group, Inc., a unit of Williams (NYSE:WMB), based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"We believe that Corvis' breakthrough products will create a discontinuity in the marketplace," said Matthew Bross, senior vice president and Chief Technology Officer of Williams Communications. "The fundamental shift created by Corvis' true optical networking products will give competitive carriers access to tremendous bandwidth and operational flexibility."

Corvis is demonstrating its all-optical, multiple-terabit product line at Supercomm '99 in booth 8470 of the Georgia World Congress Center, June 8 - 10, 1999 and is holding a press conference at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 8, in room 305E of the Congress Center. As part of a multi-company exercise, Corvis also is conducting at its booth an optical internetworking demonstration with the Cisco 12000 series GSR (gigabit switch router). Cisco Systems, Inc. has acquired a minority interest in Corvis in connection with Corvis' recent third round financing.

"Our investment in Corvis demonstrates the importance to Cisco of optical internetworking in meeting today's exploding bandwidth demands," said Graeme Fraser, vice president and general manager of Optical Internetworking at Cisco. "Corvis' dramatic innovations in transmission distance, channel count, and optical switching will assist network operators in building cost-effective IP networks."

Corvis Corporation, based in Columbia, Maryland, is creating a true paradigm shift in the capabilities of telecommunication networks by introducing the world's first true all-optical network solution - a move that will lower network costs exponentially and create a multiple-terabit solution for improved Internet services and the data-centric networks of tomorrow.