Cox Communications Selects Internet Photonics for VOD Roll-Out in Omaha.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SHREWSBURY, N.J. & MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2004

Internet Photonics, the technology and deployment leader of Optical Ethernet and Intelligent Wavelength Platforms, today announced that Cox Communications has selected the LightStack MX, LightStack NCS, and LightHandler for their Omaha, Nebraska, Video On-Demand roll-out.

The LightStack MX, a DWDM multiplexing transport platform, now features state-of-the-art components and precision engineering to reduce its size and overall costs so that Cox can cut their VOD transport costs per stream in half. The LightHandler, an optical add/drop multiplexing and amplification system, now supports 40 DWDM wavelengths over a single fiber strand, an increase of 150 percent over the previous version. Additionally, Cox is deploying the LightStack NCS service management system.

"Cox Communications is pleased to provide our customers with new on-demand services enabling subscribers to order hundreds of movie titles quickly and reliably," said Michael Pasquinilli, Director of iTV at Cox Communications. "The LightStack and LightHandler products from Internet Photonics are simple to deploy and were key to a rapid and cost-effective roll-out in Omaha."

Internet Photonics is the leader in optical Ethernet transport for cable networks based on deployments with seven leading MSOs, including Cablevision, Cox, Adelphia, and Buckeye CableSystem, and has more than 12 million VOD homes passed. The company has shipped and deployed more than 1,000 10 Gigabit DWDM ports and more than 8,000 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports.

"Cox Communications has proven it is a leader in delivering new services such as VOD and VOIP to their growing customer base," said Gregory Koss, President and CEO, Internet Photonics. "Internet Photonics is pleased to have been selected to help Cox deliver these new services to customers. We look forward to a long-term partnership with Cox and are confident that our ability to transport multiple services over the same infrastructure will serve them well in the future."

About Internet Photonics

Internet Photonics, Inc. is an innovative growth company delivering the first carrier-grade Intelligent Wavelength Platforms, which allow network operators (service providers and cable MSOs) to sell profitable high-bandwidth data services alongside existing legacy services. The company's products are scalable, simple to install, and provide carrier-grade reliability and manageability. Overall, the Internet Photonics solution portfolio consists of seven products that generate revenue from customers in both the cable (passing more than 12 million homes) and telco markets. Investors include The Sprout Group, ComVentures, Telesoft Partners, AT&T and New Venture Partners LLC, formerly the New Ventures Group at Lucent Technologies. On February 19, 2004, CIENA Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) announced their intent to acquire Internet Photonics. The merger is expected to close sometime before the end of CIENA's fiscal third quarter. For more information, please visit www.internetphotonics.com.