Excel Switching Corporation Appoints Lawrence Asten Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Business Development.

HYANNIS, Mass. -- --Former Telco Systems President and Respected Telecom Industry Veteran to Lead Excel's Aggressive Global Sales Efforts --

Excel Switching Corporation, a worldwide provider of carrier-class, open services platforms, media gateways and media servers, announced today it has appointed Lawrence "Larry" Asten to the position of vice president, worldwide sales and business development.

Asten, a respected industry veteran with nearly four decades of telecommunications sales and business development experience, will, effective immediately, lead Excel's aggressive global sales effort as the company continues to expand its product portfolio and market reach.

Prior to joining Excel, Asten served as president of Telco Systems, a leader in network edge technology and IP switching platforms. During his tenure at Telco Systems, Asten significantly increased sales volume of the company's IP and TDM transport and access products, and is credited with establishing a strong presence for Telco Systems' IP solutions in the lucrative telecommunications service provider market.

"Excel's sustained success throughout the past two decades in the competitive telecommunications industry is legendary, and is reflective of its strong technology, vision, customer service and professional staff," said Asten. "Excel is a major player in the telecommunications infrastructure equipment market, and, with recent product introductions such as the Integrated Media Gateway (IMG) 1010, is well-positioned to generate even stronger market traction and seize additional market share. I joined Excel at the most exciting and promising time in the company's history. As adoption of IP continues to increase, Excel will play a major role in migrating service providers, enterprises and government agencies to the next generation of technology. I look forward to being a key contributor to Excel's next era of success."

"The management team and Board of Directors of Excel are proud to have attracted a high-caliber leader such as Larry Asten to its ranks," said J.C. Murphy, president, Excel Switching Corporation. "I expect Larry will make a significant impact on Excel's global sales and business development efforts as we work toward achieving our corporate mission of enabling everyone, everywhere to experience Excel-powered voice, data and video communications."

In addition to Telco Systems, Mr. Asten has also held senior management and sales positions with Terawave Corporation, Integrated Photonics Technologies, NETMANSYS, Vertel Corporation, ADC Telecommunications, Northern Telecom and GTE.

About Excel Switching Corporation

Founded in 1988, Excel Switching Corporation is a leading provider of carrier-class media gateways, media servers, signaling gateways, and enhanced service platforms for original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, and service providers. As a profitable company with more than 8,500 systems deployed in more than 80 countries, Excel addresses carrier needs for profitable applications by delivering a family of platforms that bridge fixed, mobile, and IP networks, thereby lowering costs, improving call quality, and simplifying network operations. By working closely with its partners, Excel supplies service providers with highly reliable, localized solutions designed to meet their immediate and future needs. For more information, visit www.ExcelSwitching.com.