Fastcomm Signs Multi-Year Licensing Agreement With IBM.

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1999--

FastComm Will License IBM ESCON Protocol

to Expand Market Potential of its ChanlComm(R) Product Line

FastComm Communications Corporation (OTC BB: FSCX) today announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement to license the Enterprise System Connection (ESCON(TM)) Enabler Technologies from International Business Machines Corporation(TM) (IBM(TM)).

According to Peter Madsen, president and chief executive officer of FastComm, "The use of the ESCON technology will give us the ability to market our ChanlComm(R) product to large end users. We expect that the majority of our future ChanlComm installations will require ESCON, due to the advantages of its high-speed fiber optic protocol."

The agreement with IBM encompasses both the technology and component purchases.

Dr. Kenneth Bloom, FastComm's vice president of mainframe networking, adds, "We will use the ESCON technology in our ChanlComm 7790 Communications Controller line. The ChanlComm products replace the front end processors and data center routers in IBM S/390(R) enterprise server networks, improving their efficiency and dramatically reducing operating costs."

ESCON is a protocol used to connect IBM mainframe computers to various peripheral controllers, such as disk drives, tape drives and communications controllers. The ESCON technology is replacing the older and slower "Bus and Tag" channels, which require large, bulky cables and provide data transfer capacity of up to 4.5 megabytes per second. ESCON channels, by contrast, provide a data transfer rate of up to 17 megabytes per second using standard fiber optic cable. The ESCON technology will be used in FastComm's ChanlComm 7790 Communications Controller products, which currently only support the Bus and Tag channels.

"IBM is pleased to be selected to supply FastComm with ESCON technology," said Robert Chrisfield, IBM's S/390 Division, OEM business unit program director. "ESCON is a key technology for high speed communications with IBM S/390 Servers, and the IBM technology that FastComm is employing will ensure architectural compliance and interconnectivity with IBM equipment."

Madsen notes that the ChanlComm product suite represents the company's recent entry into its third market segment, data centers. Its data-only products and convergence products represent its other two market segments in the enterprise networking product arena.

FastComm designs, develops, and manufactures advanced WAN/LAN/Global network routing and switching equipment, controllers and processors for IBM environments, Internet access products, and related networking devices. It is a total system solution provider specializing in voice/fax/video/data over IP and Frame Relay. FastComm is a leader in the effort to provide optimal migration paths for legacy networks that are upgrading to newer routing technologies. The corporate goal is to provide customers with leading-edge networking technology and a cost-effective means of incorporating these technologies into new or existing networks. FastComm prides itself in its ability to customize networks to meet the specific needs of their customers. These customers include state governments, federal agencies, and multinational corporations.

For more information, or to request a data sheet of any FastComm product, please contact the company via phone [phone]; fax [phone]; email [e-mail]; or visit FastComm on the World Wide Web at http:\\www.fastcomm.com .

FastComm products include the WEB Router(TM), GlobalView(TM), EtherFRAD(TM), RingFRAD , MetroLan(TM), QUICK II(TM), ChanlComm and GlobalStack(TM). These products provide routed and switched Voice / Data and Video access solutions for bandwidths ranging from 9.6kbps to full T1/E1 over Leased Line, Frame Relay, X.25 and digital and analog networks.

FastComm, WEB.router, GlobalView, MetroLan, MonoFRAD, EtherFRAD, RingFRAD, QUICK II, GlobalStack and SuperView are all trademarks of FastComm Communications Corp. ChanlComm is a registered trademark of FastComm Communications Corp. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-looking statements are made in this release pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that all forward looking statements are subject to risk and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the timing of new announcements or introductions by the company and its competitors, the hiring and retention of key employees, competitive pricing pressure, dependence on third parties for components and products, and general economic conditions in the United States and international markets, and the risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.