Larscom's Orion 2000 Installed in Government Scientific Research Network; Inverse Multiplexer for IMA Brings High Speed ATM Access to Remote Offices.

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 1999--Larscom Incorporated (Nasdaq:LARS), a leading provider of WAN access equipment, today announced that a nationwide data communications network managed by a U.S. government agency has deployed Larscom's Orion 2000 inverse multiplexer for ATM (IMA) providing high-speed ATM access to its remote research facilities.

The Orion 2000, one of the few products on the market fully conformant with the ATM Forum IMA specs, uses readily available T1 lines to provide either native ATM services or ATM extension at economical prices.

The government data network supports needed information access and dissemination among scientific collaborators and educators throughout the United States. After successfully passing lab evaluations, the Orion 2000 was selected based on three factors: the product's ability to provide a cost-effective means of transporting ATM cell traffic; its price; and its small footprint for the remote labs.

Linking ATM Devices Across T1s

The Orion 2000 bridges the gap in ATM access bandwidth and, with its ATM Forum-standard interfaces, allows service providers and network managers to link their installed base of ATM devices across one to eight T1s or E1s.

With the advent of new, bandwidth hungry applications including the Internet, NSPs need to expand the bandwidth (speeds) available to their customers. For many users the jump from T1 to T3 or OC3 ATM is cost prohibitive and more bandwidth than they need. T1 ATM provides less expensive ATM access, but without sufficient bandwidth for many applications. The goal of the ATM Forum's IMA specification was to address the problems of the traditional WAN access speeds by defining an NxT1/E1 means of transporting ATM cell traffic.

Building on Inverse Multiplexing Experience

Julie Knight, senior product manager for Larscom's network systems group, commented, "The Orion 2000 builds on more than five years experience in deploying Larscom inverse multiplexers. We found that service providers are limiting the rollout of ATM service because of availability issues and the high cost of extending an access network using T3 or OC3c. With our Orion 2000, service providers and network managers can bridge that bandwidth gap to link their installed base of ATM devices, using less expensive and readily available T1 or E1 lines -- all in a compact unit designed for the customer premise."

Larscom Incorporated is a leading provider of high-speed wide area network (WAN) access equipment. Its customers include carriers, Internet service providers, corporate users, and government agencies worldwide. For additional information, please visit the company's web site at www.larscom.com or phone [phone].