Lucent Technologies Doubles the G.lite Ports and Data Rates for StingerT DSL Access Concentrator.

Business Editors

MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2000

- IP Communications is First to Purchase New Ultra-Dense

48-port ADSL G.lite Card -

Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today announced new capabilities for its digital subscriber line (DSL) access concentrator, StingerT. Stinger will now be able to provide double the data rates of standard asymmetric DSL G.lite services with the introduction of its new 48-port G.lite line card. Providing enhanced capabilities for Lucent's Stinger, the new G.lite technology will allow service providers to offer residential and small business customers more cost- effective voice and data services, as well as faster Internet access, simultaneously over an existing copper telephone line. G.lite, a "splitterless" alternative to full-rate ADSL, typically offers customers maximum speeds of 1.5 Mbps downstream - from the Internet to the end-user.

"Lucent's new G.lite card leads the industry in density, and can deliver a downstream rate of 3 Mbps, " said Ashok Dhawan, vice president and general manager for Lucent's InterNetworking Systems xDSL division. "Our enhanced G.lite card, along with our full-rate ADSL offer, gives our Stinger platform a clear competitive edge in the marketplace."

IP Communications (IPC), a privately held competitive local exchange carrier with headquarters in Dallas, relies on the Stinger platform to provide DSL services throughout Texas and is Lucent's first customer for the new 48-port cards. "We'll now be able to offer our customers all of the benefits of G.lite - high-quality voice and high-speed Internet access from anywhere in the home or office - at double the speed of standard G.lite," said W. Dal Berry, CEO of IPC. "Furthermore, the dense capacity of the cards will allow us to quickly increase our number of subscribers without deploying additional DSL access concentrators."

IPC's network includes Lucent's industry leading CBX 500T Multiservice Wide Area Network switches and the Stinger DSLAMs. Lucent's NetworkCare(sm) Professional Services organization provides IPC with professional installation, maintenance and monitoring services. IPC's network is managed by Lucent's NavisCoreT and NavisAccessT network management systems. The 48-port card will be available next month.

About Stinger

Stinger is an integrated DSL platform that incorporates a high-speed ATM switching fabric, giving service providers end-to-end QoS capabilities. With bandwidth management and priority policing capabilities, Stinger enables service providers to deliver differentiated classes of service to their customers. With support for up to 672 ports per chassis and 2016 ports per rack, the product offers substantially greater port density than competing products, in a smaller footprint. Stinger's multi-service platform provides support for all versions of DSL - SDSL, ADSL (full-rate and G.Lite), IDSL and HDSL2 - allowing service providers to deliver a wide range of applications from a single platform. The product also delivers greater flexibility with support for both ATM and Frame Relay from customer premises to central office, offering service providers the choice of provisioning either an ATM or Frame-based access network. Since Stinger's launch in September of last year, more than 70 service providers in a dozen countries have purchased the platform.

IP Communications is an innovative, fast growing provider of high-speed data communication and Internet access solutions using digital subscriber line (DSL) technology for residential and business customers. Founded in 1999 and based in Dallas, the company is one of a new breed of telecommunications providers, made possible by telecommunications deregulation, called a Data Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (Data CLEC). IP Communications' connections are "always on," eliminating slow dial-up network procedures, and offering connection speeds up to 6 Mbps -- approximately 50-100 times faster than conventional 56K modems. IP Communications offers ADSL, SDSL and IDSL services. The IP Communications network extends to large markets as well as small and medium cities in the central region of the country, beginning in Texas and expanding throughout other SBC states. Lucent Technologies, the world's leading telecommunications equipment company, is the primary supplier to IP Communications (www.ipcdsl.com).

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as optical and wireless networks; Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications semiconductors and optoelectronics; Web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.