MICOM to sell Nortel's Rapport SOHO router and dialup switch through sales channel.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 1997--MICOM Communications Corp. announces it is selling Nortel's (Northern Telecom's) Rapport product line through MICOM's established sales channel.

Nortel has established itself as a leader in the remote access market with its Rapport product portfolio, targeting carriers, large ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and corporate enterprises. MICOM complements Nortel's strategy by targeting small-office/home-office users, small ISPs and small- and medium-sized companies. MICOM is a Nortel company.

The Nortel Rapport SOHO ISDN router is a cost-effective and secure SOHO communications device that supports IP and IPX routing, as well as multiprotocol bridging. Users can exchange information with corporate headquarters, communicate with other Rapport SOHO Router users, or gain fast access to intranets, the Internet and other on-line services at 64 Kbps to 128 Kbps rates or up to 512 Kbps with compression.

The Rapport SOHO Router features On Demand Connections which minimize the cost of the ISDN holding time charges. The Rapport SOHO Router detects inactivity and disengages the ISDN link. An ISDN connection can be re-established on demand.

The Nortel Rapport Dialup Switch portfolio consists of hardware, software and dialup service products which provide high-density secure access to the Internet or the enterprise network via the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).

The dialup switch portfolio offers three primary applications supporting IPX, IP, NetBEUI and AppleTalk protocols: dial-in, the ability for remote access users to dial in to their network with analog modems or ISDN terminal adapters and routers from any location and access network services as if they were directly connected; dial-out/fax-out, the ability for a user on a LAN to share LAN-connected, centrally-managed modems to perform character-based connections to remote hosts; and LAN-to-LAN, the ability to link two or more LANs together in a routed network.

"Nortel's Rapport is a comprehensive product family for high-performance scalable and secure multiprotocol remote access," said MICOM Product Line Manager Daniel M. Faurlin. "Rapport rounds out the MICOM product line by providing network access for mobile and home-based workers. Remote users have access to their corporate networks, just as if they are directly connected."

The Nortel dialup switch portfolio consists of models 8E/8T, 112 and 670. The product line features: a multiprocessor architecture, a fifth-generation client/server software architecture, remote adaptive routing, tested compatibility with more than 300 end-user modems and terminal adapters, sophisticated call control and enhanced Rockwell modem code.

MICOM is a world leader in integrated data, voice, fax and LAN networking. MICOM solutions operate over a variety of WAN technologies, including public and private frame relay, leased lines and satellite. MICOM markets its networking solutions to small- to mid-size companies and enterprises IP networks, and sells through a network of certified distributors in more than 85 countries.

MICOM is a Nortel (Northern Telecom) company. Nortel had 1996 revenues of $12.8 billion and has approximately 68,000 employees worldwide. MICOM is located at 4100 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley, Calif., 93063. Tel: [phone], fax: [phone].

CONTACT: MICOM Communications Corp., Simi Valley

Sharon Porter, 805/577-2222

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