MPLS and Frame Relay Forums Announce Intent to Merge; Groups Merger to Address Access and Core Protocol Technologies.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2003

The Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Forum and the Frame Relay Forum (FRF) announced today plans to merge into one organization. The combined organization, to be known initially as the MPLS and Frame Relay Alliance, will bring together telecommunications service providers, equipment vendors, and software and silicon suppliers under a unified industry association. Members of both groups will be asked to vote to accept the merger, completion of which is expected in the next two months.

"The combination of the MPLS Forum and the FRF will benefit the industry as a whole," said Andrew G. Malis, chairman and president of the MPLS Forum. "Frame Relay has enjoyed enormous success as an access protocol, and with the growth of MPLS in service provider core networks, the two have already demonstrated a natural synergy."

"This alliance will foster the interworking of both technologies," said Joe Kimball, chairman and president of the FRF. "Frame Relay serves as an ideal access technology and the integration of Frame Relay with MPLS networks is important to both the end users and the industry."

"AT&T has long been a key contributor to the development of MPLS technology and, in fact, was the first U.S. carrier to deploy MPLS on Frame Relay four years ago," said Frank Ianna, president of AT&T Network Services. "We envision a future network that will replace today's multiple networks (ATM, Frame Relay, Private Line) with a single, global, MPLS-enabled backbone over an intelligent optical IP-based core, with intelligent nodes and multi-protocol/multi-service capabilities at its edges. It's our hope that the combination of these two forums helps us and the industry move closer to that vision."

"Because Frame Relay is the most important enterprise data service currently offered, and MPLS is the basis for the most universal strategy of investment protection for carriers, a merger of these two forums would be a tremendous boost to the development of a single architecture for voice and data networks in the future," said Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corporation.

"The primary strength of these two forums is that they bring technical specifications and interoperability to the industry," said Steven Taylor, technology analyst at Distributed Networking Associates Inc. "By combining efforts, the two technologies can more easily address the network traffic problems that carriers face today. The FRF pioneered the Forum concept and has been remarkably successful in fostering a community for successful cooperation among fierce competitors. This alliance will combine the FRF's historical strength and spirit with the MPLS Forum's leading-edge technology advances."

Rick Wilder, Principal Scientist at Masergy Communications, a nationwide IP service provider, said: "The merger of these two organizations mirrors Masergy's network architecture, where a multi-service MPLS core carries IP telephony, video, IP VPNs, and Internet traffic, all utilizing Frame Relay access from our customers' sites."

About The MPLS Forum

The MPLS Forum is an international industry organization driving worldwide deployment of multi-vendor MPLS networks, applications and services. The Forum accomplishes this through interoperability initiatives, implementation agreements and education programs. For more information about The MPLS Forum, please contact Alexa Morris, MPLS Forum Executive Director, at [phone] or via e-mail at [e-mail]. Additional information regarding Forum membership and the Forum's mission is available online at http://www.mplsforum.org/.

About the Frame Relay Forum

The Frame Relay Forum was incorporated in May 1991 as an association of vendors, carriers, users, and consultants committed to the education, promotion, and implementation of frame relay in accordance with international standards. For more information on the Frame Relay Forum, membership, or for a copy of FRF implementation agreements, please contact the Frame Relay Forum at [phone], on the Internet at http://www.frforum.com, or via e-mail at [e-mail].