NBX Corporation and Cisco Systems Team to Provide Network Based Telephony Solutions.

ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 1998--NBX Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc. announced today that they are teaming to provide integrated voice and data network-based telephony solutions for small and mid-size businesses and distributed branch offices. The signed letter of intent covers the co-development of Cisco and NBX products for high-quality, packet-based voice communications over local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs).

The solutions include NBX's feature-rich Network Based Telephony system, the NBX 100(tm), and Cisco's voice-capable Cisco 3600 series and Cisco 2600 series routers. These solutions will be demonstrated May 4-7 at the NetWorld+Interop `98 trade show in Las Vegas.

With these new solutions, businesses can truly take advantage of voice and data convergence by maintaining one network from the desktop out to the enterprise. Customers will be able to reduce the overall equipment expense, remove the cost of implementing and maintaining separate networks for voice and data, and maximize the value of network connectivity services within the enterprise.

Cisco provides robust voice-over-IP capabilities through its highly scalable Cisco IOS(tm) software. Cisco IOS software is a platform for the high-quality delivery of time-sensitive traffic such as voice communications. By using Cisco IOS software and NBX's sophisticated call control engine, customers and resellers can offer complete voice and data solutions. This will extend powerful data networking and rich call processing from desktop to desktop, even in environments with multiple, geographically distributed branch offices and telecommuters. For end users, capitalizing on this opportunity will be as easy as plugging the NBX business telephone set into the network connection on the desktop.

"Both companies share the same vision of high quality, highly reliable and feature-rich business communications over the corporate LAN and WAN," said Daniel Massiello, President and CEO of NBX. "The quality of service and enterprise connectivity that Cisco delivers for voice-over-IP networks is a perfect complement for the quality of service and call processing that NBX delivers to the customer premise."

Kevin Kennedy, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Network to User Business Unit, said, "Cisco and NBX believe that the next wave of the Internet Revolution will be defined by the ability to integrate voice, video and data effectively over a single network to reduce costs and enable new applications. Cisco is excited to be collaborating with NBX to lead in the deployment of these integrated networks."

The NBX 100 Communications System delivers high-quality voice communications over Ethernet networks. NBX merges the familiarity, functionality and reliability of traditional telephone systems with the power, scalability, and open connectivity offered by LAN and WAN networking solutions. The NBX 100 offers multi-line telephones that are compatible with the growing installed base of over 200 million Ethernet hub and switch ports. The NBX 100 delivers robust call control, automated attendant, mixed media messaging, CTI and browser-based administration operating over standard Ethernet local area networks.

The Cisco 3600 and Cisco 2600 series voice/FAX modules enable enterprises to integrate voice, fax and data across existing data infrastructures while significantly reducing recurring communications costs. Based on market leading technology, each standards-based voice module supports two or four voice channels through a variety of voice interface cards. The voice modules support several toll-quality compression schemes including G.711 for high-bit rate applications and G.729 for WAN applications. The Cisco 3600 series router is ideally suited to retail, banking and corporate infrastructures because it fully supports all Cisco IOS software routing protocols. The Cisco 2600 series extends the versatility, integration and power of the Cisco 3600 series to smaller, remote branch offices and complements the industry-leading Cisco 2500 series, Cisco's most cost-effective solution for mission-specific, branch office data requirements.

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About NBX Corporation

NBX develops the world's first reliable Network Based Telephony System, the NBX 100, integrating voice and data communications over LANs and WANs. NBX markets and distributes the NBX 100 through an authorized dealer channel. News and information are available at http://www.nbxcorp.com.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information are available at http://www.cisco.com.

Cisco IOS is a trademark, and Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries. NBX, NBX 100 and the NBX logo are trademarks of NBX Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: NBX Corporation Cisco Systems, Inc.

Miriam S. Gaylin Clare Whitecross

978.749.0000 x232 408.525.2957

[e-mail] [e-mail]

or

Sterling Hager, Inc.

Mike Spinney 

617.926.6665 x335

[e-mail]