New N.E.T. Integrated Frame Relay Product Offers Dramatically Improved Cost-Per-Port and Port Capacity.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 10, 1996--N.E.T. today announced the immediate availability of new FrameXpress(TM) frame relay capabilities that lower the cost-per-port for frame relay on N.E.T.(TM) IDNX(R) multiservice backbones by 50 percent while providing a 500 percent increase in port density. The N.E.T. FrameXpress solution, which also includes new network management software, provides enterprises and global carriers with a unique value because it integrates frame relay traffic with voice, video, ISDN and LAN internetworking traffic on an IDNX multiservice backbone.

The worldwide frame relay equipment market continues to grow at an impressive rate -- more than 40 percent in 1996 according to Vertical Systems Group numbers published in 1995. The same growth rate is projected for both public and private frame relay equipment where Vertical Systems ranked N.E.T. the second leading vendor with 15 percent of the private frame relay equipment market share in 1995.

"The IDNX multiservice backbone has been an enhancement to IBM's WAN solutions since 1987," said John Ayers, Worldwide Marketing Manager for IDNX Products, Network Hardware Division, IBM. "This new N.E.T. frame relay enhancement strengthens the internetworking capability of the IDNX, and gives IBM customers greater flexibility in using frame relay to cost-effectively transport SNA traffic over the WAN."

"Even though networks based on public frame relay services are often considered to be an `obvious' solution, private and hybrid frame relay networks can be cost effective, especially when there is an existing private network in place," noted Steven Taylor, president, Distributed Networking Associates. "N.E.T.'s new frame relay product should be particularly attractive to IDNX users who would like to move to frame relay."

The new FrameXpress capabilities, which are available now, are the result of new software and hardware developments. The new FrameXpress (FRX) module is based on a new high-performance packet processor that supports up to 47 frame relay ports using new T1 or E1 interface card options. The FrameXpress software takes advantage of a new operating system that supports multiple tasks and operations. The processing capabilities are increased through the use of a high-performance processor, distributed processing capabilities addressing each port, and increased memory for additional real-time processing functionality. The FrameXpress module supports access speeds ranging from 9.6 Kbps up to T1/E1. A PCMCIA card option allows customers to store configuration databases conveniently and reduces unnecessary traffic by restoring the information locally. Customers still have the option to remotely download information to the system.

In a multiservice backbone environment, the N.E.T. IDNX switch equipped with the FrameXpress module provides frame relay connectivity to external devices such as bridges, routers and front-end processors. It also provides wide area transport over both private lines and public frame relay services to create an excellent hybrid solution.

"Our customers needed a higher capacity frame-relay offering in a multiservice environment to take full advantage of the efficiencies offered by frame relay," said Kirk Dunn, director, N.E.T. marketing. "N.E.T. responded by developing a more powerful frame-relay product that can add a great deal of value to existing or new networks. When this is teamed with other industry-leading frame relay products that N.E.T. offers from our partners Cascade Communications and Sync Research, we deliver one of the most extensive frame-relay product lines available today."

FrameXpress software is SNMP-compliant and can be managed by any SNMP-based network management system. N.E.T. is also announcing a new version of the FrameXpress Node Manager, N.E.T.'s frame relay network-management package. FrameXpress Node Manager's graphical-user interface, based on HP OpenView, simplifies the configuration, management and control of FrameXpress networks. New features such as alarm percolation and circuit trace simplify frame-relay network troubleshooting.

The new FrameXpress module and the FrameXpress Node Manager are available now. Customer list price for the FrameXpress (FRX) 2.03 software is $950. The PX-3 packet processor card with 16 internal ports is priced at $14,750, and the optional T1 or E1 interface cards are listed at $5,950 each. FrameXpress Node Manager 2.03 suggested prices start at $10,000. Customers who wish to upgrade to the new PX-3 card from their current PX-2 and PX Plus cards will be given a credit of $1,500 and $2,700 respectively, towards the upgrade. The program will be in effect through September 30, 1996.

The N.E.T. FrameXpress family of products is available in a variety of configurations to allow network managers to migrate to the cost-effective advantages of frame relay. The complete line of frame relay products includes the FrameNode(TM) frame relay access device (FRAD) from Sync Research, N.E.T. IDNX multiservice bandwidth managers equipped with FrameXpress modules, and high-capacity switches including the B-STDX(TM) and STDX(TM) switches from Cascade Communications.

N.E.T., headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., is a leading worldwide supplier of multiservice backbone networks used by enterprises and global carriers in more than 50 countries. N.E.T. multiservice WANs integrate voice, data, and video traffic with frame relay, LAN internetworking and ISDN capabilities for today's mission-critical applications. The company is certified to the worldwide ISO 9001 standard for design, manufacturing and servicing. Join us at our worldwide web site: http://www.net.com for further information. -0-

Note to Editors: N.E.T., FrameXpress, Frame Relay Exchange, and the N.E.T. logo are trademarks and IDNX is a registered trademark of Network Equipment Technologies, Inc. B-STDX and STDX are trademarks of Cascade Communications Corporation. FrameNode is a trademark of Sync Research.

CONTACT: N.E.T.

Jo Minola, 415/780-5177

or

Ann Candelario, 415/780-5605 (Investor Relations)