Newbridge Networks and NYSERNet Inaugurate NYSERNet 2000 Network.

NEW YORK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1998--

Newbridge Solution Provides First Internet2

Point-of-Presence in New York State

Newbridge Networks (NYSE:NN)(TSE:NNC) and the New York State Education and Research Network (NYSERNet) today inaugurated the NYSERNet 2000 gigaPoP. The first stage of the network is based in New York City and links Internet2 traffic between Columbia and New York Universities. It is expected the network will connect all major education and research institutions in New York State by the end of 1999. This comes less than six months after Newbridge and NYSERNet formed an innovative alliance dedicated to pioneering new networking technologies.

Working in partnership with AppliedTheory Communications and IXC Communications, the NYSERNet 2000 network delivers routed IP networking services over a Newbridge supplied asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) infrastructure initially at OC 12 speeds (622 Mbit/s).

The NYSERNet2000 network is one of the largest statewide advanced research networks in the nation. NYSERNet2000 is being built with support from the New York State Science and Technology Foundation and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year. Extending from New York City to Buffalo, the network also provides a direct high speed (OC-3) link to universities and institutions participating in the Mid-Atlantic crossroads (MAX) Internet2 gigaPoP, which includes institutions like Georgetown and George Washington Universities. Its multiple gateways out of New York State, through the existing and evolving high-performance networks, will allow for greater flexibility than national research networks which require research activities to meet established acceptable use policies.

A gigaPoP exchanges Internet2 traffic with specified bandwidth and other Quality of Service (QoS) attributes. IP traffic can be exchanged with other Internet2 institutions that have a termination at the gigaPoP, eliminating the need for separate high-speed connections between the campus networks and other exchange points. GigaPoPs may link Internet2 campus networks to other metropolitan area networks (MANs) to provide advanced services, such as local distance education. Communication is also possible with other dedicated, high-performance WANs, such as those the government implements for its own research units.

"We view Newbridge's consistent ability to meet our aggressive schedule as a key factor in successfully developing next generation networks for New York State's higher education community," said Dr. Timothy Lance, Chairman, Board of Directors, NYSERNet. "The Newbridge solutions provide the leading-edge technology needed to put New York State researchers and educators ahead of their counterparts nationwide."

The increasing demand by New York's research and educational institutions for an enhanced suite of network QoS attributes is stretching the capabilities of the network. The network must support a broad spectrum of applications, such as modeling of streaming telemetry data from radar sites, distance learning and data steering. To satisfy its needs, the NYSERNet 2000 project is testing and deploying the Newbridge Versatile IP suite of high quality Internet Protocol (IP) solutions.

"Newbridge offers the most scalable, flexible and manageable products available, making us the natural partner for providing high quality IP Virtual Private Networking (VPN) and public Internet services," said Peter Charbonneau, Vice Chairman, Newbridge Networks. "The Newbridge Versatile IP solutions reinforce this by capitalizing on the strength of a centrally-managed architecture and an ATM core network for delivering premium IP services with predictability, reliability, security, and quality of service (QoS)."

The carrier switched routing (CSR) solution, unveiled by Newbridge this October as part of its Versatile IP suite of solutions, supplies the NYSERnet2000 infrastructure. Built around the Siemens/Newbridge MainStreetXpress(TM) 36170 Multiservices Switch and MainStreetXpress 46020 Network Manager, the Newbridge(R) carrier switched routing solution marries the ease and ubiquity of IP routing with the performance, predictability, and QoS of connection oriented ATM switching to deliver routing intelligence at switching performance and cost levels. The resultant network emulates the functions of a conventional router or Layer 3 switch on a network-wide basis. The end solution functions as a single router capable of delivering both premium IP VPN services as well as public Internet services. Carrier switched routing incorporates a number of key existing and proposed industry standards, such as Carrier Scale Internetworking (CSI) and Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS).

Founded in 1985, NYSERNet ( www.nysernet.org ) is one of the Internet's original not-for-profit pioneers. The world's first Internet service provider, it has consistently been on the Internet's leading edge, having upgraded its backbone to T1 (1.5Mbit/s) and to T3 (45 Mbit/s) years before these were widely deployed Internet access services. NYSERNet's mission is to lead the deployment of advanced networking services and innovative applications. Nearly two dozen of New York State's leading research and educational institutions are participating in the NYSERNet 2000 initiative, including New York University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Eastman-Kodak Research Labs, New York Public Library and the American Museum of Natural History.

Newbridge Networks designs, manufactures, markets and services networking solutions to organizations in more than 100 countries. The Company leverages its relationship with a growing family of Affiliate companies and strategic alliances with Siemens and 3Com Corporation to deliver seamless, end-to-end solutions. Newbridge customers include the world's 300 largest telecommunications service providers and more than 10,000 corporations, government organizations and other institutions. Founded in 1986, the Company employs more than 6,000 people on five continents. News and information are available at www.newbridge.com.

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MainStreetXpress is a trademark used by the Siemens / Newbridge alliance for comprehensive solutions in broadband communication. No agency relationship, partnership, or joint ownership of a legal entity is to be inferred or implied by the term alliance.