Phonetime Chooses Cisco To Enable Best-of-Class Communication Services.

Business Editors

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2000

Phonetime Inc. (CDN: PINC) and Cisco Systems Canada Co. (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced the company has chosen the Cisco VCO/4K open, programmable switch to enhance their network, expand their infrastructure and provide scalable growth to deliver price/performance to North American customers through innovative telecommunications products and services.

The VCO/4K open, programmable switch enables scalable, cost-effective networks that support the rapid deployment of wireline and wireless voice services and enables delivery of enhanced voice services over both circuit and New World packet-switched networks. The VCO/4K switch is the basis for some of the most innovative applications on the market today, such as prepaid calling, voice/fax messaging, intelligent 800-number routing, voice-activated dialing, personal assistant services and Web-initiated conferencing. In addition, it can support core switching functions such as tandem switching, Internet PRI offload, base station control, mobility management and wireless local loop.

Wayne Silver, Phonetime's President said, "To handle the growing demand for our telecommunications and Internet services, we chose to work with Cisco Systems. The Cisco VCO/4K 4088 port switch provides a quantum leap in technology. We have employed a telco-grade switch with a smaller footprint and an open, scalable, intelligent architecture at a fraction of the cost of competitive offerings. We are very excited about our growing relationship with Cisco and will be working closely with them to deploy their VoIP technology over the next few months, as we build our network across North America."

"We are delighted Phonetime chose a Cisco solution," said Yves Laliberte, director, service provider line of business, Cisco Systems Canada Co. "Enhancing today's networks and building tomorrow's infrastructure places new demands on service providers. The VCO/4K open, programmable switch, one of our many best-of-class products, has the largest single programmable switch capacity in the industry. Emerging telecommunications companies like Phonetime are leading the way in providing managed services, wholesale network time, technical support and call centers and Cisco is proud to support their endeavors."

With the Cisco switch, Phonetime has grown from their existing platform with 1,152 ports to a total of 5,280 ports. The T1 capacity has grown from 48 to a total of 208. Phonetime processed over 100 million minutes of time in 1999 with revenue of almost $17 million. "The Cisco solution will allow us to process an additional 400 million minutes of time and give us the capacity to grow our business to over $50 million dollars," said Silver.

About Phonetime Inc.

Phonetime is an emerging telecommunications company with a Class A International Carrier license and has received approval from the CRTC to proceed with its application to become a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC). The company incorporates state-of-the-art VoIP, Voice over Internet Technology, a high capacity switching platform and an international network of carriers. Phonetime also operates a multilingual, 24-hour seven-day-per-week call centre dedicated to customer service and client retention.

Phonetime has developed a national sales distribution network and markets its own pre-paid long-distance cards under the following brand names: Millennium, Bravo and Nuvo. It also provides private branded cards to companies such as Blockbuster Canada, Business Depot/Staples and Future Shop amongst others. Phonetime continues its efforts to forge new strategic alliances within the global telecommunications sector. Phonetime's shares trade on the Canadian Dealing Network (CDN) under the symbol PINC. Currently, there are 32,890,083 common shares issued and outstanding. Phonetime's Web Site is http://www.phonetime.com/

About Cisco Systems Canada Co.

Cisco Systems -- with $12 billion (US) in revenues and over 19,000 employees -- is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Established in 1990, Cisco Systems Canada employs over 500 Canadians and is headquartered in Toronto, with field sales and service offices across the country. In addition, Cisco also has a state-of-the-art development centre in Kanata, ON focusing on the development of optical internetworking solutions to build the next generation of the Internet backbone.

The Internet is changing the way people work, live, learn and play -- and Cisco Systems Canada is a primary agent of this change and a compelling example of the power of this revolution. By widely deploying business solutions based on the Internet, Cisco Systems saves over $500 million (US) per year in operating costs, has grown revenues by 100% in two years and has increased customer satisfaction at the same time. Cisco produces networking solutions for enterprise organizations, service providers and small/emerging businesses. Additional information on the company and its products can be found at http://www.cisco.com/ca.

Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S., Canada and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.