Quantum Bridge's Optical Access System Wins ComNet 2000 New Product Achievement Award; Company's Breakthrough System Receives Top Honor in the Carrier/WAN Category from Show Attendees.

Business Editors &High Tech Writers

ComNet 2000

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2000

Quantum Bridge(TM) Communications Inc., the leader in the delivery of Optical Access Networking solutions, today announced that it has been named a winner in the highly competitive ComNet 2000 New Product Achievement sponsored by InfoWorld at the ComNet 2000 Exposition taking place in Washington D.C. this week. The Quantum Bridge Optical Access System, the industry's first affordable fiber to the business solution, received the most votes from show attendees of any product/service competing in the award's &uot;Carrier/WAN&uot; category.

Quantum Bridge's Optical Access System, consisting of two network elements -- the QB5000 Optical Access Switch (OAS) and the QB100 Intelligent Optical Terminal (IOT) -- is designed to eliminate the bandwidth bottlenecks in the first mile of the public network between surging capacities in LAN and the exponential expansion of bandwidth capacities in the network's backbone. The Quantum Bridge Optical Access System is based on the principles of a Passive Optical Network (PON), which eliminates the need for costly electrical components in the outside plant, and arms service providers with a low-cost solution for deploying a wide range of bandwidth services to he business masses. On January 10, 2000 Quantum Bridge announced that Comcast Corporation would serve as the first beta customer of the solution. Comcast is currently testing the system in their lab.

&uot;We are very pleased to be recognized by the attendees of ComNet as the pre-eminent product offering in the Carrier/WAN category of the `New Product Achievement Awards',&uot; said Jeff Masucci, founder and vice president of engineering at Quantum Bridge Communications. &uot;Our Optical Access System is a significant breakthrough in the extension of optical networking into the last mile, the final piece of the long-awaited all optical network. It is especially gratifying knowing that winning this award was decided by show attendees who, with their votes, endorsed not only our system but the also the problem we are focused on solving.&uot;

&uot;Quantum Bridge's Optical Access System is an excellent example of the type of innovation that we were trying to exemplify through the `New Product Achievement Awards',&uot; said Don Berey, show director of ComNet. &uot;Their solution could finally eliminate the bottlenecks found in the first mile of today's public network.&uot;

About the Quantum Bridge Optical Access System

The Quantum Bridge Optical Access System can be seen today at the Quantum Bridge booth (No. 1500) at ComNet, being held at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center. The Quantum Bridge Optical Access System is comprised of two network elements, the QB5000 and the QB100 IOT. Designed for compliance with Network Equipment Building Standards (NEBS) level three standards, the QB5000 adheres to the stringent requirements of Central Office (CO) equipment. Located in the service provider CO, Point-of-Presence (POP), or head-end, the QB5000 aggregates the incoming services from hundreds of QB100 equipped businesses, located &uot;downstream&uot; across the PON before passing the traffic to the WAN. The QB100 IOT, located at the customer premises, delivers broadband services from 1 Mbps and 100 Mbps, to dedicated wavelengths directly to business customers. The QB100 initially supports 10/100BaseTx Ethernet and TDM, ATM and Frame Relay DS1 (T1) service interfaces, with new enterprise interfaces planned for 2000.

About Quantum Bridge Communications

Founded in 1998, Quantum Bridge Communications is a privately held company headquartered in North Andover, Mass., that has developed an innovative carrier-class Optical Access System designed to eliminate first mile bandwidth bottlenecks and to serve as the foundation of the e-Economy. Recently named one of the &uot;Top Ten Companies to Watch in 2000&uot; by Inter@ctiveWeek magazine, Quantum Bridge is comprised of a team of top talent from industry leading data communications and telecommunications companies such as Bell Laboratories/ Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU), 3COM (Nasdaq: COMS), Bay Networks, Cabletron Systems (NYSE: CS), Newbridge Networks (NYSE:NN), Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT), and MIT Lincoln Laboratory. For more information, visit our web site at www.quantumbridge.com.

Quantum Bridge and the Quantum Bridge Logo are trademarks of Quantum Bridge Communications, Inc.