Robert W. Baird & Co. Research Identifies MetaSwitch as Leading Softswitch Vendor; Independent Analysis Finds Incumbent and Competitive Telephone Companies More Likely to Purchase Softswitch from MetaSwitch Than Any Other Vendor.

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- MetaSwitch, a leading vendor of next-generation carrier switching solutions, today announced that Wall Street research firm Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird) has identified it as the preferred softswitch vendor in the U.S. tier 2/3 provider markets in a report distributed recently to its clients. The survey, titled "IOC/CLEC Equipment Upgrade Cycle," also showed that by the end of 2007, 63 percent of respondents expect to have upgraded to a next generation network.

Baird's Telecom Equipment research team conducted in-depth interviews of more than 50 incumbent and competitive telephone companies to determine their capital expenditure plans and vendor preferences in multiple equipment categories. MetaSwitch beat out larger rivals, including Lucent, Nortel, Siemens and Tekelec, to be named the preferred vendor in the next-gen softswitch category.

"MetaSwitch is to be congratulated on achieving such strong mindshare and presence among its target customers," said Ken Muth, Senior Telecom Equipment Analyst at Baird. "MetaSwitch received high remarks from these surveyed carriers regarding its technology, total cost of ownership and ease-of-deployment. We believe MetaSwitch is well-positioned to maintain its leadership position in the $2.0 billion market for next-generation switching equipment."

Andy Randall, Vice President of Marketing at MetaSwitch, attributed the vendor's success to two key product capabilities. First, its ability to accurately replicate existing Class 4 and Class 5 functionality; and, second, its support for enhanced services in a packet-based architecture compliant with emerging IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) standards.

"Simply put, we are the only vendor that has always focused on delivering full Class 4/5 capabilities over both packet and circuit-switched networks," said Randall. "This ability to bridge between legacy and next generation systems means our customers have a future-proof platform for quickly and cost-effectively delivering new IP and voice services."

About R.W. Baird

Baird is an employee-owned, international wealth management, capital markets, private equity and asset management firm with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and China. Baird serves individuals, corporations, institutional investors and municipalities as financial advisor, asset manager, investment banker and specialists in equity research, private equity and public finance. Baird's principal operating subsidiaries are Robert W. Baird & Co. in the U.S. and Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. Baird also has an operating subsidiary in Asia supporting Baird's U.S. private equity operations.

About MetaSwitch

MetaSwitch is an industry-leading vendor of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) switching and applications solutions for both packet and circuit-switched networks. Its widely deployed call agent, media/signaling gateway and application server platform supports a full range of legacy Class 4/5 capabilities and hosted unified communications services, and scales from a few hundred to millions of subscribers in both integrated and distributed configurations. Customers include incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers, as well as operators of broadband wireless, cable and fiber networks.

MetaSwitch is a division of established telecom technology provider Data Connection. The company is consistently profitable and privately held, with main US offices in California and Virginia, and European headquarters in London, UK.

Data Connection and MetaSwitch are trademarks of Data Connection Limited and Data Connection Corporation. Brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Copyright (C) 2005 Data Connection Limited