Spirent Communications Announces IPv6 Conformance, Functional and Performance Testing On One System.

Business & Hi-Tech Editors

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2002

Company's New IPv6 Conformance Solution Portfolio Supports Eight

RFC Standards

Spirent Communications(TM), a wholly owned business group of Spirent plc (NYSE: SPM and LSE: SPT) today announced the addition of conformance testing capabilities to its current IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) functional and performance analysis solutions portfolio.

With conformance testing capabilities, Spirent is the only company to offer the full range of conformance, functional, and performance testing in one system. Additionally, Spirent's new IPv6 solutions portfolio currently supports eight RFC standards, which is the most complete set of IPv6 conformance suites currently available.

With Spirent's new comprehensive IPv6 offering, network equipment manufacturers and communications service providers can generate and analyze both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic simultaneously to determine the performance and functional capabilities of IPv6 devices and systems. Users can also verify IPv6 conformance to more IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) RFC standards than any other test tool available today, including RFC 2460, 2461, 2462, 1981, 2675, 2374, 3056, and 3122. Focused on accelerating the development and deployment of next-generation network technologies, Spirent Communications has been at the forefront of IPv6 technology since its inception. Last year, the company introduced its advanced IPv6 performance and functional test capabilities, including Automatic Neighbor Discovery, which provides users with the necessary tools for testing next generation Internet devices and systems. Furthermore, the company has a designated technical support team to deliver the high quality conformance testing solutions.

"IPv6 will not be successfully deployed until equipment manufacturers and service providers can prove conformance to the standards and interoperability with IPv4," said John McConnell, principal analyst, McConnell Associates. "A complete solution, offering the full range of IPv6 testing, will accelerate time to market and reduce the deployment glitches."

Known as the next generation Internet protocol, IPv6 is the necessary upgrade to the Internet's current protocol that will support the anticipated growth due to the current and future demand of wireline and wireless Internet devices and users. However, the necessary migration from IPv4 to IPv6 is critical to the successful deployment of new technologies. Spirent's IPv6 solution portfolio provides a path for users to test complex problems associated with IPv4 and IPv6 migration, such as tunneling performance of IPv6 traffic over IPv4 backbones.

"By completing our IPv6 solutions portfolio with conformance testing, and supporting more RFC standards than other test tools, we provide customers, such as wireless equipment providers, with the testing solutions they need to understand and evaluate IPv6 deployment challenges before going live," said Bahaa Moukadam, vice president of product marketing, Spirent Communications. "With our full-range solution, we can assist in the advancement of IPv6, which will enable the next generation Internet."

About Spirent Communications

Spirent Communications is a worldwide provider of integrated performance analysis and service assurance systems for next-generation network technologies. Spirent's solutions accelerate the profitable development and deployment of network equipment and services by emulating real-world conditions in the lab and assuring end-to-end performance of large-scale networks. www.spirentcom.com

Spirent Communications is a wholly owned subsidiary of Spirent plc, an international network technology company. Spirent plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: SPT). The company is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker: SPM; CUSIP number: 84856M209). www.spirent.com

Spirent Communications, the Spirent logo, TeraMetrics, AX/4000 and SmartBits are trademarks or registered trademarks of Spirent plc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are held by their respective companies. All rights reserved.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. You can identify these statements by their use of words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "should," "may," "assume" and other similar words. You should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. Such factors include: aggressive competition; our ability to develop and commercialize new products and services; risks relating to the acquisition or sale of businesses; our reliance on third party manufacturers and suppliers; our exposure to liabilities for product defects; our reliance on proprietary technology; our ability to grow in e-commerce; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; risks of doing business internationally; and risks of downturns in the industries in which we participate; and other risks described from time to time in Spirent plc's Securities and Exchange Commission periodic reports and filings. We undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.