StrataCom and Ascom Tech AG Sign License Agreement.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 1995--StrataCom, Inc., and Ascom Tech AG, Bern, Switzerland, today announced a patent license agreement for ATM cell-delineation technology which Ascom will use in the design of their ATM chips.

The agreement covers two StrataCom ATM patents which describe algorithms for the efficient delineation of cells without adding extra overhead. Ascom Tech designs advanced communications semiconductor devices, including its PLIO and CAPRI families, which will employ StrataCom's patented algorithms. Ascom Tech will pay StrataCom royalties on sales of its devices to third parties and on internal consumption of the chips in products manufactured by its affiliates. Under terms of the agreement, purchasers, including customers of Ascom Tech's affiliates, will be free to use Ascom's chips without obligation to pay additional royalties to StrataCom.

The PLIO and CAPRI family devices perform framing and overhead processing and ATM cell mapping functions as specified by international ITU standards and ATM Forum recommendations.

The patents describe a robust yet simple technique for cell delineation which is fundamental to ATM switching by using the cyclic redundancy check (CRC). As the CRC is already specified by international standards as part of the information contained in the cell header, this technique has the advantage of adding no additional overhead. The license covers uses of the patented technology for cell delineation both within existing standards and in other, non-standard modes.

StrataCom is the holder of 18 U.S. patents relating to various aspects of cell switching, including voice and data compression algorithms, buffering, congestion management, packetization, timing and synchronization techniques. The patents covered by the new license agreements with Ascom are U.S. Patents 5,072,499 and 5,128,945.

StrataCom

StrataCom, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRM), based in San Jose, California, U.S.A., develops, delivers and supports FastPacket networking systems for multiband ATM applications in private wide area networks and public carrier service offerings, such as frame relay and ATM. StrataCom's family of products, including IPX(R), IGX(TM), BPX(TM), FastPAD(TM) and EdgeConnect(TM), is used to integrate and transport a wide variety of corporate information, including voice, data, video, LANs, image and multimedia traffic in narrowband to broadband ATM network applications.

Ascom

Ascom Tech is the research and strategic technology unit of Ascom. Ascom manufactures a wide range of equipment for both the public and private telecommunications markets (in N-ISDN, B-ISDN, enterprise networks and wireless communications). Ascom's earliest ATM product, the ATM Access Unit (AAU), is aimed at the boundary of the public network. An associated product, the ST2000, is part of the Ascom-Timeplex "Synchrony" product line and is aimed at the enterprise network market and offers a different mix of interfaces, including those of several non-ATM services such as Frame Relay and X.25. Access to forthcoming ATM networks is available at a variety of interface rates from DS1 to STM-1. Both products use switch and transmission technology developed by Ascom Tech.

CONTACT: StrataCom Inc., San Jose

Barbara Burdick, 408/494-2003

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or

David Callisch., 408/534-2521

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