Study Names Cisco Leader in Multiservice ATM Carrier Market for Third Consecutive Quarter.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2000

Cisco Benefits from Market Demand for IP

Services on ATM Multiservice Networks

Service providers are increasingly choosing Cisco Systems as their preferred vendor for multiservice ATM equipment, according to the 3Q99 WAN report recently released by market research firm, Dell'Oro Group.(1) Statistics conclude that Cisco has outpaced competitors in multiservice ATM equipment units shipped for three consecutive quarters and currently holds the lead with a 28.7 percent market share worldwide.

Since early 1999, Cisco has been leading the effort in Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and making IP the key decision factor for ATM multiservice equipment. Cisco's unique IP+ATM strategy has changed the dynamics of the market and created a new paradigm shift that enables service providers to enhance their ATM investments while ensuring privacy, quality of service, flexibility and any-to-any connectivity through IP networking.

In the most recent quarter, findings show that Cisco's growth in unit volume for multiservice WAN equipment accelerated five percent, surpassing all other vendors who either grew less then 1.5 percent or lost market share. Cisco's lead in unit volume signifies its continued success in winning new business and helping service providers rapidly build and easily scale their multiservice networks to accelerate growth. The findings are not surprising to service provider customers who deploy Cisco's portfolio of carrier-grade IP+ATM solutions in order to accelerate their shift of revenue and profits from circuit-switched networks to packet networks and enable value-added services.

&uot;We've been using Cisco's multiservice ATM gear since 1997 and their unique Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) capability is an added benefit that reaffirms our use of their equipment,&uot; said Rand Kennedy, senior vice president-networks at Rhythms NetConnections Inc. &uot;Cisco's IP+ATM solutions enable us to deploy a next-generation network that addresses both the current and future needs of our customers to give them value-added services and a competitive edge.&uot;

&uot;The market has clearly selected MPLS as the deciding factor in building out ATM multiservice networks,&uot; said Brad Wurtz, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Multiservice Switching Business Unit. &uot;Our IP+ATM products allow service providers to profit from today's revenue-generating services such as frame relay and ATM. IP-enabling their ATM network facilitates a seamless migration to the IP services that will sustain future service provider growth. You can see this change clearly in our product shipments: seven of every ten ATM switches we sell to new customers are MPLS-enabled.&uot;

Currently, no other vendor is shipping multiservice WAN switches with MPLS to service providers. To further accelerate Cisco's lead in the multiservice ATM market, the company is also enabling new IP+ATM multiservice applications. Don Proctor, senior director of marketing for Cisco's Multiservice Switching Business Unit commented, &uot;Our new products, such as the MGX(TM) 8260 media gateway and MGX 8240 private line gateway, enable carriers to cap their investment in TDM and invest in packet technology. By investing in a packet network, they can solve today's growth problems as well as enable new value-added services. Both of these new products offload services from old world networks and move them to more efficient and flexible New World packet networks.&uot;

Cisco's complete line of carrier-grade multiservice switches and service gateways include the MGX 8800 Series switches and BPX(TM) 8600 Series switches and MGX 8200 Series service gateways. Cisco's MGX and BPX product families provide a comprehensive solution set that delivers the best of both IP and ATM.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information are available at www.cisco.com.

MGX and BPX are trademarks and Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. All contents copyright (c) 1992-2000 Cisco Systems Inc.

(1) Dell'Oro Group, 1999 Q3 Worldwide Market Share Report

NOTE TO EDITORS: The Name IP+ATM should appear with a plus sign between `IP' and `APM'. This symbol may not transmit properly in all systems.