Taqua Systems Announces Availability of Open Compact Exchange With Robust GR-303 Interface.

Business/Technology Editors

HYANNIS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2001

Integrated Digital Terminal GR-303 Interface Enables OCX

Interoperability With Broadband Voice Gateways

Taqua Systems, Inc., a leading provider of next-generation Class 5 access switching platforms for voice and data convergence, today announced the availability of its award-winning Open Compact Exchange (OCX(R)) Class 5 access switch with GR-303 functionality. The feature-rich OCX GR-303 interface provides interoperability with Remote Digital Terminals (RDT) and broadband voice gateways.

OCX GR-303 Functionality Provides Performance Boost to Global Telecommunications Service Providers

The OCX Integrated Digital Terminal (IDT) GR-303 interface enables service providers to have greater flexibility in deployment options. As a core requirement, GR-303 specifies an open interface that enables interoperability between a Class 5 switch - the OCX - and an RDT or broadband voice gateway. This increased functionality eliminates the need for proprietary interfaces common among access systems, empowering service providers to reduce capital and operating costs by enabling a mix-and-match deployment scheme between the OCX and RDT products from a variety of vendors.

According to RHK, a leading telecommunications research firm, RDTs - or Digital Loop Carriers (DLCs) - serve up to 40 percent of telephone access lines in North America today, depending on the territory, and their footprint is growing. RHK projects that DLCs will serve up to 53 percent of all lines in some regions, and 26 million lines overall, by 2003. This burgeoning expansion of DLCs represents a significant market opportunity for Taqua Systems.

The GR-303 standard also provides a flexible line concentration ratio that allows service providers to carry up to 2,048 subscribers, sharing between 2 and 28 DS1s, thus increasing their subscriber base and revenue potential, while streamlining network costs.

"The OCX with GR-303 functionality represents a significant milestone in the evolution of Taqua's next-generation Class 5 switching platform. With the addition of the GR-303 interface, we believe the OCX represents the premiere next-generation Class 5 switching solution available to the global telecommunications service provider market," said Dr. Thomas DeCanio, vice president, product management and marketing, Taqua Systems, Inc. "The OCX GR-303 interface has been successfully deployed at several customer sites, and successful interoperability testing has been completed with several RDT vendors, including AFC, Jetstream and TollBridge Technologies. In addition, the OCX GR-303 interface recently completed a successful rigorous testing regimen at a major RBOC laboratory."

As a true end office switch alternative to traditional Class 5 switches, the OCX is based on an open, scalable architecture, and is targeted towards Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) and Independent Telephone Operating Companies (ITOCs). The OCX is uniquely positioned to support multiple applications, including:

-- Class 5 Alternatives for:

-- Reseller or `Greenfield" Service Providers Becoming Facilities-Based CLECs

-- Facility-Based Providers Offering Voice in New Markets

-- ISPs Becoming Facility-Based Integrated Communications Providers (ICPs)

-- Broadband Internet Providers Becoming CLECs

-- Class 5 Internet Offload for CLECs and ITOCs

-- Class 5 Cap & Grow for CLECs and ITOCs

Taqua Open Compact Exchange (OCX)

Taqua's OCX creates an entirely new model for delivering telecommunications services - one which dramatically reduces initial and overall cost of ownership, while realizing the promise of voice/data network convergence. A true, carrier-class Class 5 switching system, the OCX is based on a groundbreaking hardware and software architecture that transforms legacy proprietary, centralized switching environments into a next-generation network of distributed, intelligent, highly available switches. The OCX also employs the Taqua Open Programmable Interface (TOPI), the industry's most open Application Programming Interface (API), enabling carriers to develop their own unique enhanced services quickly and cost-effectively. By placing true Class 5 access switch functionality at the edge of the network, the OCX removes cost-of-entry barriers and increases service flexibility for telecommunications carriers, including Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) and Independent Telephone Operating Companies (ITOCs).

About Taqua Systems, Inc.

Taqua Systems, Inc., the Emerging Force in Telecommunications(TM), was founded in February 1998 to develop a new generation cost-effective, Class 5 access switching platforms with capabilities for merging voice and data networks. Taqua's Open Compact Exchange (OCX) offers breakthrough performance to service providers in an economical, easy-to-deploy solution. Headquartered in Hyannis, Massachusetts, Taqua Systems is led by an experienced team of telecommunications professionals from companies such as Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Nortel Networks, Siemens, Alcatel/DSC and GTE. Taqua Systems is a founding member of the International Softswitch Consortium. The privately held company has received venture capital funding from Amerindo Investment Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bowman Capital Management, Charles River Ventures, Columbia Capital, Dain Rauscher Wessels, Elijah Asset Management, Hambrecht & Quist, Pivotal Asset Management, Soros Private Equity Partners and Vulcan Ventures.

For additional information, please contact Taqua at 508-778-8808 or visit Taqua on the World Wide Web at http://www.taqua.com.

Taqua, OCX and The Emerging Force in Telecommunications are trademarks of Taqua Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.