Complete computer communications solutions aimed at small- and medium-sizedbusinesses

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SAN JOSE, Calif. - August 12, 1996 - Pacific Bell and Cisco Systems, Inc.today announced they will jointly develop and sell computer communicationspackages tailored to small- and medium-sized businesses and telecommuters.Many such companies and workers need to send computerized information overthe Internet and from remote locations. Pacific Bell and Cisco will offerthese users quick, easy and complete solutions to meet their needs.

Pacific Bell will provide the pipelines, the transport services, such as ISDNand other communicationstechnologies, that send digital informationover phone lines at very fast rates. Cisco will provide remote accessrouters, the essential hardware and software that direct communicationsamong computers at different sites.

"The two companies will provide one-stop shopping where customers can getall their digital communications needs taken care of," said Hemant Vaidya,Pacific Bell's vice president for Data and Video Services. "We will aimour sales efforts at the telecommuting, Internet access and remote LAN(local area network) access markets."

"For example, a business manager working at home will be able to use asolution developed by the companies to log on to the computer network athis headquarters via phone lines and the Internet," explained Vaidya."With the higher speed of ISDN (five times that of the fastest analogmodems in common use) and with easy computer connectivity, the telecommuterwill be able to work with full efficiency."

Pacific Bell is aggressively deploying its high-speed digital servicesacross California. More than 95 percent of its service area is nowequipped to provide ISDN, which has exploded in popularity over the lastyear and a half. Cisco Systems, the world leader in internetworkingsolutions, has a wide range ofproducts for customers tochoose from at the corporate, remote office and telecommuter levels.

ISDN Featured in First Package

Pacific Bell's FasTrak(tm) ISDN will be used in initial packages offered bythe two companies. Later solutions may feature the company's other fastpacket products, including FasTrak Frame Relay Service. "We are committedto providing strong data communications networks," said Vaidya."Partnerships are an important way to expand the technological marketplace;we are excited about this agreement."

Jon Shantz, Cisco's vice president for the Service Provider Market, said,"This agreement capitalizes very well on the competitive strengths of bothcompanies. Owners of small- and medium-sized businesses will be able toquickly and easily access advanced technologies that can help theirbusinesses grow."

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the leading globalsupplier ofinternetworkingsolutions for corporate intranets and the global Internet.Cisco's products, including routers, LAN and ATM switches, dial-up accessservers and network management software, are integrated by the Cisco IOSsoftware to link geographically dispersed LANs, WANs and IBM networks.Company news and product/service information are available at World WideWeb site http://www.cisco.com.Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Pacific Bell is the leading provider of voice and data communicationsservices in California. The company is a subsidiary of Pacific TelesisGroup, a diversified telecommunications corporation based in SanFrancisco.Information regarding Pacific Bell, its products and services, can beobtained at http://www.pacbell.com.

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Technology note:

The communications packages from Cisco and Pacific Bell will include the Cisco 760 seriesrouters which offer two analog telephone interfaces thatpermit standard telephones, facsimile machines and modems to share one ISDNBasic Rate Interface (BRI) line. The products can connect each ISDN Bchannel with two different sites simultaneously and are the first in theirclass to support supplemental telephone services including call waiting,call hold and call retrieve.

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Posted: Mon Aug 12 09:55:49 PDT 1996