News Release

Cisco Expands DSL Central Office Solutions

Cisco 6200 Advanced DSL Access Multiplexer Enables Service Providers Worldwide To Offer High-Speed Internet Services
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May 26, 1998

SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 26, 1998 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced a new addition to its DSL central office product line - the Cisco 6200 Series Advanced DSL Access Multiplexer. The Cisco 6200 series is part of Cisco's leadership DSL service architecture designed to break through the service provider profitability barrier and provide a wealth of high-speed Internet capabilities. The flexible 6200 design addresses critical service provider needs and centers around a high-density, low-cost modular solution with built-in quality and performance. These features enable post, telephone and telegraph (PTT) organizations and new international operators worldwide to offer cost-effective, high-speed "always on" services to corporations, small/medium businesses, telecommuters and consumers. "We are excited to be working with Cisco on the ADSL elements necessary to deliver high-speed, value-added, end-to-end services to our customers," said Murray Macisaac, vice president of major customer groups at Maritime Telephone and Telegraph, a Canadian local exchange carrier.

The Cisco 6200 design is optimized for network scalability and performance-key requirements for DSL service providers. The Cisco 6200 features a high-speed ATM implementation that includes ATM/synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) network interfaces, with scalability to support thousands of ATM connections per shelf. Dedicated traffic buffers on every subscriber line and network interface port provide consistent performance for user applications such as streaming video and large file transfers. Access port densities of up to 240 subscribers per rack are based on Rate-Adaptive DSL (RADSL). Line card options for the Cisco 6200 will be available for both Carrierless Amplitude Phase (CAP) and Discrete Multitone (DMT) subscriber line termination. The Cisco 6200 product architecture includes the ability to hot-swap cards as well as a number of redundancy options. Service providers can easily deploy the Cisco 6200 and reach a broad range of users because it has been designed to comply with worldwide central office standards, such as the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI).

The Cisco 6200 line card and modem preprovisioning mechanism greatly simplifies adding users to the central office configuration. Network management and operations support is provided through a comprehensive element management platform based on the industry standard Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Cisco IOS. software. Future enhancements for the 6200 series will provide higher DMT modem densities, support for emerging G.lite technology, and support for ADSL over ISDN for specific international copper-plant requirements. "The Internet is changing the way we work, live, play and learn. High-bandwidth access is a key enabler in this revolution, but to make it pervasive, service providers must have the tools to develop the markets in a profitable way," said Kevin Kennedy, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Network-to-User Business Unit. "The Cisco 6200 Series Advanced DSL Access Multiplexer is one example of how Cisco is leading the way in providing the right products to meet the deployment needs of service providers worldwide."

The 6200 series joins the Cisco 6100 Series Advanced DSL Access Multiplexer and the Cisco 90i IDSL Channel Unit, making Cisco's DSL central office product line the broadest in the industry. Both the Cisco 90i and the Cisco 6100 were developed for the North American market. The products in the central office portfolio are designed to deliver dedicated, high-bandwidth access to the masses while lowering the cost of deployment for service providers through density, modem pooling, aggregation and compatibility with existing central office products. Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) versions of Cisco's Advanced DSL Access Multiplexers are planned for later this year.

Pricing and Availability

The Cisco 6200 series with support for ADSL-CAP technology is availablenow. Support for ADSL-DMT will be available in September 1998. Entry levelsystem configuration pricing for the 6200 series starts at $18,650. TheCisco 6100 series, designed for DSL deployments in North America, isavailable now with CAP support. The Cisco 6100 system prices start at$14,550. DMT support on the 6100 series will be available in September1998. The Cisco 90i is available now with a list price of $230 per line.

About Cisco Systems

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

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