WEST POINT, GA -- July 15, 1999 -- ITC^DeltaCom, Inc. (NASDAQ/NM:ITCD), a leading integrated communications provider, and Cisco Systems, (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, announced today that ITC^DeltaCom has selected the Cisco Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) Plus family of integrated access products to deploy converged voice and data services to their customers.
"This product line offers a new approach to integrated access. It provides an ideal solution for our plans to deliver bundled telephony and data services more effectively and efficiently to our customers, while dynamically utilizing the bandwidth purchased on multiple products," said Foster O. McDonald, President of ITC^DeltaCom. ITC^DeltaCom's bundled service offering includes local exchange services, long distance, data, Internet access, and telephone/data systems sales and equipment.
The Cisco DLC Plus product line was acquired by Cisco with its recent purchase of Fibex Systems, which has been renamed as the Cisco Integrated Access Division. The products are based on a groundbreaking multi-fabric switching architecture that was developed as a direct response to the public's increasing demand for Internet access and high bandwidth services. The product family is a versatile end-to-end access system that offers the features and functions required by service providers to deliver reliable legacy and future telecommunications services. This design enables service providers, like ITC^DeltaCom, to migrate to new technologies with minimal effort. Included among the Cisco DLC Plus access platform features are: integrated voice and data; four protocol interface supports (TDM, IP, FR, ATM); dynamic bandwidth allocation over T1 links; GR-303 & TR-008, xDSL, SONET, and digital cross connects (1/0, 1/1 and 3/1).
"The relationship with Cisco will provide ITC^DeltaCom with a solution for deploying a more efficient means for supplying full convergence of voice and data services to our customers with the use of the DLC's dynamic allocation of bandwidth while supporting multiple protocols. Ultimately, this equipment enables us to lower our access costs while expanding features and functionality throughout our network and our product lines including the future deployment of HDSL and HDSL-2," said Steve Moses, ITC^DeltaCom's Senior Vice President of Network Services.
ITC^DeltaCom will utilize the Cisco B-32 network element in its switch hub locations. This highly scalable solution can support 1920 POTS circuits or 960 DSX1s from a standard 7-foot rack. From the hub location, the Cisco B-32 will interface with the Cisco T-5 integrated access device that resides at the customer premise. This compact product supports up to 64 POTS circuits, 32 DSXls or 16 T1s. It also provides Ethernet and V.35 interfaces for data transmission. ITC^DeltaCom will use Cisco's powerful and intuitive Element Management System (EMS) to provision and manage its systems and effectively route network traffic.
"We spent three months in our lab ensuring the Cisco DLC Plus products will interface with our network architecture," explained Moses. "Therefore, ITC^DeltaCom's DLC Plus service is already tested, installed and being recognized in our network for increased efficiencies."
"ITC^DeltaCom has embraced the New World vision of data and voice conversion into a single network," said David Gudmundson, Vice President and General Manager of the DSL and Systems Software Business Unit at Cisco. "The Cisco DLC product family provides a platform for ITC^DeltaCom to efficiently migrate voice and data traffic to their data network and lower their cost of deployment."
About ITC^DeltaCom
ITC^DeltaCom, headquartered in West Point, Georgia, provides integrated telecommunications services to mid-sized and major businesses in the southern United States, and is a leading regional provider of wholesale long-haul services to other communications companies. ITC^DeltaCom's business communication services include local exchange service, long distance, enhanced data, Internet and operator services, and the sale and maintenance of customer premise equipment. The Company operates 24 branch locations in eight states, and its 10-state, approximately 7,800-mile fiber optic network reaches over 80 points of presence. ITC^DeltaCom has interconnection agreements with BellSouth, GTE, SBC Communications for resale and access to unbundled network elements, and is a certified Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) in all nine BellSouth states, Arkansas and Texas.Cisco Systems
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Statements contained in this news release regarding expected financial results and other planned events are forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. Actual future events or results may differ materially from these statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by ITC^DeltaCom with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the most recent filings which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including potential fluctuations in quarterly results, dependence on new product development, rapid technological and market change, risks related to future growth and rapid expansion, volatility of stock prices, and risks related to the Year 2000. These and other risks are summarized under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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