Media Alert

• WHO: Cisco Systems, Inc.

• WHAT: The MGX 8260 is a revolutionary carrier media gateway making its debut at ComNet 2000. Cisco will be demonstrating the industry's first high-density, carrier-class gateway that integrates high-density Voice over IP (VoIP) and Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) capabilities, enabling carriers to cap their investment in traditional circuit-switched networks and accelerate the delivery of value-added IP services that ensure long-term growth and revenues.

  The Cisco MGX 8260 was selected as a finalist amongst hundreds of applicants for the ComNet 2000 New Product Achievement Awards. It is one of three product finalists in the Best New Telephony, Fax or Conferencing Offering category. Finalists were chosen by a wide cross-section of the computer/communications marketplace, which included leading analysts, editors, consultants and users.

  Unlike other gateway products that force carriers to choose between VoIP or TDM functionality, the MGX 8260 is the only media gateway capable of performing all 3 of the critical functions required to optimized data traffic between TDM and packet networks: local TDM voice switching, VoIP and Internet dialup data offload.

  It offers the highest density currently on the market to meet the exploding carrier network bandwidth and traffic demands, and ensures the highest network availability, including the unique capability to maintain calls in progress even in the event of a system failure.

• WHEN:

  Tuesday, January 25, 2000	10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
  Wednesday, January 26, 2000	10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
  Thursday January 27, 2000	10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m

• WHERE: Washington Convention Center, Booth #1326

• WHY: Cisco is committed to providing the most comprehensive set of IP+ATM switching solutions for enabling new packet revenue and profits. With the MGX 8260, carriers for the first time:
  
  • can offload data applications from the voice network to a flexible, efficient packet network
  • can create additional TDM capacity without investing in TDM equipment
  • can rapidly deliver innovative new IP services at lower cost to their customers
  • can accelerate their shift in revenue and profits from circuit networks to packet networks
  • can significantly reduce their own equipment, provisioning, operations and management costs.

To further this objective, and to ensure ongoing interoperability into a broad range of network environments, Cisco plays an active role in defining and participating in world standards institutes, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and Multiservice Switching Forum (MSF).