REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 12, 2000 - Quintessent Communications, Inc., (www.quintessent.net) the leader in the telecommunication industry's integrated services revolution, today announced that it has teamed with Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, to streamline DSL provisioning as part of the new Cisco Order-to-Service solution. Quintessent's DSLXchange software is an integral part of this solution, which simplifies and automates the digital subscriber line (DSL) provisioning process.

DSL provisioning is an expensive, complicated and time-consuming process for service providers. Quintessent joins Cisco to simplify and streamline this process, from when the end-user first places an order to the start of customer billing.

"Quintessent is a leading provider of software for automating loop provisioning," said Kambiz Hooshmand, vice president and general manager of the Cisco DSL business unit. "Their robust, flexible and scalable solution allows us to simplify the complicated processes required to electronically navigate the disparate carrier systems. We are pleased to have them join us in solving this huge provisioning challenge that the industry faces today."

With Quintessent's DSLXchange software, the Cisco Order-to-Service solution will enable service providers to significantly reduce the costly wait for DSL services experienced by today's end-users - largely by eliminating the numerous manual procedures currently employed. By distilling the provisioning process into a flexible, fully-automated, flow-through system, the Cisco Order-to-Service solution will enable service providers to turn up DSL at rates approaching millions of lines annually - far exceeding estimates based on current provisioning technologies."We are excited about joining Cisco in this revolutionary approach to DSL provisioning," said Brian A. Vincent, Quintessent's chairman, president and CEO. "Our software and voice telephony experience is the perfect complement to Cisco's networking and DSL expertise."

DSLXchange will automate the process of receiving DSL orders, qualifying the local loop and initiating the work orders for the provisioning of network elements. End-users and customer service representatives will be able to place orders for DSL transport and its associated services via a Web-based front end. The software will pre-qualify the subscriber, the loop, and the availability of the network infrastructure, including the DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) equipment.

Then, the system will create all service and work orders necessary to provision the subscriber, including the local loop and DSLAMs and IP DSL switches, and then communicate with the customer care and billing systems to activate service. A key feature of DSLXchange will be its built-in and seamless integration with the Cisco Network Order Manager product and with the offerings provided by other companies in the Cisco Order-to-Service solution. The result will be an integrated end-to-end DSL provisioning process that will save time, money and effort.

"The Cisco and Quintessent relationship is significant," said Sharon Ballard, analyst for The Yankee Group. "It represents a solid and strategic understanding of the convergence of voice and data, and goes a long way toward solving the problem of end-to-end DSL provisioning by shortening key intervals of that process."
For more information, please visit: www.quintessent.net.