SAN JOSE, Calif., October 4, 2000 - Cisco Systems Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, will provide $2.5 million in networking equipment to non-profit organizations serving the communities near Cisco's New England operations.

Cisco will make best-in-class technology available to non-profit organizations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire by expanding the company's product donation program, begun last year in San Jose, to New England, where Cisco's northeast headquarters is based. Cisco currently employs about 2,500 people in the two states.

These Internet Access Grants will help empower non-profit agencies to use the Internet to deliver community services that focus on education and meet basic human needs, including food, shelter and health care.

Assistance from previous Cisco technology grants has included delivery of services in homeless shelters, job-training programs, mentorship and role-model programs for youth development, food banks and national service programs such as Boston-based City Year.

In addition, the Cisco Systems Foundation, which makes grants in communities where Cisco has a significant business presence, will fund a total of $100,000 in cash grants to selected proposals for programs that will help organizations implement Internet technology.

Proposals for Internet Access Grants from eligible community-based organizations must be submitted by April 30, 2001, and will be reviewed by a Cisco employee panel. Organizations receiving a technology grant will then be eligible for an additional cash grant from the Cisco Foundation. For guidelines and on-line information, visit: www.cisco.com/go/community.

"At Cisco, we're committed to having a lasting involvement in the communities where we live and work," said John Morgridge, Chairman of the Board, Cisco Systems. "These investments build on existing Cisco activities and the many ways our employees give back to their communities. Of primary interest to technology companies such as Cisco is quality education, not only at the K-12 level, but also at the university level. As Cisco's presence in New England continues to grow, so will our investments in the community."

The grants announced follow other Cisco community investments in New England. These include:

• Cisco Foundation distributes $200,000 annually in community grants to non-profit organizations within a 50-mile radius of the Chelmsford, Mass. site.

• Cisco currently distributes $200,000 (list price) annually in Community Investments product grants in that same region.

• Through Virtual Schoolhouse Grants, Cisco provided about $15,000 in equipment and $5,000 for teacher curriculum development per school to enhance technology initiatives at five Boston-area schools in the past year.

Cisco in New England

Cisco, which formally opened its New England Manufacturing Center in Salem, N.H., about 40 miles northwest of Boston, on Tuesday, Oct. 3.

The company has primary New England locations in Chelmsford, Lowell and Lexington, Mass. It has had a New England presence since 1995, and in the next three to five years, its employee base there is projected to grow to 7,500 people.