SAN JOSE, Calif., October 16, 2001 - Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, announced today that recent industry reports affirm the company's metro optical transport market leadership. Additionally, analysts expect continued growth for this key sector over the next several years as next-generation multiservice platforms, such as the Cisco ONS 15454 and Cisco ONS 15327 Metro Optical Transport Platforms, enable service providers to expand bandwidth and add services incrementally and cost-effectively.

Multiservice provisioning platforms have emerged to address the constraints that legacy synchronous optical network (SONET) equipment fails to overcome in the complex, evolving metro environment without sacrificing the many benefits of SONET. Based on next-generation SONET and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technologies, multiservice provisioning platforms such as the Cisco ONS 15454 enable service providers to deliver high-value voice, data, and wavelength services. Additionally, by enabling service providers to incrementally, rapidly, and cost-effectively add new services and create revenue opportunities, multiservice platforms also help drive profitability in the metro are network (MAN).

Based in Laurel, Maryland, LightWave Communications is a facilities-based provider of metro optical access services that has utilized the market-leading Cisco ONS 15454 extensively throughout its optical infrastructure. LightWave's core service portfolio is specifically designed to meet the unique bandwidth and infrastructure requirements of next generation telecommunication service providers.

"With the Cisco ONS 15454 as the foundation of our optical network, LightWave is able to quickly and efficiently deliver a high-bandwidth service portfolio to meet the needs of our metro access and transport customers," said Mark Ricigliano, CEO, LightWave Communications. "The ONS 15454 creates flexibility and scalability that allows LightWave to cost-effectively deliver metro access services including T1 connectivity, wavelength services and long distance Fibre Channel by utilizing DWDM, SONET, and GigE capabilities."

Metro service providers are increasingly selecting next-generation multiservice provisioning platforms (MSPPs) to address their metro needs. IDC's recent "Multiservice Provisioning Platforms Market Forecast and Analysis, 2000-2005" reports that Cisco is the leader in the category, accounting for the majority of total revenue in this segment for calendar year 2000.

"Multiservice provisioning platforms are an important component of the metropolitan area network where topologies, services, and technologies are vastly different," said Sterling Perrin, Senior Research Analyst, Optical Networks, IDC. "MSPPs enable service providers to address the challenges and requirements of the MAN, while at the same time creating new revenue opportunities that continue to maximize current revenue streams. Cisco has successfully met these needs with its market-leading ONS 15454 and ONS 15327 Metro Optical Transport Platforms and is well positioned to continue to address this growing space."

In another report issued recently by Aberdeen Group, Cisco is identified as the clear leader in the metro optical transport category. Entitled "Shining the Light on Intelligent OpticalNetworking," the report illustrates that Cisco's market share is more than double that of its nearest competitor.

The growth opportunities for metro transport are significant as the sector rallies to alleviate the services bandwidth barrier. The increase in data traffic, diversification of service types and speeds, along with the need to maximize network resources, budgets, and current revenue streams all drive continued expansion. According to Aberdeen Group, metro-regional transport spending is expected to increase twelve times over the period from 2001 to 2005. Likewise, IDC predicts significant growth for the MSPP category, citing an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43 percent through 2005.

"These analyst reports confirm our market acceptance and continued momentum in metro optical transport," said Tom Fallon, Vice President and General Manager, Optical Transport, Cisco Systems. "With the ONS 15454 and ONS 15327, we are leading the industry in delivering scalable, multiservice solutions that enable service providers to maximize their resources and accelerate revenues while keeping pace with evolving service and bandwidth demands."

Cisco offers an extensive portfolio of innovative metro optical transport solutions including the marketing-leading ONS 15454 Metro Optical Transport Platform, the ONS 15327 Metro Edge Optical Transport Platform, the ONS 15200 Metro DWDM line, and the ONS 15540 Extended Services Platform. The ONS 15454 delivers supercharged SONET from OC-3 to OC-192 along with integrated optical networking and the industry's most extensive range of voice, video and data services including DS-1, DS-3, DS-3 Transmux, EC1, OC-N, OC-Nc, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet. Increasing service density in the metro, the ONS 15454 enables service providers to efficiently and cost-effectively pack wavelengths for profitable service delivery.