SAN JOSE, Calif., January 14, 2002 - Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, and Atlanet, an Italian fixed network telecom operator, today announced enhancements of Atlanet's IP network using new softswitch technology to help carry voice on an IP data network. Ultimately Atlanet will also be able to offer multimedia services, such as video-on-demand, across 24 points-of-presence (POPs) in its nationwide IP data network, covering a total of 40 POPs across the country.

A softswitch and Cisco VoIP gateways enable enterprises to send voice and data over a single network - the Atlanet IP network - resulting in significant savings in infrastructure costs, along with new capabilities, such as forwarding voice messages on a personal computer. In addition, Atlanet can deliver high-quality voice services to business customers through the same IP connections used for private virtual networks (VPNs).

"We really believe the ability to run a full range of services on our IP backbone is a competitive advantage," said Pino Donetti, Atlanet's chief technical officer "and by working with Cisco, the IP technology leaders, we were able to enhance our network to carry voice over IP with the same quality and reliability our customers are used to getting from traditional telephone networks." The project also involves Getronics, a company that specializes in system integration, and Italtel, one of the leading companies worldwide in the field of next generation solutions for multi-service integrated networks.

Cisco networking equipment includes the Cisco MGX 8850 voice gateway, the Cisco AS5400 Universal Gateway, the Cisco 7200 and 7400 Series Routers, the Cisco 12410 Internet Routers and the Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series Switches.