SAN JOSE, Calif., January 17, 2002 - Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, announced that its next generation 12000 Series Internet Routers, utilizing Cisco's market leading resilient packet ring technology, Dynamic Packet Transport (DPT), have been selected as the backbone equipment to build China's largest broadband Metropolitan-area Network (MAN). DPT will enable Hangzhou to dramatically enhance the performance and efficiencies of its network while reducing its operational costs.

Hangzhou Netcom Information Harbor, a telecom operator and the first Internet Service Provider (ISP) in China to supply Ethernet to homes with full metro coverage will build the MAN. The sale of this equipment reinforces Cisco's position as the leading provider of Internet and networking equipment in China. When completed, the network will support an estimated 1.5 million users.

Located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, the MAN will be powered by a host of high-speed, high performance Cisco products, including market-leading Cisco 12008, 12012 and 12016 Internet Routers with DPT connections, enabling the MAN with the intelligence and scalability of IP and the bandwidth efficiencies of optical rings. In addition to its next generation Cisco 12000 Series Internet Routers, the MAN is also supported by Cisco 7200 Series Routers, Catalyst 6500 Series and 2900 family of switches, and Cisco Content Engine 7300 Series edge delivery devices from Cisco's content networking product family.

"By using Cisco Systems' DPT technology in the design of our MAN, we can deliver scalable Internet service and reliable IP-aware optical transport while also simplifying our network operations," said Cao Qiang, the General Manager of Hangzhou Netcom Information Harbor. "This will mean high speeds and a more efficient network. DPT optimizes the metro optical ring for IP, increasing bandwidth and reducing latency while delivering the same reliability available in traditional SONET/SDH systems. Thus, our users will receive reliable, high quality next-generation IP-based services such as streaming media and voice services."

Qiang continued, "DPT is also extremely cost-effective. Using traditional SONET/SDH would require additional equipment and constant monitoring. With DPT, not only have we been able to reduce hardware spending but we also spend less time and money on network administration. We can remotely manage DPT rings and quickly determine where we have issues, allowing us to take proactive steps to prevent problems. With DPT, troubleshooting is easy."

Hanh Tu, Director of Service Provider Operations for Cisco (China) praised both the innovation and vision of the city of Hangzhou. Remarking on the importance of the network to the country, he said: "The Hangzhou Netcom Information Harbor MAN is a major development and important milestone in China's telecom industry. It will bring high-speed Internet access to a significant metropolitan area and will be a model for Chinese cities in the development of broadband Internet access."

Powering Cisco's Metro IP systems, DPT utilizes two counter-rotating fiber rings that maximize the bandwidth available for data packet transport and by its design, facilitates data taking the shortest path to its destination. Currently over 190 service provider customers worldwide are utilizing Cisco DPT products, and over 14,000 Cisco DPT ports have been shipped. DPT is based on the Spatial Reuse Protocol (SRP), a Cisco-developed MAC-layer protocol for ring-based packet internetworking. Cisco has submitted SRP to the IEEE 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) Working Group for consideration as the basis for the industry standard.

The Cisco 12000 Series Internet Router is part of Cisco's family of multimillion packets-per-second (pps) Internet routing platforms for creating a full service Internet. The Cisco 12000 Series is the premier Internet routing platform for service provider backbone, high-speed edge and metro applications and enables service providers to meet the challenge of building IP networks to satisfy customer demands while increasing profitability. The Cisco 12000 Series offers the only portfolio of 10 Gbps OC-192/STM-64 systems with the capacity, performance, service enablers, and operational efficiencies to build the most competitive IP networks. With its unique, modular distributed system architecture, the Cisco 12000 Series leads the industry with the only proven investment protection, the highest backbone and edge performance, and the only demonstrated reliable packet priority delivery.

About Hangzhou Netcom Information Harbor

Founded in May 16, 2001 by Hangzhou Information Network Company, China NetCom and Zhejiang Provincial Economic Construction Investment Inc., the broadband network operator, Hangzhou Netcom Information Harbor, is a new generation telecom operator with an ISP operating license. It has permission to operate telecom services within regulatory limitations, including broadband Internet access for families and businesses, IP leased lines, and many other value-added services.

Hangzhou Netcom Information Harbor's broadband MAN network covers Hangzhou's entire metropolitan area of 1.5 million citizens. The Network employs advanced IP optical technologies, extending a backbone bandwidth of 5 Gbps, and seamless integration with the international Internet at 40 Gbps. It can bring 1 Gbps access speed to communities, 100 Mbps to buildings, and 10 Mbps to families. Using standard Ethernet connections, subscribers can log on for high-speed Internet and enjoy broadband services that include remote education, stock trading, Video-On-Demand (VOD), and online games.