NEW DELHI, India -- 22 January 2002 -- Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking, has completed the installation of a nation-wide, new world IP-based network for the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The new world network is made of forty-one Metro Area Networks (MAN) which are connected to each other through a Wide Area Network (WAN).

The network connects over 700 of LIC's offices across India including the metros. LIC is also computerizing all its policy records, speeding up transactions for customers while continuing to maintain the highest levels of security and reliability.

In addition, the new world network will also enable real-time applications such as Premium Collections and Status Report generation. It is expected to drastically reduce the lead-time for settlement of dues and facilitate faster processing of claims.

Besides connecting over 700 of LIC's offices, the Cisco AVVID- (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) based network will enable a slew of new services and applications – including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) – within the network.

This, together with other IP-based convergence applications are expected to drive efficiency and productivity by enabling effective database management for LIC's over 3 crore records.

"Empowering our customers to work smarter using world-class technologies and solutions that help them succeed is what Cisco is all about. On LIC our mandate was clear. The brief was to deliver a network that will bring the company closer to its customers. Moreover, an IP-based network interoperated with the existing infrastructure, protecting LIC's existing investments, while delivering cutting-edge networking capabilities that addresses the firm's present and future," said Manoj Chugh, President India and SAARC, Cisco Systems.

LIC's new world network includes 41 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), which cover 52 Divisional and 663 Branch offices. These MAN centers are also connected to each other through a Wide Area Network (WAN) to the central server at the Mumbai head office where the records are updated every month.

The network comprises of Cisco 3600 routers at the core; high performance Cisco 2600 and 2500 series routers for aggregation; and Cisco 1700 routers at the edge of the network.

About Life Insurance Corporation of India

LIC is a major public sector enterprise engaged in the business of selling insurance. The corporation has witnessed phenomenal growth in the last few years and an unprecedented first premium growth of over 60% in the last financial year despite the Insurance sector opening up. The Corporation is headquartered out of Mumbai, India. LIC news and Information is available at www.licindia.com.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at www.cisco.com.

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