SAN JOSE, Calif., June 24, 2002 - Cisco Systems, Inc. unveiled today a new optical product as part of its Complete Optical Multiservice Edge and Transport (COMET) portfolio. The ONS 15454 SDH Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP) extends the market-leading multiservice capabilities of the ONS 15454 family to international markets, enabling greater service density, velocity, and variety for next-generation SDH-based service provider networks and cost-effective voice, video, and data aggregation for enterprise networks.

Cisco also announced today that Elektrizitaet Werk Kanton Thurgau (EKT) has selected the Cisco ONS 15454 SDH MSPP for deployment into their network. EKT, a Swiss company in Canton Thurgau, supplies and distributes electricity to businesses and uses its infrastructure to provide voice and data services. The ONS 15454 SDH MSPP enables service providers to maximize service density by packing wavelengths with multiple services. In addition, the combination of DWDM, Ethernet, and SDH technology integrated onto a single platform means EKT is able to rapidly expand its existing portfolio, offering new services and thereby opening up new market opportunities.

"The Cisco ONS 15454 SDH performs both digital cross connect and add/drop multiplexing; it can handle conversion of signals from electrical to optical in one box, dramatically simplifying optical transport networks by eliminating several separate pieces of equipment," said Reni Gaus, Information Technology manager. "The combination of DWDM, Ethernet, and SDH technology integrated seamlessly into a single platform will help to significantly reduce the time taken to deploy services. The Cisco solution results in one element that's more profitable than legacy devices with a smaller footprint and lower power consumption, and a simple point and click IP-based GUI management system."

"The ONS 15454 SDH MSPP reduces the number of network elements that must be provisioned individually for traditional and next-generation SDH services by incorporating SDH cross connect and multiplexing technology with Ethernet and DWDM services, improving time to market and reducing cost of network ownership," said Geraint Anderson, vice president and general manager, Photonics Business Unit, Cisco Systems. "EKT represents international service providers who demand a multiservice platform that brings the functionality of multiple SDH multiplexers, DWDM optical networking, Ethernet/IP services, and switching network elements together in one easy-to-use platform."

The ONS 15454 SDH MSPP integrates digital cross connect functionality, add-drop multiplexing, and multiple service interfaces in a single network element. This evolutionary platform supports a broad variety of service interfaces, including electrical (E1, E3, and DS3), Ethernet (10/100-Mbps and Gigabit Ethernet), optical interfaces (STM-1, STM-4, STM-16, and STM-64), and DWDM. The ability to mix and match service interfaces, support flexible topologies such as point-to-point, linear add/drop, rings, and mesh, as well as terminate multiple rings or linear systems on a single chassis, gives the ONS 15454 SDH MSPP unprecedented flexibility and capacity.

The Cisco Transport Manager (CTM), an integrated multi- management system for the COMET portfolio, provides fast and efficient functional provisioning of the ONS 15454 SDH MSPP. Cisco Transport Manager's client/server-based software provides advanced capabilities in the areas of fault, configuration, performance, and security management. In addition, the Cisco Transport Manager offers open Gateway interfaces such as SNMP, TL1, and CORBA to operations support systems.

About Cisco's Complete Optical Multiservice Edge and Transport Portfolio

The Cisco Complete Optical Multiservice Edge and Transport (COMET) product line offers maximum service velocity, density, variety, and capacity, building the foundation to accelerate IP and Optical networking. Supporting TDM, Ethernet, IP, Storage, and Wavelength services over SDH/SONET and DWDM with integrated bandwidth management and end-to-end provisioning, the Cisco COMET portfolio offers efficient, unprecedented flexibility and capacity. With the Cisco COMET portfolio, enterprises and service providers drive profitability and accelerate IP and Optical networking.