LONDON, July 2, 2002 - Interoute, the company behind one of Europe's largest and fastest fibre-optic networks, and Cisco Systems today announced that Interoute has selected Cisco's next generation Internet Routers and switches to deploy MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) technology at the core of Interoute's pan-European IP network. Cisco 12400 Internet Routers interconnected at both the edge and the core of the network will provide a capability of up to 10Gbps per link across Interoute's wholly-owned DWDM infrastructure.

Leveraging Cisco's extensive experience with MPLS networks, Interoute believes Cisco IOSR MPLS will help enable it to deliver unmatched flexibility to its customers in terms of pricing and service provisioning. Customers can specify a Frame Relay, ATM or Ethernet interface for site-to-site communication, or a fully managed end-to-end IP service with guaranteed Quality of Service. "We selected Cisco's Internet Routers to deploy a robust MPLS implementation, which fits with our vision of creating the most advanced network in Europe. This, combined with our legacy-free, native-IP infrastructure, will certainly put us well ahead in the marketplace," said Alan Lowe, CEO of Interoute. "Deploying MPLS on Cisco routers will help us to deliver traditional Frame Relay and ATM services as well as IP VPNs over a single infrastructure. This approach is a clear differentiator, as it means we can cater to customer requirements for traditional services and migrate them seamlessly at a later time to a fully managed IP-based solution when they are ready."

Using a combination of Cisco 12416 Internet Routers in the IP core with Cisco 12410 Internet Routers and Catalyst® 6500 range of Ethernet Switches at the edge, Interoute is building a flexible and versatile MPLS-enabled IP infrastructure that facilitates the delivery of VPNs, Internet access, content management services and applications hosting. With its MPLS VPN service, Interoute will offer customers cost savings through usage-based billing and true any-to-any connectivity for their VPN sites where costs do not escalate as each new site is provisioned.

Cisco's 10Gbps-per-slot 12400 Internet Routers also help enable Interoute to dynamically grow its network without the need to forklift out major network elements, whilst at the same time keeping capital costs under control, thereby also minimising Interoute's capital and operating costs. "Interoute's commitment to next generation IP services will help deliver true flexibility and cost savings for its customers," said Steve Priestley, VP, network service provider, for Cisco Systems in EMEA. "With the deployment of Cisco IOS MPLS, Interoute can now offer its customers secure, scalable and reliable access to corporate intranets at any time and from anywhere."

About Cisco IOS MPLS

Cisco IOS MPLS has been adopted by more than 140 service providers worldwide for its scalable VPN capabilities, traffic prioritisation and engineering capabilities, Quality of Service guarantees, and the ability to help provide IP services in existing infrastructures. Cisco pioneered MPLS technology and was the first to deliver IETF standards-based MPLS. For more information on Cisco IOS MPLS please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/mpls.

About the Cisco 12000 Series Internet Router

The Cisco 12000 Series Internet Router is part of Cisco's family of multimillion packets-per-second (pps) IP and MPLS routing platforms for building profitable networks in today's communications economy. The Cisco 12000 Series is the industry's premier high-end routing platform for service provider backbone and edge applications, enabling service providers to meet the challenge of building packet networks to satisfy services demand while increasing profitability. The Cisco 12000 Series offers the complete portfolio of 10 Gbps per slot systems and interfaces, delivering 10G economies of scale anywhere in the network. The Cisco 12000 Series provides high reliability, a rich set of service enablers, low total cost of ownership, and a proven investment protection. This innovative combination of features and capabilities enables service providers to build the most competitive IP and MPLS networks.

About Interoute

Founded in 1995, Interoute (www.interoute.com) is a pan-European telecommunications company with established operations in 9 European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK).

Interoute's fibre-optic network connects 45 cities in 9 countries throughout Europe. The company also owns and operates metropolitan area networks (MANs) in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rome, Zurich and Vienna. Its product portfolio includes optical network services (dark fibre, wavelengths, SDH and co-location), Internet services (Internet access and managed application hosting), MPLS VPNs and communications services (carrier services and business communications). Customers include other carriers, network operators, Internet and application service providers, and e-commerce companies.

A privately held company, Interoute is owned by a number of internationally based shareholders, the largest and major shareholder being the Sandoz Family Foundation (www.sandozfondation.ch), one of the world's largest private family foundations.