PALO ALTO and SAN JOSE, Calif., February 24, 2003 - HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Cisco Systems (Nasdaq:CSCO) today announced steps to further strengthen their global strategic alliance by working together to deliver leading wireless local area network (LAN) technology to large enterprise and business customers.

The Cisco Compatible Extensions program announced today by Cisco will be an important element of the HP wireless mobility strategy for business notebooks, desktops, thin clients and Tablet PCs. By participating in the program, HP can deliver a range of notebook PCs and Tablet PCs that have been independently tested to provide interoperability, security and a path to future enhancements for customers who have standardized on Cisco as their wireless LAN network infrastructure provider.

"Wireless LAN is an area of strategic importance that we're investing in for competitive advantage," said Bill Spooner, senior vice president and chief information officer, Sharp HealthCare. "The flexibility to choose best of breed client devices and Cisco Aironet wireless LAN infrastructure while being assured of solid interoperability and security is critical. With HP participation in the Cisco Compatible Extensions program, we're able to reap the benefits of working in partnership with two leaders in the IT arena."

"HP's large enterprise customers have made it clear that ease of interoperability with Cisco wireless LANs is a key success criterion for our portfolio of business notebooks," said Kevin Frost, vice president of marketing, HP Personal Systems Group. "The Cisco Compatible Extensions program enables us to deliver on this key customer requirement while capitalizing on our own strengths in integrated wireless LAN innovation, such as performance-optimized antenna designs and implementation."

"As a recognized leader in the mobile computing arena, HP is a valued Cisco global strategic alliance partner," said Bill Rossi, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Wireless Networking Business Unit. "By supporting the Cisco Compatible Extensions program, HP and Cisco acknowledge a shared vision for secure wireless mobility in the enterprise, ultimately giving customers the confidence to deploy wireless in more places for more users."

HP business notebook PCs today feature a range of wireless connectivity solutions including HP MultiPort, which delivers integrated, standards-based wireless connectivity with industry-leading performance. HP integrated wireless solutions feature support for industry-standard security building blocks such as IEEE 802.1X Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) based Cisco LEAP, a preferred method for authenticating users on a Cisco wireless network.

A new generation of HP wireless-enabled notebooks planned for spring also is expected to support the Cisco Compatible Extensions program. This next step in wireless will feature support for the latest industry standards such as IEEE 802.11a, b and g tri-mode, providing business customers the speed, reach and security they require with the confidence that comes from the Cisco Compatible brand.

HP business desktop PCs and thin clients today support wireless 802.11b in either PCI or USB as well as use the HP MultiPort on sleek, ultra-slim desktop models. This spring, HP plans to release a new 802.11b PCI card that is approved under the Cisco Compatible Extensions program for business desktop PCs. In addition, HP plans to offer future USB and PCI add-on wireless products that support the latest industry standards and continue to offer customers leading reliability and security.

For more details, please refer to today's press release titled, "Cisco Leads the Way in Building an Ecosystem for Enterprise Wireless LANs with Launch of Cisco Compatible Extensions Program." More information on the Cisco Compatible Extensions program and a list of "Cisco Compatible" branded mobile devices is available at http://www.cisco.com/go/ciscocompatible/wireless.

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