MELBOURNE - February 24, 2003 - Telstra, Australia's leading telecommunications company, has expanded its Internet backbone capacity with an Australian-first upgrade to 10 Gigabits per second network capacity, based on the deployment of Cisco Systems Inc., 12000 Series Internet Routers.

The upgrade will enable Telstra to enhance the performance and efficiencies of its network in preparation of increasing broadband demand.

Telstra has activated the first 10 Gigabit Ethernet link on its Telstra Internet Direct (TID) backbone, the network that delivers high-quality broadband Internet services for business and home users across Australia. The upgrade to 10Gbps provides greater backbone bandwidth to ensure TID continues to lead the industry in performance and reliability, guaranteeing a high level of service for Internet users.

Telstra's TID backbone is an all-IP network that handles a variety of traffic, including permanent high-speed business connections, broadband services via cable, ADSL and satellite and aggregated traffic from dial-up ISPs such as Telstra BigPond Home. The TID upgrade is one of several planned for deployment within Telstra's Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan area networks over the next few months.

Rollout to other capital cities and the national long-haul network will follow as extra bandwidth is needed. The TID backbone is built around a meshed network of 16-slot Cisco 12416 Internet routers, providing Telstra with a premier high-end routing platform for backbone and edge applications.

The Cisco 12000 Series Internet Router is part of Cisco's family of multimillion packets-per-second IP and MPLS (Multi-protocol label switching) routing platforms. The 12000 Internet Series routers in Telstra's core network are supported by ametropolitan and regional access network based around Cisco routers from the7600, 7500, 7200, 5300 and 3600 series.

These safeguard network reliability through component redundancy and future-proof the Internet service provider's investment by supporting upgrades to line cards, switch fabric cards and Gigabit Route Processors.

Telstra Director of Data Products, Paul Geason, said; "Deploying Cisco 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology is a significant upgrade that enables the Telstra Internet Direct network to anticipate growth and handle a large volume of traffic at the highest speeds currently available."

Cisco Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, Terry Walsh said; "Cisco and Telstra's strong relationship in IP is typified by this significant networking development. The deployment of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet network follows careful planning, testing and joint development work by Telstra and Cisco."

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. Please visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps167/index.html for more information on the 12000 Series Internet Router family.

About Telstra Corporation Limited

Telstra is Australia's leading telecommunications carrier and a world-class fully integrated, full service provider across wireline, ADSL, HFC, satellite and digital wireless networks and platforms. Telstra has more than 10 million household, business and wholesale customers. Telstra is Australia's leading ISP, has the most highly accessed family of Internet portals and sites in Australia and provides entertainment and multimedia content over its broadband network and through its Foxtel pay-TV joint venture.

See www.telstra.com for further information.