SAN JOSE, Calif., March 19, 2003 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced that at its regularly scheduled meeting, the board of directors authorized up to $5 billion in additional repurchases of its common stock. The board had previously authorized up to $8 billion in stock repurchases. The new program is effective immediately and has no termination date.

"We believe that repurchasing Cisco stock while maintaining a strong cash balance is in the best interest of our shareholders," said Larry Carter, Chief Financial Officer of Cisco Systems.

Purchases under Cisco's stock repurchase programs may be made in the open market, through block trades or otherwise. Depending on market conditions and other factors, these purchases may be commenced or suspended at any time or from time-to-time without prior notice.

Cisco announced the first stock repurchase program in September 2001, when the board approved the repurchase of up to $3 billion of Cisco common stock. In August 2002, the board extended the program by an additional $5 billion, bringing the total program to $8 billion. As of January 25, 2003, the company had repurchased and retired 317 million shares of Cisco common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $4.4 billion since inception of the program.