Cisco EMEA Metro Ethernet Summit, Vienna, June 4, 2003: Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced enhancements to its Metro Ethernet switching portfolio that will enable service providers to expand their Ethernet-based broadband services over existing copper infrastructure. The new Cisco Catalyst 2950 Long-Reach Ethernet (LRE) 997 and Cisco 576 LRE Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) can help European service providers deliver symmetric bandwidth services to the small and medium businesses and residential users.

The new products in Cisco's Long-Reach Ethernet portfolio address compliance with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) 997 Frequency Band Plan, and enable the extension of high-quality video, voice-over-IP and VPN services from existing Metro Area Network infrastructure to voice grade copper in the last mile.

Telecom Italia has already migrated to an IP/MPLS core network from Cisco and is offering its Hyperway ETHernity Metro Ethernet services over fiber to provide high-bandwidth data services, such as IP-VPN and managed voice to enterprise customers.

"We have evaluated the new Long-Reach Ethernet solution from Cisco and are pleased with the bandwidth rates and distances that we have achieved in this phase of the project," commented Stefano Nocentini, VP, Network Engineering, Telecom Italia Domestic Wireline. "We have been impressed by this new approach to Ethernet-based broadband over copper offer, which provides with an innovative way to enable both enhanced quality of service and extended Layer 2 capabilities. Cisco Long-Reach Ethernet will allow us to deliver Ethernet-based services also to Small and Medium Business market."

Bredbandsbolaget (B2), a Metro Ethernet service provider in Sweden, has rolled out an extensive fibre network providing 10 Mbit/s broadband connectivity together with SIP-based voice over IP services throughout its network alongside streaming TV and video on demand.

"As we expanded our native end-to-end Ethernet network to serve the small to medium business community, we needed a cost-effective solution to deliver Ethernet-based services to Swedish business customers using existing copper infrastructure," commented Peder Ramel, CEO of Bredbandsbolaget (B2). "By running Cisco Long-Reach Ethernet from the central office, we can quickly provision Ethernet services and leverage our core Ethernet over fibre infrastructure to provide advanced IP services to our customer base. Robust LRE Quality of Service capabilities were the key requirement for us to offer voice and video services."

"We see service providers deploy Long-Reach Ethernet as a complement to their existing Metro Ethernet over fibre and xDSL services to maximize the use of existing copper plant," commented Mark de Simone, VP, marketing, Cisco Systems EMEA. "This innovative Cisco technology helps service providers to reduce operational costs by provisioning new services using software while minimizing the need for a truck-roll."

With Cisco Long Reach-Ethernet 997, service providers can now bridge the gap in their service portfolios between basic xDSL copper-based connectivity and fibre-based Ethernet to the Business (ETTB) services. As the customer connectivity requirements grow, the upgrade path from copper-based LRE to ETTB over fibre can be greatly simplified if the aggregation layer is Ethernet and IP-based as well.

New Cisco Catalyst 2950 Long-Reach Ethernet Solutions for Service Providers Introduced Today

The Cisco 2950 LRE 997 Solution includes the Cisco Catalyst 2950 LRE 997 switch (24 LRE ports and 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports) and the Cisco 576 LRE CPE for the end-customer's location. Designed for service provider central office deployments, the Catalyst 2950 LRE 997 switch features DC power and is compliant with the ETSI VDSL 997 Bandplan standard. Plan 997 is a frequency usage plan for VDSL that was designed for symmetric data rates, and is well suited for providers looking to offer commercial-grade services beyond internet access, such as VPNs.

The Catalyst 2950 LRE 997 switch includes the Catalyst 2950 Enhanced image software, enabling the same Quality of Service (Qos), High Availability, and Security found in existing Catalyst 2950 Series switches and the entire Cisco Metro Ethernet Switching portfolio. For more information on the Catalyst 2950 LRE 997 solution, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/lre