News Release

Indiana Fiber Network and Memphis Networx Select Cisco Optical Solutions to Enhance Metro Infrastructures

Fiber Optic Operators Gain Flexibility and Increased Revenue Generation
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Jun 22, 2004

CHICAGO, Illinois - JUNE 22, 2004 - Cisco Systems today announced that two service providers, Indiana Fiber Networks (IFN) and Memphis Networx, LLC, have deployed Cisco Systems optical solutions to scale their networks and accelerate service delivery to their customers. Both companies are deploying the Cisco ONS 15454 Series Multiservice Platforms in their metro Ethernet networks.

The Cisco ONS 15454 Series provides the functions of multiple traditional Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) or Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) network elements in a single platform. It combines next-generation SONET/SDH transport through OC-192/Synchronus Transfer Mode (STM)-64, integrated dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical networking and multiservice interfaces such as Ethernet and traditional time division multiplexing (TDM). The Cisco ONS 15454 combines the capacity of next-generation optical transport with the intelligence of Internet Protocol (IP) to cost-effectively deliver profitable voice, data and video services.

"As our company continues to expand, we need to be able to offer more advanced, yet cost-efficient technologies to deliver reliable, carrier-class services," said Michelle Crowe-Dixon, vice president of sales and marketing at Memphis Networx. "As a result, we recently deployed a Cisco Powered Network utilizing Cisco's ONS 15454 and 15327 platforms for high-speed, OC-192 transport."

Steven Willoughby, director of architecture engineering for Networx added, "The functionality, scalability and reliability of this new optical ring has enhanced our company's ability to quickly provision services, which contributes directly to the company's revenue objectives. What truly distinguishes Networx from its competitors is its metro Ethernet services. Cisco's shared media access application allows Networx to deliver SONET performance at Ethernet economics to our customers. The result is a robust, highly available cost-efficient Cisco Powered Network."

Indiana Fiber Networks' CEO, Kelly Dyer adds, "Our company chose the Cisco ONS 15454 SONET technologies to deploy over 1,000 miles of fiber optic cable across the state. Because of the platform's capabilities, we are now able to provide a variety of transport, voice, video and data services. There is no other platform that allows us to offer so much to our customers while remaining so cost effective."

IFN and Memphis Networx are two of a number of fiber optic operators that are taking advantage of the speed at which new services can be turned up within a Multiservice Platform strategy. Increasingly, many regional service providers are realizing that to generate new streams of revenue, they need to provide a cost-effective way to quickly roll out these services.

About Memphis Networx, LLC

http://www.memphisnetworx.com

About Indiana Fiber Network

http://www.indianafiber.net/index.htm

For more information about Cisco's optical solutions, go to: http://www.cisco.com.

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