Press Release

Sewickley, PA, January 29, 2001—Laurel Networks, a start-up company developing routing systems for the optical network edge, today announced it has secured $60 million in second round financing, bringing its total funding to $77.3 million. Participants in the funding rounds include leading investment companies NEA, Trinity Ventures, Worldview Technology Partners, WorldCom Venture Fund, Rein Capital, and CommVest. Trinity Ventures led the second round funding and Trinity general partner Fred Wang joins Laurel's board of directors. Laurel, with its strong executive team and highly experienced product development staff, is firmly positioned to lead IP services routing at the network edge with its optical edge routing architecture, an innovation in IP technology that will enable business-centric IP-based services over existing and future networking infrastructures.

"We were attracted to Laurel because they've identified the opportunity for a new generation of edge router with a unique set of capabilities that match the requirements of service providers looking to deploy new, revenue-generating business services," said Rob Coneybeer, general partner at NEA. "Laurel understands the business requirements, and has the right team in place to execute on the vision. The company is well positioned to dominate the emergent optical edge router market in 2001 and beyond."

"As service providers drive towards new high-margin IP services, it is clear that the edge of the network is where much of the implementation needs to occur. Worldview Technology Partners sees the tremendous potential for Laurel Networks to fill the gap at the network edge with the industry's first true optical edge router," said John Boyle, General Partner of Worldview Technology Partners. "Worldview has invested in Laurel because it understands the market space, and has the vision and technical skills to deliver a leading-edge product."

Laurel's vision for a true third-generation solution combines the powerful IP routing software of an Internet router with the rich bandwidth management capabilities of a carrier-class ATM or Frame Relay switch. As a result, services can be deployed that precisely match the business communication needs of the customer. Some examples include IP virtual private networks and destination-aware Internet transport, where the identity of the traffic drives the service level and the accounting model. These high-value services are what will transition service providers from low-margin basic connectivity services to a portfolio of scalable premium services that are compatible with the service providers' and the customers' existing infrastructures."This is exactly the kind of intelligence that service providers have been seeking to unleash the value of IP networks," stated Susan Almeida, co-founder of Network Strategy Partners, LLC.

"The next major step for networking is for network traffic to be identified and subsequently charged for by service providers in terms of its real business value," Laurel Networks CEO and President Atul Bansal said. "There is a huge opportunity for the company that delivers the solution needed to deploy these business-centric IP-based services. Laurel Networks is going to be that company."

Laurel Networks is launching at Comnet and can be found in New Venture Alley booth number 4521.

About New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
NEA is the leading start-up venture investor in the country, primarily financing businesses in information technology and medical and life sciences. Since 1978, NEA has practiced classic venture capital by investing in early-stage companies and working with management to nurture and build companies of real and lasting value. NEA has offices in Menlo Park, CA; Reston, VA; and Baltimore, MD. Visit NEA at www.nea.com.

About Worldview Technology Partners
Worldview Technology Partners is a venture capital firm focused on building leading U.S. technology companies and helping them expand into lucrative global markets. With more than $750 million under management, they specialize their investments in telecom and Internet infrastructure companies. For more information about Worldview Technology Partners, visit www.worldview.com.

About Trinity Ventures
Trinity Ventures is a top-tier venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology companies. Trinity brings not just capital, but valuable networks and resources to its portfolio to accelerate growth and improve the probability of long-term success. Trinity focuses on software, communications and technology-based services. More information is available at www.trinityventures.com.

About Network Strategy Partners, LLC
Network Strategy Partners is a Boston-based management consultancy that specializes in the networking industry. More information is available at www.nspllc.com.

About Laurel Networks
Laurel Networks is developing a true optical edge router--designed and developed specifically for the network edge -- to enable the creation of premium IP services across an optical core. Laurel's solution is the first on the market to combine the performance required to handle optical payloads with the intelligence and flexibility required to implement and support IP services over existing and future networking infrastructure. Laurel, founded in 1999, is headquartered in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. For more information about Laurel, visit www.laurelnetworks.com.