Press Release

Laurel Networks Wins Telecommunications Magazine 2002 Hot Start Up Award

ST200 Combines An IP/MPLS Control Plane With Guaranteed Bandwidth Delivery

Pittsburgh, PA - June 4, 2002 - Laurel Networks, Inc., the first provider of high-performance service edge routers, today announced its selection as a 2002 Hot Start Up by Telecommunications Magazine. The award was given to an elite group of start-ups most likely to emerge as leaders in the telecommunications industry due to a mix of strong financial backing, proven leadership talent, marketing savvy and a product/architecture concept with the ability to make a significant market impact.

"We chose Laurel Networks as a Telecommunications* magazine Hot Start-Up for 2002 because it takes edge routing to the next level," said Sue O'Keefe, editor in chief of Telecommunications*. "The ST200's flexible interfaces enable any port and any service at any speed allowing service providers to grow their networks as demand dictates. The LPS is a strong multiservice-over-MPLS provisioning system for a range of services including ATM, Frame Relay and Ethernet as well as Layer 2 and IP VPNs."

"Laurel's selection as a Hot Start Up by the distinguished judges at Telecommunications Magazine is an extreme honor and a reflection of our focus on delivering the most innovative edge routing solutions in the industry," said Atul Bansal, president, CEO and co-founder of Laurel Networks. "This has been a great year for Laurel, as we began shipping the ST200 and LPS into carrier networks in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Looking ahead, our original vision to deliver an edge routing solution with the flexibility, scalability and service management required to evolve carriers to a profitable architecture remains unchanged."

About the ST200 Service Edge Router and Laurel Provisioning System
The ST200™ Service Edge Router is the only router designed from the ground up with the features required at the edge of a service provider IP/MPLS backbone. The ST200 combines Internet-class routing, complete multi-service support and unprecedented architecture flexibility to support current and evolving service provider requirements - all at wire speed. With throughput up to 160 Gbps, interfaces from 64 Kbps to OC-192 and support for both Layer 2 and IP-based services, the ST200 provides carriers with the widest range of interfaces and highest density available in an edge router - all in a single, scalable, cost-effect solution.

The Laurel Provisioning System™ (LPS) is a powerful integrated service provisioning and management system for ST200 Service Edge Routers. The LPS is the first Multi-service over MPLS provisioning system for ATM, Frame Relay, Ethernet Private Line service and IP VPNs. The distributed, object-oriented LPS architecture rapidly integrates the ST200 with carrier network equipment and existing OSS applications. Comprehensive LPS customer management, service provisioning, service accounting, SLA management and network planning capabilities add the intelligence required to manage large numbers of services and customers.

About Laurel Networks
Laurel Networks is the first provider of high-performance service edge routers designed and developed specifically for the edge of IP/MPLS networks. Laurel's flagship ST200 Service Edge Router includes the features required to deliver high-value IP services, including: high-capacity routing and switching; rich bandwidth management functionality; and high-density, multi-service ports. Laurel Networks was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.laurelnetworks.com.