BT —British Telecom— And Ridgeway Begin Trial of Multimedia Over IP Services - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, May 1, 2000

Ridgeway, leading developer of equipment and software for Broadband Multimedia Communications, Tuesday announced that BT (British Telecommunications plc), one of the world's largest providers of telecommunications services, will begin an internal trial of Ridgeway's "broadband multimedia over IP" solutions.

The trial of the Ridgeway VX platform and netHance application software will start in May 2000 and will involve 100 users at BT's Adastral Park campus, Ipswich, UK. The trial solution will allow BT employees to click on a web-based directory to make a phone call, then enhance the call with real-time, two-way video and data sharing.

BT will integrate the Ridgeway VX system with BT's "Click-to-Talk" service, currently being trialed by several thousand BT employees. BT is interested in enhancing this service with Ridgeway's "Click-to-Add-Video-and-Data" solution.

"Ridgeway's VX system and netHance application have the potential to revolutionize the provision of new, value-add, IP multimedia services," stated Ian Tracey, New Product Evangelist at BT. "The objective of this trial is to understand the end users' experiences and assess the value of this new service offering."

"BT is one of the leading telecommunications providers in the world and an exciting partner to work with," stated Graham Seabrook, Founder and CEO of Ridgeway. "Ridgeway's technology is about improving the way that people communicate, and with BT's help we can make sure that millions of global users will enjoy the benefits of enriched multimedia communications with the simple click of a button."

Ridgeway's VX series, a high-end, multimedia switching platform, will be deployed at BT points of presence. Initially, Ridgeway will install a VX-120 at BT's Adastral Park, coupled with Ridgeway's netHance and VX Centrex application software. The VX platform architecture scales to 10,000's of users, and can economically serve under 1,000, for trials and local services.

Ridgeway's netHance software harnesses voice, video, and data over the Internet by enriching PSTN phone calls with IP-based data sharing and video capabilities. The same technology allows an enterprise to turn their web site into a multimedia portal for video and multimedia communications. Ridgeway's VX Centrex software helps service providers administer multimedia and data sharing services to corporate users.

British Telecommunications plc is one of the world's leading providers of telecommunications services. Its principal activities include local, long distance, and international telecommunications services, mobile communications, Internet services, and IT solutions. BT is expanding its presence overseas rapidly and has operations in more than 30 countries worldwide, with ventures in the Republic of Ireland, France, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Latin America, and India. BT is also part owner of Concert, the leading global telecommunications company serving multinational business customers, international carriers, and Internet service providers.

Ridgeway is the leading developer of equipment and software for Net Enhanced Telephony. Net Enhanced Telephony is a next-generation approach to broadband multimedia communications that places Internet media content-data and video-just one click away from any phone call. Ridgeway's service-provider class VX Series and "Click-to-Enhance" applications add value to products developed by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT), and Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU). www.ridgeway-sys.com.