Excel Switching to Provide Infrastructure for Motorola's Voice-Recognition Communications Service

Business Wire, Sept 28, 1998

HYANNIS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1998--

Motorola Offers Management and Control of Wireless and Wireline

Communications through Innovative Speech-Enabled System

Excel Switching Corporation (NASDAQ:XLSW), a leading provider of open switching platforms for telecommunications networks worldwide, today announced that the Motorola (NYSE:MOT) Internet Connectivity Services Division (ICSD) has chosen Excel to deliver the telephony infrastructure for its new speech-enabled service, code-named Myosphere, which enables people to manage and control their wireless and wireline communications from a single point of access using natural voice commands. With Excel's open switching platform, Motorola ICSD will provide telephone carriers and Internet service providers a unique turnkey solution for managing wireless and wireline communications.

The project calls for Excel to provide Motorola with distributed architecture products and software based on its ONE (Open Network Expansion) Architecture(TM) switching platform. With Excel's solution, Motorola can integrate network routing, enhanced services and media support on a single, highly scalable switching platform. The Myosphere service manages communications using voice commands to perform functions such as voice dialing, voice paging, conferencing, messaging and one number services. In addition, Myosphere offers access to personalized information which includes news, traffic and weather conditions. With Excel's scalable, standards-based platform, Motorola can seamlessly integrate the new service into Myosphere's network architecture as the market evolves.

"With industry-wide convergence and the continuing growth in technology, it was critical that we provide a standards-based infrastructure that can grow with Myosphere," said Maria Martinez, Motorola ICSD general manager and vice president. "Excel offers a solution that is not only reliable but can easily and quickly be customized to meet changing market demands." Excel's ONE Architecture allows Motorola to tie voice and other media resources directly into Excel's switching fabric--enabling all ports to serve as revenue-generating subscriber connections.

"Motorola's commitment to an open and scalable architecture for its Myosphere project further demonstrates the need for programmable switches and their inherent flexibility in tomorrow's networks," said Bob Madonna, Excel's president and CEO. "With our ONE Architecture, Excel provides an open and scalable platform that will enable Motorola to quickly develop innovative services to offer its customers now and in the future."

Motorola's business model is to wholesale Myosphere services to network service providers. The benefits of this approach are to give network service providers quick access to new markets with minimum risk and capital outlay. Motorola is currently engaged with several carriers to trial Myosphere. This is the second recent announcement between Excel Switching and Motorola. For previous news, please see "Motorola Announces Intent To Deploy Excel Switching Platform In Wireless Local Loop Applications," Sept. 21, 1998.

About Motorola ICSD

Motorola's Internet and Connectivity Services Division, a unit of the Internet and Networking Group managed by Senior Vice President Randy Battat, develops and markets value-added solutions to simplify consumers' lives by integrating communications for connectivity and access to people, information and services. Motorola is a global leader in software-energized wireless communications, semiconductors, and advanced electronic systems and services. Motorola creates cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging, data and satellite communications systems and products that enable people to take their worlds with them. Motorola's embedded semiconductors are essential digital building blocks for consumer, networking and computing, transportation and wireless communications markets. Other businesses include automotive electronics, components, computing and energy products. Sales in 1997 were $29.8 billion. For further information, please visit Motorola's Web site at http://www.mot.com/Index/pressindex.html.> About Excel

Excel Switching Corporation is a leading provider of open switching platforms for telecommunications networks worldwide. Excel develops, manufactures, markets and supports a family of open, programmable, carrier-class switches that address the complex enhanced services and wireless and wireline infrastructure needs of network providers. Excel's products are currently deployed in telecommunications networks in 60 countries throughout the world. Excel has ISO 9001 certification and BABT Full Quality Assurance Approval. For more information, visit Excel's Web site at http://www.xl.com.

This release may contain statements which are "forward looking," subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ significantly from expectations. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those relating to: dependence on and concentration of relationships with application developers, original equipment manufacturers and systems integrators; length of sales cycle; fluctuations in quarterly results of operations; concentration of customers; dependence on single and sole source suppliers; dependence on third-party manufacturers; management of growth and hiring of additional personnel; and other risks identified in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings including those risks identified in the section entitled "Risk Factors" of the Company's Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 27, 1997 on Form 10-K.