VIC Telehome Spain Announces Plans to Develop One of World's Largest IP Telephony Networks Using Clarent Products

Business Wire, April 7, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MADRID, Spain and REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 2000

Clarent (Nasdaq:CLRN)

AB Asesores Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Advising VIC Telehome

on the Financing of the Project

VIC Telehome, a next generation telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid, Spain, today announced plans to build one of the world's largest IP telephony networks.

VIC Telehome has selected Clarent (Nasdaq:CLRN) to supply the IP telephony products for this network. Clarent is a worldwide leader in providing carrier grade, phone-to-phone Internet Protocol (IP) telephony networks. AB Asesores Morgan Stanley Dean Witter has been retained to act as advisor to VIC Telehome in connection with the financing of the project.

The alliance between VIC Telehome and Clarent was announced yesterday at a press conference in Madrid. Attending the conference were Alejandro Loring, president and founder of VIC Telehome; Jerry Chang, CEO and president, Clarent Corporation; and Santiago Eguidazu, vice president, AB Asesores Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Spain.

VIC Telehome is planning to become a global next generation telecommunications company with a presence in Spain and abroad. The company's business model revolves around selling a range of value added communications products and services through neighborhood retail outlets to clients at home and abroad. The distinguishing feature is the combination of an operational network based on Clarent voice over IP technology with a commercial network based on the deployment of a network of "VIC Centers" and "VIC Points" -- neighborhood telecommunications outlets -- targeting residential and small- and medium-sized enterprise customers.

VIC currently has one of the largest networks of retail telecommunications outlets in Spain. VIC Telehome plans to expand the number of neighborhood outlets so that, by 2004, the company would have a network of 7000 VIC Centers and VIC Points supported by a global IP telephony network with over 1,500 points of presence.

Alejandro Loring, president and founder, VIC Telehome, commented on the deal with Clarent: "VIC Telehome has chosen Clarent equipment because it provides us with quality and service for our customers: families and companies. With Clarent products, VIC Telehome plans to supply a wide range of innovative value added services at a competitive price."

"I am very honored to be here in Madrid signing this important agreement with VIC Telehome," said Jerry Chang, CEO and president, Clarent Corporation. "With its plans of opening up neighborhood telecommunications centers to provide a wide range of competitively priced value-added services, VIC Telehome is creating an additional distribution channel for IP telephony-based services. Clarent applauds VIC Telehome as it launches this exciting business venture."

"VIC Telehome is one of the new breed of high growth Spanish companies that typify the new economy," said Santiago Eguidazu, vice president, AB Asesores Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. "Our bank is well-suited to play an important role supporting the development of such companies and we look forward to working closely with VIC Telehome."

About Clarent Corporation

Clarent Corporation is a premier provider of scalable, IP telephony products to carriers and Internet service providers around the world. Clarent's intelligent architecture and the Clarent Command Center enable Clarent products to route, manage, interconnect and terminate high volumes of calls from service provider customers including the world's largest long distance telecommunications companies. According to an iLocus report published in 1999, more minutes travel across Clarent-enabled networks worldwide than those of any other equipment supplier.(1)

Founded in July 1996, Clarent is headquartered in Redwood City, and has offices in major cities in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Additional information about Clarent is available from www.clarent.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements regarding Clarent and VIC Telehome products, customers or other factors that may affect future earnings or financial results. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to potential issues relating to interoperability, inability to introduce new products, ability to retain key customers, changes in market conditions, government regulations, the international communications industry, technological changes and other factors, which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. In the case of Clarent, these risks and uncertainties are described further in the risk factors discussed in Clarent's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2000.

(1) "IP Telephony Clearinghouses -- A New Business Model." Published November 1999 by iLocus. iLocus, a division of Cape Saffron Ltd., is an UK-based research group focused on the IP telephony industry. http://www.ilocus.com.