Internet Access: Lucent Technologies Introduces End-to-End Packet Voice and Data Solution With New PathStar Business Service Exchange. - Lucent Technologies' PathStar Business Service Exchange BSX - Product Announcement

EDGE, On & About AT&T, May 3, 1999

Lucent Technologies Wednesday introduced a revolutionary new class of Internet products for new service providers, the PathStar Business Service Exchange (BSX).

The PathStar family is a unique class of highly reliable, feature-rich products, designed to enable new service providers -- such as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Internet Telephony service providers and established carriers entering new markets -- to offer low-cost, innovative voice and data services over IP or ATM packet networks. Both the PathStar BSX and the PathStar Access Server enable carriers to rapidly deploy a rich set of voice and data services while slashing capital and network operations costs by up to 70 percent.

"The PathStar family is a one-of-a-kind offering in the industry Wednesday, marrying the features and reliability of Lucent's telephony products with the economics of packet networking," said Dan Stanzione, group president of Lucent's Broadband Networks Group. "The PathStar BSX gives emerging carriers a way to rapidly offer innovative services to customers and to quickly generate returns on their investment at minimal start-up costs."

McLeodUSA, an Integrated Communications Provider (ICP) based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has agreed to trial the PathStar BSX. McLeodUSA (Nasdaq: MCLD - news) plans to deploy the PathStar BSX as well as the PathStar Access Server

to deliver integrated voice and data services to its business and residential subscribers in cities across the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions.

"Our ability to implement technology as we cost-effectively deploy our network and deliver services is critical," said McLeodUSA's Chief Technology and Development Officer Tim Devine. "The PathStar BSX should allow us to address the multi-tenant market and deliver feature-rich, IP-enabled voice and data services. The PathStar Access Server and the BSX should help McLeodUSA provide an end-to-end packet-based telephony solution."

Lucent Wednesday separately announced a R/Evolutionary Networking portfolio of packet network products targeted at large network providers. These products enable carriers to deliver virtually every service and feature available on today's public network via packet networks with the same high quality and reliability.

The PathStar Business Service Exchange The PathStar BSX is a highly feature-rich and cost-effective packet-based data and voice solution for carriers entering new markets. Typically, a carrier would install a PathStar BSX at a multi-tenant building or mid-size business and connect it to the carrier's packet network. The PathStar BSX provides local voice and data switching and routing, integrated access, and services such as Internet telephony, Internet and IP-Virtual Private Network data access, remote access outsourcing and telephone service.

Like the PathStar Access Server, the PathStar BSX provides a rich set of the most desired IP telephony services, such as call waiting, conference calling, call hold, caller ID, call forwarding, business group dialing, automatic callback, speed dialing and multi-line hunt service.

In addition, the PathStar BSX delivers significant cost savings to the carriers' business customers -- rather than having to purchase and maintain stand-alone phone systems, routers and IP Telephony Gateways, business customers can outsource their voice and data communications to a service provider, reducing end-user operating costs by up to 50 percent.

"Service providers seeking to lower network and operations costs through the use of voice-over-packet technologies have been hampered by the limited availability of service features. The PathStar family seeks to eliminate this obstacle by providing a new class of products for the embryonic but potentially huge end-to-end packet telephony market," said Christine Heckart, vice president of Consulting, TeleChoice.

Earlier this month, FirstWorld Communications announced that it would use the PathStar Access Server to deploy an all-packet network, delivering high-speed, high-quality voice and data over IP as well as Internet access to small-and medium-sized businesses. In addition, MGC Communications, an integrated communications provider (Nasdaq: MGCX) based in Las Vegas is trialing the PathStar technology to extend their voice and data services into new markets. KMC Telecom is also deploying the PathStar Access Server as part of the $600 million strategic agreement it signed with Lucent earlier this year.

The PathStar Family of Products The PathStar products provide carrier-class, packet end-office solutions and can replace six separate network elements -- VoIP Gateway, Digital Loop Carrier, Telephony System, Remote Access Server, DSL Access Multiplexer and Edge Router -- in one space-saving integrated system, thus reducing capital and operations costs by up to 70 percent.

In addition, the PathStar products provide Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities unmatched by other VoIP products. Through the PathStar solution, service providers are able to provision voice and data service at specified QoS levels, assuring exceptional voice quality and sufficient bandwidth for demanding data services such as collaboration.