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ComNet 2000 Booth #574

Sonus Unveils Comprehensive Professional and Support Services Offerings; Teams with Industry Leaders IBM and TeleChoice to Expand Scope of Services 

WESTFORD, Mass., January 25, 2000 – Sonus Networks, the leader in carrier-class packet telephony solutions, today introduced a complete range of professional and customer support services that will enable carriers to more easily plan, design, implement and operate next-generation, converged voice/data networks. As part of this initiative, Sonus also announced it has formed relationships with industry-leading customer service and consulting organizations including IBM Global Services and TeleChoice to augment the array of services provided by Sonus. 

Through the comprehensive professional services and customer support offerings announced today, Sonus will deliver to service providers the following capabilities: network planning, design and performance analysis; network staging, installation and integration; support for network operations and management; education and training services; and business consulting and marketing development. This move comes at a critical point in the development of the burgeoning packet telephony market, as service providers continue to select next-generation voice platforms and begin to deploy converged packet networks. 

"We are committed to partnering with our customers to improve their business performance through the deployment of cost-effective, high performance network solutions," said Hassan Ahmed, president and CEO of Sonus Networks. "When working with Sonus, carriers can be confident that we can deliver the services and support that will help them enhance time-to-market and quality across the network lifecycle." 

Industry veteran Jeff Mayersohn heads Sonus' professional services and customer support organization. Prior to joining Sonus in 1998, Mayersohn was with GTE Internetworking, where he was responsible for the deployment of the America Online network, and served as the principal designer of other large, mission-critical networks such as the U.S. Defense Data Network. At Sonus, Mayersohn is leading a team of seasoned network consultants and service professionals, all of whom have extensive experience in designing, building and operating carrier voice and data networks. 

To expand the scope and extend the reach of its professional and support services, Sonus has established relationships with major telecommunications service and consulting organizations. Through these alliances, Sonus can bring to bear resources that will facilitate the design, deployment and management of global next-generation networks. Working with IBM Global Services will allow Sonus to deliver the worldwide presence of a preeminent systems integrator, with expertise across the entire range of computing and communications. Sonus will work with TeleChoice, a leading marketing strategy consultancy for the telecommunications industry, to assist service providers in the areas of business planning and marketing development. Finally, Sonus intends to leverage the resources of some smaller firms, such as Boston-based Sullivan & McLaughlin, which have established a reputation for speed and quality in support of network buildouts. 

With their comprehensive professional and support services, Sonus is raising the bar for the competition," said Peter Sevcik, president and CEO of NetForecast, a leading Internet traffic and performance consulting organization. "They know as much about network architecture, design, deployment and operation as anyone in the business, and they can offer service providers the focused, personal attention they require." 

About Sonus Networks

Sonus Networks, Inc. is delivering a new class of carrier solutions that enable the movement of telephony to converged packet networks and the development of a new generation of innovative voice and data services. The award-winning Sonus Packet Telephony suite and Open Services ArchitectureTM (OSA) cut the time-to-market for competitive new service products, allowing carriers and third-party developers to sustain and expand marketshare, and build important new revenue streams. Its highly scalable products fully interoperate with and extend the life and utility of today's public network. Sonus embodies in its management and staff decades of experience in developing carrier-class solutions at companies such as Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Lucent Technologies (Nasdaq: LU), and Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT). Sonus, founded in 1997, is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts and is privately held. Additional information is available at http://www.sonusnet.com. 

Open Services Architecture is a trademark of Sonus Networks. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.