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Sonus Opens Regional Office in Beijing, Appoints Country Director; Signs on Photonic Bridges as First Chinese Distribution Partner

WESTFORD, Mass., December 18, 2001 – Sonus Networks (Nasdaq: SONS), a leading provider of voice infrastructure solutions for the new public network, today announced it is continuing its global expansion with the launch of the company's direct operations in China. Sonus has established a regional office in Beijing, and has named former Juniper sales executive Michael Li as country director to oversee Sonus' sales, marketing and support operations in China. Sonus also announced today that it has formed a partnership with leading Chinese systems integrator Photonic Bridges. 

Sonus' new direct operations in Beijing will serve the rapidly growing Chinese telecommunications market, including next-generation carriers as well as established service providers. According to the China Ministry of Information Industry (MII), China currently has the second largest telephone system in the world with approximately 172 million fixed line subscribers, and growth of the Chinese subscriber base is estimated to continue at approximately 38 percent per year for the next ten years. The penetration of voice over IP (VoIP) in China is also expected to increase dramatically. Leading industry research firm Probe Research estimates that the number of VoIP minutes of use originating in China will grow from 7.3 billion minutes in 2001 to more than 250 billion minutes in 2006, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 104 percent. 

"We are seeing a great deal of interest among Chinese service providers for next-generation voice solutions such as those offered by Sonus, particularly because carriers can build out their infrastructure and deliver a wide range of services much more easily and cost-effectively than with legacy circuit equipment," said Gary Rogers, vice president, worldwide sales, Sonus Networks. "We believe that the direct presence that we're establishing today, along with our new distribution partner, will enable Sonus to fully capitalize on this sizable opportunity." 

To complement its direct operations, Sonus has selected Photonic Bridges as its first distribution partner in China. Photonic Bridges has signed an agreement to provide the complete Sonus product line in the Chinese market. Under terms of the contract, Photonic Bridges will market and support the full range of Sonus' award-winning packet voice solutions, including the GSX9000^(TM) Open Services Switch, the Insignus^(TM) Softswitch, and the Sonus Insight^(TM) Management System, to China telecommunications providers. 

"The technologies delivered by Sonus offer clear advantages over the current legacy telephony equipment, as well as other voice-over-packet offerings. By deploying Sonus' industry-leading solutions, carriers can develop advanced voice infrastructures that support the creation of enhanced, revenue-generating services," said Gerald Wong, CEO, Photonic Bridges. "Sonus is widely acknowledged as the leader in carrier-class packet voice solutions, and we are extremely pleased to be working with Sonus to bring softswitch-based networking to the Chinese telecommunications market."

"Having participated in many of the major communication construction projects in China, Photonic Bridges is uniquely qualified in its understanding of the China communication networks and markets," said Gary Rogers. "Photonic Bridges has clearly demonstrated their expertise in the development of next-generation telecommunications networks, and we look forward to building a successful partnership."

Former Juniper Networks Sales Executive to Lead Sonus' China Team

Michael Li has been named Sonus' country director, China, and will lead all sales, marketing and business functions in the country. In this role, Li will also be responsible for creating strategic relationships with leading telecommunications providers, as well as continuing to develop Sonus' network of reseller and channel partners. 

Li joins Sonus from Juniper Networks where, as the company's first employee in China, he established sales channels and managed major accounts, driving Juniper to achieve revenues of $34 million in its first year in China. At Juniper, he won major contracts for national backbones with China Mobile, China Telecom DCN, and China CATV, as well as many provincial-level China Mobile and China Telecom accounts. Prior to Juniper, Li was a partner and country manager for Pacific Advantage China, a consultancy focused on assisting Silicon Valley-based start-ups to enter the China market.

About Photonic Bridges

Photonic Bridges Inc. designs and deploys next generation network solutions in the rapidly expanding telecommunication service provider market in China. Founded in California in August 2000, the company has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, PRC, with an R&D facility in Denver, Colorado. The company focuses on the China market and has designed and deployed advanced metropolitan access networks in 9 cities, optical backbone networks in two provinces and, with Sonus Networks, is deploying the first softswitch-based network in China. Photonic Bridges is located on the web at: www.photonicbridges.com. 

About Sonus Networks

Sonus Networks, Inc., is a leading provider of packet voice infrastructure products for the new public network. With its Open Services Architecture (OSA), Sonus delivers end-to-end solutions addressing a full range of carrier applications, including trunking, residential access and Centrex, tandem switching, and IP voice termination, as well as enhanced services. Sonus' award-winning voice infrastructure solutions, including media gateways, softswitches and network management systems, are deployed in service provider networks worldwide. Sonus, founded in 1997, is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts. Additional information on Sonus is available at http://www.sonusnet.com.

This release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Sonus that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to Sonus' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, dated November 14, 2001, filed with the SEC, which identifies important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These risk factors include, among others, the Company's ability to grow its customer base, dependence on new product offerings, market acceptance of its products, integration risks relative to its acquisition of telecom technologies, rapid technological and market change and manufacturing and sourcing risks.

GSX9000, Insignus, Sonus Insight and Open Services Architecture are trademarks of Sonus Networks. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.