Sonus and Japan’s Leading Telecom Players Form Development Pact; Triumvirate to Create First Carrier-Class Japanese Packet Voice Solutions

WESTFORD, Mass., August 22, 2000 – Sonus Networks (Nasdaq: SONS), Nissho Electronics Corp. and NTT Communicationware Corp. today announced that they have established a development partnership that will enable the companies to deliver a complete set of localized voice infrastructure solutions to Japanese service providers. Through this agreement, the companies will jointly develop and market a Japanese version of the award-winning Sonus Packet Telephony suite that will be completely interoperable with the existing Japanese SS7 telephone network. 

"Deregulation is rapidly altering the competitive dynamics of the Japanese telecom market, and those carriers who can differentiate themselves will gain the advantage," said Hassan Ahmed, president and CEO, Sonus Networks. "The development partnership announced today and the new service solutions it will bring to bear will enable Japanese carriers to realize the significant benefits of packet telephony, which have already been proven in carrier environments in the United States." 

The highly synergistic partnership leverages the considerable strengths of each company to create a range of solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of the Japanese carrier market. As a key Sonus strategic partner, Nissho Electronics is coordinating the joint development efforts, and will work with Sonus to market, sell and support these products in Japan. NTT Communicationware, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT, the world’s largest carrier, and a leading system integrator and developer of PSTN-related systems, has developed the Japanese market requirements for Sonus’ voice infrastructure solutions. Working jointly with NTT Communicationware and Nissho Electronics, Sonus is developing a local version of its complete Packet Telephony suite, including the GSX9000TM Open Services Switch, the PSX6000TM SoftSwitch and the SGX2000TM SS7 Signaling Gateway, to incorporate key Japanese features and functionality. 

"Carriers here have been evaluating various VoIP solutions, but previously, none of them have satisfied those carriers. With Sonus, we have finally found a solution that we can confidently recommend to service providers. Through Sonus’ carrier-grade solutions, service providers can accelerate the integration of voice service to IP networks, which will trigger the ultimate movement of ‘everything over IP’, " said Takao Tsuji, director, senior general manager, Network Solutions Division, Nissho Electronics.

"The development partnership announced today accelerates the convergence between the current PSTN-related telcom technology with high quality, IP-based technology, and enables Japanese carriers to quickly satisfy customers’ requirements and meet market changes. The new softswitch architecture is changing the traditional voice network, and is critical to the evolution of the communication network in Japan," said Naoaki Ikeda, senior vice president, NTT Communicationware.

Synergy Research Group, a leading market intelligence consulting firm, projects that the Japanese market for voice over IP and Internet offload – just two of the applications for the new public network – will grow to approximately $1.7 billion by 2003. This accounts for nearly one-tenth of the worldwide spending, which is predicted to reach $19 billion in 2003. 

About Nissho Electronics Corporation (NELCO)

Since its inception in 1969, Nissho Electronics has consistently played a principal role in providing the domestic Japanese market with advanced products incorporating new technologies. Its combination of solid in-house technical expertise and dedication to providing outstanding customer service and support is very attractive to its business partners all over the world. The company, with headquarters in Tokyo, has a total of 17 branch offices and service depots throughout Japan, with annual sales revenues of more than $500 million. It employs approximately 800 people, almost half of whom are software and hardware engineers. As one of Japan’s leading distributors and system integrators, Nissho handles various products and services from over a hundred business partners in the fields of information technology, telecommunications, semiconductors and electronics, including Ciena’s DWDM, Juniper’s Internet Backbone Router, and other IP-related hardware and software. For more information, visit http://www.tradepia.or.jp/nelco/e-index.html.

About NTT Communicationware Corp.

NTT Communicationware Corp. is providing the best possible solutions for customers in the fields of network integration, system integration and outsourcing. NTT Communicationware Corp. is also responsible for developing software for NTT’s public networks, for maintaining them and operating them. Established in 1997 and based in Tokyo, NTT Communicationware Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT, the world’s largest carrier.

About Sonus Networks

Sonus Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of voice infrastructure products for the new public network. Sonus’ solutions enable service providers to deploy an integrated network capable of carrying both voice and data traffic, and to deliver a range of innovative, new services. The Sonus Open Services ArchitectureTM (OSA) and award-winning Packet Telephony suite cut the time-to-market for competitive new service products, allowing carriers and third-party developers to 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 voice, data and multimedia solutions for implementation in the world’s largest networks. 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 for the quarter ended June 30, 2000, filed with the SEC, which identifies important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. 

GSX9000, PSX6000, SGX2000 and Open Services Architecture are trademarks of Sonus Networks. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.