Ericsson and Extreme Networks Form Strategic Alliance to Target Multi-Billion Dollar Voice-Data Convergence Market

STOCKHOLM, Sweden and SANTA CLARA, Calif. (PROTEXT) - ExtremeNetworks, Inc., (Nasdaq: EXTR) and Ericsson have formed a multi-faceted strategic alliance to provide networking solutions forEnterprise customers and Network Service Providers. The alliancewill enable customers to exploit voice, video and data convergednetworks while maintaining the reliability and business voicequality that they have come to expect in the classictelecommunications world. Customers will reap the benefits ofExtreme Networks' high performance, multilayer network switchingsolutions designed for the Internet Economy along with Ericsson'srenowned expertise in classic and IP-based telephony. Per the agreement, Ericsson will resell Extreme Networks'award-winning Summit(TM) and BlackDiamond(TM) switching solutionsinto their worldwide voice-data customer base. One of the firststeps of the alliance will be to integrate Extreme Networks' highspeed Layer 3 and Layer 4 Ethernet technology into Ericsson'snext generation enterprise fixed/mobile office concept. Inaddition, the alliance will focus on Ericsson's Carrier and ISPcustomers by extending the end-to end Quality-of Service (QoS)offering available today for IP based networks. Extreme Networks'Quality-of-Service (QoS) and policy server technology willenhance Ericsson's overall solutions for end-to end policy basednetwork infrastructure by specifically supporting featuresoptimized for application deployment such as server loadbalancing and web cache redirection. "This strategic alliance provides our customers with acompetitive advantage by enabling them to increase theirproductivity by implementing emerging IP telephony services andbusiness applications," said Lars Svensson, vice president andgeneral manager of the Enterprise Systems Business Unit ofEricsson. "Features, such as web-based Call Centers, unifiedmessaging, and e-commerce solutions, all of which are currentlyaddressed in Ericsson's Next Call Center, One Box and therecently launched customer interaction application, UpFrontSupport, will complement the converged network." According to recent Gartner Group/ Dataquest market analysis,the worldwide enterprise convergence networking market consistingof networking communication equipment, remote LAN and Internetaccess and voice communication equipment is projected to grow toa business value of $79.226 Billion US in 2000. "Selecting the worldwide leader in Layer 3 and Layer 4switching technology allows us to lead the deployment of the nextgeneration fixed/mobile enterprise office, and deliver on ourcommitment to provide a single converged network for telephony,data and video. Ericsson is very committed to providing businessvoice quality and the high level of reliability on IP convergedbackbones that exist in today's circuit switched environment,"added Svensson. "Our ability to provide a scalable and easy to implementapproach to building QoS-based networks uniquely positions us towork with Ericsson and to jointly provide their 45,000 customerswith converged network solutions," said Gordon Stitt, CEO andpresident of Extreme Networks. "The voice-data networks thatcompanies are building today must be able to handle the increasedtraffic demands and applications of today's all encompassingInternet Economy. Extreme Networks leads in offering highperformance, policy-based data switching solutions that can beeasily integrated with Ericsson's industry leading, serviceprovider and enterprise networks." All existing and future investments in Ericsson's leadingMD110 PBX technology will be protected by integrating ExtremeNetworks' leading Layer 3 and Layer 4 switching technology intothe recently launched "MD110 on the Net" evolution path formedium to large corporations. Ericsson's fully scalable IPtelephony based fixed/mobile communication solution will allowMD110 and BusinessPhone customers to connect traditional PBXextensions and newly developed IP appliances to a packetized IPbased end-to-end infrastructure while continuing to maintain thehigh levels of reliability and robustness found in traditionaltelecommunications environments. By working with Extreme Networks, Ericsson enhances itscurrent data communications products portfolio and enables itscustomers to easily deploy business-class, multimedia, convergednetworks that incorporate a wide range of products solutions.Such solutions, include, Frame Relay switches, ATM switches, highend and low end routers, remote access servers, WLAN basestations and Extreme Networks' application aware Layer 3 andLayer 4 LAN switches with end-to-end QoS. The alliance also enables small and medium-sized enterprisesto now have an opportunity to leverage converged networks.Through the agreement, Ericsson can combine its award-winning IP-PBX Webswitch with Extreme Networks' market leading Summitstackable switching systems, to create a single, simplifiedcommunication solution ideal for small and mid-size standaloneand remote offices. Since its founding in 1996, Extreme Networks has rapidlybecome a market leader for network solutions that offer usersscalability, simplicity and Quality of Service. All ExtremeNetworks switching solutions are built on a common architecture.This unique approach enables the Company to offer an elegantlysimple, yet high-performance network architecture that requiresless maintenance and operating costs. By combining Ethernet andIP with wire-speed Layer 3 switching, Extreme Networks providesthe scalability customers need to build networks that can handlefuture growth. And, the company's new Policy Management Systemallows users to deploy policy networking to protect networkbandwidth for mission critical applications and give precedenceto revenue generating traffic, without complexity. About Ericsson Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world,with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacomtechnologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With morethan 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifiescommunications for its customers -- network operators, serviceproviders, enterprises and consumers -- the world over. About Extreme Networks Extreme Networks provides high performance, multilayer networkswitching solutions for the Internet Economy. The Company'saward-winning networking solutions are designed for Internetservice providers, content providers and large enterprisecustomers. Extreme Networks' family of Summit stackables,including the new Summit7i(TM) Internet Data Center Switch, andBlackDiamond modular switching systems increase the flow ofinformation and allow for future network growth. ExtremeNetworks' switching solutions are available through itsauthorized resellers worldwide. Extreme Networks' corporate headquarters are at 3585 MonroeStreet, Santa Clara, Calif., 95051, 408-579-2800 or 888-257-3000;www.extremenetworks.com. This press release may contain forwardlooking statements relating to future events or future financialperformance that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statementscan be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should,""expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates,""predicts", "potential" or "continue" or the negative of suchterms or comparable terms. These statement are only predictionsand actual results could differ materially from those anticipatedin these statements based upon a number of factors includingthose identified in the Company's filings with the SEC. NOTE: Extreme Networks is a registered trademark of ExtremeNetworks, Inc. Summit, Summit7i and BlackDiamond are trademarksof Extreme Networks, Inc. ots Original Text Service: ExtremeNetworks, Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: PerZetterquist, +46 8 4222424, or Per.Zetterquist@lme.ericsson.se,or Gunter Reiss, +46 8 4221098, or guenter.reiss@ebc.ericsson.se,both of Ericsson Enterprise; or George Unger, 408-579-2867, orgunger@extremenetworks.com, both of Extreme Networks Web site:http://www.extremenetworks.com

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