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FREMONT, Calif., March 9, 2004 - Actelis Networks®, a leading supplier of solutions that enable profitable, carrier-grade broadband services over local-loop copper, today announced that Internet Express has deployed its MetaLIGHT® Ethernet-over-Copper platform. This deployment allows Internet Express to significantly expand their market by delivering economical Ethernet services. Internet Express is now offering high-quality, high-bandwidth Ethernet services to businesses throughout the Midwest using Actelis Networks MetaLIGHT Ethernet-over-Copper platforms.

Prior to selecting Actelis' MetaLIGHT platforms, Internet Express was delivering broadband services such as DSL, T1, T3 and DS3 throughout the Midwest. While these services were suitable for some customers, many others were requesting scalable Ethernet services. With Actelis' MetaLIGHT platforms, Internet Express now delivers economical, high-quality, Ethernet services utilizing the existing copper infrastructure. The MetaLIGHT solution allows them to effectively compete in the region without building an expensive fiber network to deliver high-bandwidth services, which would be passed along to their customers thus increasing the cost.

"The Actelis MetaLIGHT platform is ideal because of how quickly and economically it allows us to eliminate barriers to delivering high-bandwidth Ethernet services to a wide variety of customers," said Al Harris, chief financial officer, Internet Express. "Since the MetaLIGHT platform uses the existing copper plant to deliver services, we have everything we need already in place to deliver high-bandwidth Ethernet services. This allows us to expand our service offerings and gain new customers, while keeping our CAPEX and operating costs to a minimum."

In a recent deployment, Internet Express displaced the existing service provider by offering the customer an economical 10 Mbps Ethernet service. Prior to selecting the service, the customer was utilizing six T1 circuits from the previous service provider. The T1 solution did provide the necessary bandwidth, but was not as cost-effective, and required significant costs to upgrade. This prevented the customer from ordering more bandwidth if needed, making it a short-term solution only.

By utilizing the new Ethernet service from Internet Express, the customer has reduced their monthly recurring telecommunications service costs, reduced network management time, and now has high-quality bandwidth to run applications such as high-speed Internet access, voice and video over IP, among others. The MetaLIGHT platform has enabled Internet Express to provide a customizable service package to the customer including guaranteed, high-quality bandwidth and provides the scalability necessary to increase the bandwidth to the customer in the future. The service was deployed in January of 2004.

"Actelis enables service providers like Internet Express to capitalize on a wide variety of markets that are outside of the coverage of fiber. With our technology, they can offer high-quality broadband services to quickly and cost-effectively create new revenue streams by leveraging existing copper infrastructures. Even customers with existing fiber networks can use the Actelis solution to extend high-quality broadband to those users who are outside of the reach of the fiber network and can only be accessed by copper," said Bruce Hammergren, vice president of North American sales, Actelis Networks. "We are excited that Internet Express is realizing the benefits of Actelis' MetaLIGHT platforms, and we are looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship with them."

Actelis MetaLIGHT Ethernet over Copper platforms allow service providers to deliver high-quality, high-bandwidth Ethernet services over the existing copper plant. They are designed to comply with the emerging IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) standard, which allows immediate deployment into service provider networks. Additionally, MetaLIGHT platforms are powered with Actelis' patent-pending MetaLOOP® technology, which includes features such as cross talk cancellation (CTC), cross-talk management (CTM) and cut-line protection, among others. This technology allows Actelis MetaLIGHT platforms to provide far better rate, reach and reliability than other Ethernet-over-Copper solutions, delivering a true 10 Mbps Ethernet service over the same two pairs used to carry a single T1 (1.544Mbps), or a 5 Mbps service on a single pair. The bandwidth capabilities and high reliability of the MetaLIGHT platforms make them ideal to support a wide range of broadband applications including transparent LAN services, LAN interconnection, voice and video over IP. They are also well suited to backhaul bandwidth to DSLAMs/NGDLCs, WiFi and cellular base stations.