Polaris Networks Awarded "Hot Start-Up" By Telecommunications Magazine

Leadership, strong financial backing and innovative products position company to make strong impact in the telecom industry

SUPERCOMM, Atlanta, GA - June 3, 2002 - Polaris Networks, a developer of new generation optical transport switching systems for the metro core, was awarded industry's Hot Start-Up for 2002 today by Telecommunications™ Magazine. Polaris was one of only ten start-ups in the telecommunications industry to be selected for this prestigious award. Editors at the publication chose this year's hot companies to watch based on their ability to succeed, despite the challenging market climate.

"Choosing our list of annual hot start-ups is always difficult, and this year we have had a challenging market environment thrown into the mix. We chose Polaris because it has strong financial backing (and the wisdom to spend it wisely), proven leadership talent, marketing savvy and a product/architecture concept with the ability to make a strong impact in the telecom industry," said Sue O'Keefe, editor-in-chief, Telecommunications Magazine.

"We are thrilled to be recognized as a Hot Start-Up company this year and the award validates the company's hard work and success to date," said Ray Kao, CEO and CTO of Polaris Networks. "With service providers facing increasing pressure to reduce network costs and increase profitability on their existing services, our solution is tailored to help them address these very challenges while migrating their networks to a new-generation architecture that unlocks new broadband services. This compelling business proposition has received strong interest from many of the largest service providers at a time when many new network technology trials are being abandoned."

"Polaris is a role model of how a startup is to be successful in these difficult times - aggressive focus on gaining customer traction, managing closely to the product development schedule and using its funding efficiently. These are the hallmarks of a market aware leadership" said David Yedwab, Executive Vice President of the Eastern Management Group.

About Polaris Networks

Polaris Networks develops new generation optical transport switching systems for metro core networks. From day one, its systems combine optical transport with extensive grooming and switching, managed via a GMPLS-based common control plane. Polaris' architecture is designed for native support of TDM, cell and packet traffic using a single software-defined switching fabric. This enables carriers to cost-effectively simplify their infrastructures, flexibly scale, and provides a smooth migration to a full multiservice intelligent architecture

Polaris was founded in June 2000 and is staffed by teams from Alcatel, Cisco, Fujitsu, Nortel, Siemens, Tellabs, AT&T and WorldCom. The company is funded by Redpoint Ventures, Venrock Associates, Advanced Technology Ventures, SToRM Ventures and strategic private investors. For more information about Polaris Networks, please visit www.polarisnetworks.com/ or call 408-281-7466.