foreThought.net Launches Broadband Voice and Data Service in Denver

Denver, CO: February 24, 2004.

foreThought.net, one of Denver's "Top-10 ISPs", today announced the launch of an integrated broadband voice and data service for small and medium-sized business customers. By leveraging Voice over IP technology from MetaSwitch, foreThought.net is able to offer greater flexibility and lower costs than the TDM-based solutions available from other carriers in the region.

foreThought.net selected MetaSwitch as its strategic supplier based on the company's proven ability to deliver a complete end-to-end solution. With MetaSwitch's award-winning VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch, foreThought's packet-based network delivers unsurpassed levels of reliability and voice quality over both POTS and T1 interfaces. The use of Voice over IP enables much more efficient use of bandwidth thanks to dynamic bandwidth allocation, voice compression and silence suppression. In addition, forethought.net is leveraging the MetaSwitch VP3500's PRI capability to offload dial-up Internet traffic.

"It was clear to us that an integrated broadband voice and data service was key to our ability to compete in the Denver area. For a long time, however, the technology just wasn't up to speed with where we wanted to be," explains Jawaid Bazyar, foreThought.net's CEO. "We were therefore excited when MetaSwitch demonstrated to us that we could profitably launch a carrier-class service far superior to that offered by other providers in this region."

"We are already witnessing the pent-up demand for this service," continued Bazyar. "Many of our existing 2,200+ customers have already signed up, and we look forward to bringing more on board. Based on our projected take-up rate, we expect the deployment to be cash-flow-positive within 6 months, and profitable within the first year. Critical to this success was MetaSwitch's ability to deliver not just reliable dial-tone, but small business features such as Centrex and PBX interconnection."

"Profitable ISPs, such as foreThought.net, understand that in order to stay competitive they need to offer a bundled voice and data service," said Tom VandeWater, MetaSwitch Regional Manager. "MetaSwitch is pleased to have been chosen as the switch provider to deliver next-generation VoIP services to foreThought.net's customers."

The MetaSwitch VP3500 is the leading broadband-enabled Next Generation Class 5 Switch in North America, with over 40 deployments, and support for GR-303, VoATM and VoIP as well as advanced Web-based subscriber services. Service providers are able to simultaneously serve customers in multiple calling areas with over 100 Class 5 features and services. The MetaSwitch VP3500 is easy to deploy and scales from 400 to over 250,000 subscribers in a single rack.

About foreThought.net

Founded in Denver in 1995 as three separate companies providing web hosting, telecommunications equipment and Internet services, the companies merged to become foreThought.net in 1999. Today foreThought.net provides high-quality, easy to use Internet solutions for small business including outsourced web hosting, email, and telephone services in the state of Colorado. For more information, see www.foreThought.net

About MetaSwitch

MetaSwitch, a division of privately held Data Connection, is the result of 22 years of experience supplying leading-edge technology to the telecommunications industry. Data Connection’s track record of consistent profitability ensures long-term commitment to product development and customer support. The widely deployed MetaSwitch VP3500 Next Generation Class 5 Switch offers service providers an immediate solution for broadband (VoIP and/or VoATM) and POTS service and a future-proof "softswitch" architecture for enhanced applications.

MetaSwitch has offices in Alameda, CA, Dallas, TX and Reston, VA in the US and London, Chester and Edinburgh in the UK.

For more information, see www.metaswitch.com.

Data Connection and MetaSwitch are trademarks of Data Connection Limited and Data Connection Corporation. Brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.