Press Release

June 3, 2003 - Wave7 Optics Honored at Supercomm 2003 as a “Hot Start Up” Company for the Second Time This Year

Company’s Innovative “Last Mile Link” Fiber-to-the-Home System, Customer Traction and Financial Backing Win Praise from Telecommunications and America’s Network Magazines

ATLANTA, June 3, 2003 -- For the second time to date this year, Wave7 Optics has received recognition as a “Hot Start Up” company for 2003 from a leading telecommunications trade magazine. Telecommunications magazine, one of the world's most-respected titles covering wireline and wireless communications, awards Wave7 Optics the honor in its June issue and will hold an awards ceremony tomorrow here at the Supercomm 2003 Conference and Exhibition, one of the world’s largest telecommunications events this year. America’s Network, another highly-respected publication with world renown, selected Wave7 Optics as a "Hot Start Up" in April.

"Wave7 have taken a fresh approach and have given a strong boost-to the fiber-to-the-home market with their Last Mile Link platform,” said Sue O’Keeffe, Editor in Chief, Telecommunications. “Wave7's active FTTH network architecture places intelligence at the network edge rather than at the CO or headend to deliver a triple play of services to residential and business users. Municipalities, IOCs and cable MSOs are going to find the LML a very attractive solution and ILECs could view it as a cost-effective alternative to ATM PONs.”

“We are honored to have received these awards and I would like to thank the employees, investors, customers, suppliers and other partners of Wave7 Optics for helping to make this happen,” said Tom Tighe, CEO of Wave7 Optics. “To be honored in this way at a relatively early stage is gratifying, but it also gives us incentive to work even harder to sustain the momentum we have created and to live up to our own – and others – high expectations.”

Wave7 Optics has developed the Last Mile Link®, an innovative fiber-to-the-home optical broadband services product (known colloquially as a “PON alternative” system) that is gaining market share among service providers, such as ILECs, CLECs, ISPs and MSOs, utility-owned network operators and municipal networks. The “LML” is currently installed in 18 networks that will ultimately serve more than 80,000 subscribers in the U.S. and overseas.

The LML is an IP (Internet protocol) and Ethernet standards-based optical access system that provides all traditional “carrier-grade” telephone services (including fax), high-speed data (e.g., Internet service) and both analog and digital video (including IP streaming video). Featuring industry-leading privacy and security encryption techniques and industry-leading “quality of service” mechanisms designed for business applications, the LML overcomes the high-fiber counts, limited distance range and high central office equipment costs that have impeded the growth of FTTx systems.

Wave7 Optics is backed by six prominent venture capital firms: Morgenthaler Ventures, Advanced Technology Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, Lucent Venture Partners, Mellon Ventures and Armada Venture Group. To date the company, founded in September 2000, has raised $47.5 M. Wave7 Optics’ most recent funding round -- its third and led by Oak Investment Partners as a new investor – totaled $15.5 M and closed in August 2002.

"On behalf of all the investors, we at Oak congratulate the Wave7 team for receiving these awards," said David Walrod, General Partner, Oak Investment Partners. "It is exciting to watch a young company in a very tough market gain significant customer traction in multiple market segments, which I think speaks volumes about the company's leadership and the product's value proposition."

Visitors to Supercomm 2003 can see Wave7 Optics equipment and meet company representatives at the booths of two Wave7 Optics technology partners -- General Bandwidth (booth 21847) and OFS (23729) – during exhibit hours Tuesday through Thursday. The Hot Start Up awards ceremony begins at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 4, in room 304 of the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

About Wave7 Optics

Named a “Hot Start Up” company for 2003 by two of the world’s leading trade journals -- America’s Network and Telecommunications -- Wave7 Optics, Inc. is a market leader in the fiber-to-the-home and business (FTTX) optical access market. The Last Mile Link™ optical access system, currently deployed in 18 networks ultimately serving more than 80,000 subscribers in the U.S. and overseas, effectively overcomes the cost and implementation barriers that have to date stymied the deployment of FTTX systems.

Wave7 Optics’ innovative approach to optical access is a generation ahead of comparable “PON” technologies in both cost and capability. The Last Mile Link product suite meets the needs of residential, business and multi-tenant customers with a unifying architecture that provides a “triple play” of voice, video, and very high-speed data services.

For more information please contact emmanuel.vella@w7optics.com.

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