PITTSBURGH -- Building on its Internet Protocol / Multi-Protocol Label Switching (IP / MPLS) strategy announced in April, Marconi (Nasdaq: MONI; London) today announced its IP / MPLS Infrastructure Solutions for small and medium networks. Unique in the industry, Marconi's solutions are offered across a complete family of multiservice switch-routers that scale from 2.5 to 480 Gbps and support IP, MPLS, and ATM functionality with the same software. Taking advantage of a common user interface and a common feature set, Marconi's solutions help operators build the most scalable and reliable multiservice infrastructures while simultaneously reducing operating costs and minimizing concerns about platform interoperability and service engineering. Marconi's IP / MPLS Infrastructure Solutions address three broad network applications: 1) Converged multiservice IP / MPLS cores; 2) Broadband gateways; and, 3) hybrid "ships-in-the-night" cores. Converged Multiservice IP / MPLS Cores -- Marconi's IP / MPLS Infrastructure Solutions for small and medium networks are based on the recent release of ForeThought(TM) 8.1 software for the ASX(R) and TNX(R) switch-router platforms, which scale from 2.5 to 40 Gbps. For the first application, Marconi's 40 Gbps ASX-4000/4000M switch-router includes MPLS Label Switch Routing (LSR) and Label Edge Routing (LER) with Packet Over Sonet (POS), which together enable converged multiservice, OC-48c, packet- based core infrastructures. The smaller ASX-200BX, ASX-1000, ASX-1200, and TNX platforms, which range from 2.5 to 10 Gbps, can perform MPLS LSR in a multiservice converged core with a simple software upgrade. Broadband Gateways -- For the broadband gateway application, Marconi's IP / MPLS Infrastructure Solutions enable legacy access traffic, such as Ethernet, ATM, Frame Relay (FR), and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), to be transmitted over a high-speed, packet-based IP / MPLS network core. Marconi's solution is delivered with POS interfaces and MPLS LER capability on the ASX-4000/4000M switch-router. By delivering this broadband gateway function for service providers who already have or are deploying a multiservice core, Marconi helps to reduce capital expenditures by eliminating the need to upgrade their legacy edge to MPLS- enabled devices. Hybrid Ships-In-The-Night Core -- Marconi's solution for the third network application, hybrid "ships-in- the-night" cores, enables a multiservice core infrastructure to concurrently deliver IP, MPLS, ATM, FR, DSL, and Circuit Emulation (CEM) services without performance penalties or degradation of service. However, instead of being solely MPLS-based, the hybrid "ships-in-the-night" core uses both ATM and MPLS control planes concurrently. Marconi PLC