SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- SonicWALL Inc. (Nasdaq: SNWL - News) a leading provider of comprehensive Internet security solutions, today announced a distribution agreement with NTT-ME Corporation, a technology consultancy that designs, builds, operates and maintains multimedia systems for service providers and enterprise customers. NTT-ME is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT (NYSE: NTT - News), the largest telecommunications company in the world. With this announcement, NTT ME will sell SonicWALL integrated security solutions to large enterprises, carriers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) throughout Japan. With the rapid expansion of broadband in the Japanese market, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are replacing expensive dedicated lines and corporate intranets, yielding increased security and significant reductions in communications costs. The SonicWALL and NTT-ME relationship jointly addresses the connectivity and security needs of the Japanese market with scalable, reliable and manageable remote access and integrated Internet security solutions. "We are very pleased to expand our solution offering with a Firewall/VPN product and security monitoring product that is in such high demand in this market," said Shuji Arima, Director & Department Head of No. 9 JunKan Business at NTT-ME. "We believe that the SonicWALL product will fully satisfy the strict security requirements of our customers -- mainly ISPs and carriers -- in terms of manageability, reliability, and scalability. Enhancing security and communicating via VPNs is an extremely critical issue for our customers, and by using the SonicWALL product, we will have greater flexibility in meeting the wide range of our customers' needs." As a future development, SonicWALL and NTT-ME will provide SonicWALL's "All In One Security Platform" product through NTT-ME's nationwide network. In addition, the two companies will arrange a cooperative system to deliver technology seminars, which will be scheduled throughout Japan over the next few months. SonicWall Inc. NTT Communications Corp.