For Immediate Release
1200 G Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 202/628-6380 202/393-5453 (fax)	Contact: Rachel Pater Phone: 202-434-8858 E-mail: rpater@atis.org

Taqua President and CEO Charles Vogt Joins ATIS Board of Directors

November 12, 2003, Washington, D.C. – ATIS – the leader in communications and information technology standards development – is pleased to announce that Taqua has joined ATIS as a member company. Representing Taqua on the ATIS Board of Directors is Charles Vogt, President and Chief Executive Officer.

In addition to serving on Taqua’s Board of Directors, Vogt is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day management of Taqua. Vogt is an accomplished veteran of the telecommunications industry with two decades of experience that includes senior positions with Lucent, Ascend, and ADTRAN.

“Taqua is a recognized leader in next-generation voice switching systems and technologies, and we look forward to their active involvement within ATIS and on the ATIS Board of Directors,” said Susan M. Miller, president and CEO of ATIS. “Taqua joins a distinguished list of ATIS member companies who are actively involved in prioritizing, coordinating and accelerating priority standards work through the ATIS Technical and Operations (TOPS) Council.”

Founded in 1998, Taqua focuses on improving local (ILEC) and competitive (CLEC) exchange carrier deployment and operational costs, while delivering new and differentiated revenue generating broadband services. The Company has more than 70 customers utilizing over 125 of its next-generation Class 5 TDM/Packet switches – the iX7000?.

Established in 2002 by the ATIS Board of Directors, the TOPS Council identifies and assesses the industry’s technical and operational initiatives of strategic importance. Bill Smith, Chief Product Development and Technology Officer for BellSouth, and ATIS Board Member, is the TOPS Council Chairman. The TOPS Council has reached consensus on the industry's 16 most critical priorities, including the five deemed most critical – Voice over IP, Mobile Wireless Services, Wide Area Ethernet, Network Security, and Data Interchange. ATIS has also established Focus Groups as part of this strategic direction to address standardization requirements for the five key industry priorities.

For more information about the ATIS TOPS Council, contact Tim Jeffries at tjeffries@atis.org or visit the ATIS Web site at www.atis.org.

About ATIS
ATIS is a technical planning and standards development organization that is committed to rapidly developing and promoting technical and operations standards for the communications and related information technologies industry worldwide using a pragmatic, flexible and open approach. Over 1,200 participants from more than 400 communications companies are active in ATIS’ 16 industry committees, and its Incubator Solutions Program. www.atis.org

About Taqua
Taqua offers a complete line of circuit and IP voice switching products and services, including full-featured next-generation packet Class 5 switch, intelligent line access gateway, application servers, line and trunk testing systems, and an element management system. In addition, the Company offers a full suite of professional services including network design and capacity planning, as well as installation and cutover services.

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