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Foundry Networks and Mitel Expand Partnership with Advanced Open VoIP Solutions

Gigabit PoE, Security and Auto-configuration

Ottawa, Ontario, and SAN JOSE, Calif., (March 6, 2006) - Mitel®, the trusted provider of IP communications solutions and applications, and Foundry Networks® Inc. (Nasdaq: FDRY), a performance and total solutions leader for end-to-end switching and routing, today announced the successful completion of interoperability testing between their respective Gigabit Power over Ethernet (PoE) solutions. The expanded partnership between the two companies focuses on simplifying the deployment of converged data and VoIP networks implementing Gigabit PoE, Security, and Auto-Configuration. The joint solution will be presented at VoiceCon, March 6-9 in Orlando, Florida, and the Network World LIVE seminar March 20 in Boston.

While Gigabit Ethernet has been shipping in laptops and desktops through personal computer vendors worldwide, enterprise customers who are embracing VoIP are now upgrading their data infrastructures to support Power over Gigabit Ethernet. Customers who are deploying Foundry Networks FastIron SuperX Series and FastIron Edge X424-POE (FES X424-POE) can now cost-effectively and easily add Mitel 5200 series phones equipped with Gigabit Ethernet stands to enable Gigabit PoE VoIP capability to the desktop.

"By expanding our partnership with Foundry Networks, we are together able to offer unparalleled performance with the broadest industry feature set for enterprise customers seeking to leverage the powerful business benefits of converged networking," said Mitel president and chief operations officer, Paul Butcher.

To ensure the security of VoIP conversations, Mitel (VoiceCon booth # 503) and Foundry Networks (VoiceCon booth #627) now offer an end-to-end secure convergence solution that leverages existing enterprise servers (e.g., Microsoft IAS, Active Directory and Live Communications Server) to deliver advanced secure VoIP, Instant Messaging, and Presence. The joint solution, based on standard protocols, including 802.1X, AES, and SSL-based security, supports single/multiple hosts for 802.1x and local/remote users (teleworker).

"Foundry and Mitel are collaborating to give customers best-of-breed telephony and networking solutions that are secure and interoperable, without locking them into expensive proprietary systems," said Bob Schiff, vice president and general manager of Foundry's enterprise business unit. "Mitel and Foundry have a growing number of satisfied joint customers because our telephony and networking solutions provide fast ROI and the flexibility to support converged services without costly upgrades. We look forward to our continued partnership with Mitel to provide customers with secure, scaleable, and high-performance converged solutions."

The companies are working together to simplify the deployment and configuration of VoIP in enterprises to minimize human error and maximize business continuity.

About Mitel
Mitel is a market leader for voice, video, and data convergence over broadband networks. With a focus on the user experience, the company delivers advanced communications solutions that are easily customized for individual business needs. Mitel solutions extend from intuitive desktop appliances and applications through to Applications & Services Gateways that enable business process integration and enhancement. Customers are provided with innovative ways to leverage their resources and migrate to the benefits of IP communications at their own pace. Mitel is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada with offices, partners, and resellers worldwide. For more information please visit www.mitel.com.

About Foundry Networks

Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY) is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security and Web traffic management solutions, including Layer 2/3 LAN switches, Layer 3 Backbone switches, Layer 4-7 application switches, wireless LAN and access points, metro routers and core routers. Foundry's customers include the world's premier ISPs, metro service providers, and enterprises, including e-commerce sites, universities, entertainment, health and wellness, government, financial and manufacturing companies. For more information about the company and its products, call 1.888.TURBOLAN or visit www.foundrynet.com.

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