EZENIA! Encounter 3000 Drives Successful Distance Learning Programs in U.S. and Around the World

BURLINGTON, Mass – Sept. 19, 2000 – Ezenia! Inc. (NASDAQ: EZEN), a leading provider of real-time collaboration solutions for corporate networks and eBusiness, today announced a series of successful deployments of its Encounter 3000, a family of real-time collaboration solutions, by educational institutions seeking to enhance their distance learning programs.

Wright State University, the 15-university Italian consortium Cineca, and the Jackson (Miss.) Public School system are among the early adopters of Encounter 3000 for distance learning programs. These educational institutions are all using Encounter 3000 to improve the way dispersed groups interact by allowing users to transform their networks into collaborative meeting places where they can communicate voice-to-voice, face-to-face and in real-time.

Working with the Encounter 3000 product line has really helped us to move towards what we see as the future of education, said Marcine Ray, director of instructional technology for the Jackson Public School District. Were now able to share the teaching of our leading educators, develop lesson plans and course offerings across the school district and join in educational programs with other schools across the nation and around the world.

With applications for both the business and educational worlds, Encounter 3000 brings people together to participate dynamically in real-time collaboration sessions and to conduct “face-to-face” meetings sharing voice, video and data with associates all over the world.

This product line is designed to help people share information and by its very nature brings real benefits to educational institutions at many different levels, said Khoa Nguyen, chairman and CEO of Ezenia! Inc. Schools and universities are always looking for ways to expand the influence of their finest instructors and bring teachers and students together to help improve the learning process. Encounter 3000 provides a vehicle to make those connections happen.

In Mississippi’s Jackson Public School District, Ezenia! and its partner, VTEL, are helping to bring a new level of innovation and excellence to the learning environment. At 21 sites — including all middle schools and high schools — the district is using the Encounter 3000 platform for real-time collaboration. The solution has made it possible for the district to share course offerings and master teachers among schools, participate in international educational programs, deliver teacher training to remote sites, and provide equal educational opportunities for all students.

CINECA, a consortium of 15 Italian universities, provides advanced computing and networking services to institutions and corporations throughout Italy. CINECA successfully deployed Encounter NetServer and NetGate technology to conduct remote meetings, deliver distance learning, and enable multi-team project collaboration.

The Center for Learning at Wright State University deployed Encounter 3000 NetServer and Encounter 3000 NetGate in June to connect to the State of Ohio Education Network for both video-conferencing and distance learning applications. Wright State is operating a 24-port MCU from 11 endpoints on campus.

Weve found the Encounter 3000 series to be a very effective way for us to help improve communication on our campus and to the State Education Network, said Andy Montesano, associate director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Wright State. The quality of the voice and video is remarkable, and the ability to share documents and presentations will be an enhancement to our distance learning program.

The Encounter product family includes:

• Encounter 1000 NetServer: Encounter 1000 is the newest member of the Encounter family of real-time collaboration products. Encounter 1000 NetServer is a software-based product that runs on a standard Windows NT Server, providing users a cost-effective collaboration server designed for small enterprises and workgroups.

• Encounter 3000 NetServer: Real-time collaboration server designed to support the largest enterprise customers. The Encounter 3000 NetServer is a complete solution that includes Ezenia! hardware making it one of the most scalable solutions available today.

• Encounter 3000 NetGate: Gateway solution that allows traditional videoconferencing systems to participate in IP-based collaboration sessions.

About Ezenia! Inc.

Ezenia! Inc. (NASDAQ: EZEN) is the leading provider of real-time collaboration solutions for corporate networks and eBusinesses. Founded in 1991 and a pioneer in multimedia conferencing, the companys award-winning Encounter family of IP-based products integrate voice, video and data collaboration, allowing groups to interact through a natural meeting experience regardless of geographic distance. Dispersed teams using Encounter products are able to work together effectively and disseminate vital information quickly. Ezenia! Interactivity will enable corporations and online consumer communities to add real-time voice interactivity to their Web sites, adding life to the Internet and allowing corporations to enhance customer service. More information about Ezenia! Inc. and its product offerings can be found at the companys Web site, www.ezenia.com.

Contact Info:

Meghan Finnerty

Ezenia! Inc.

781-505-2188

mfinnerty@ezenia.com

Ken Peters

PAN Communications

978-474-1900

kpeters@pancomm.com

Note To Investors

Statements included herein that are not historical facts may include forward-looking statements. Such forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including the evolution of Ezenia!s market, dependence on major customers, rapid technological change and competition, all as discussed further in the Managements Discussion and Analysis section of the Companys 1999 Annual Report to Shareholders as incorporated by reference into the Companys 10-K. Copies of this report, the 1999 Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or other publicly available financial information may be received at no charge by contacting Investor Relations at Ezenia!.