China Construction Bank chooses Polycom for nationwide video conferencing networkBEIJING, China and PLEASANTON, Calif. , Nov. 25, 2002 -- Polycom®, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) a worldwide leader in interactive voice, video, data and web communications, today announced that China Construction Bank (CCB), one of China's top four state-owned commercial banks, has announced the completion of a nationwide video conferencing network built using Polycom video endpoints and video infrastructure systems. The new network, which links regional offices in 38 provincial capitals, will be used to improve operating efficiency and speed face-to-face communications between executives at the CCB's Beijing headquarters and those in the capitals. CCB is one of China's biggest lenders, operating tens of thousands of branches and sub-branches across the country. Prior to the video deployment, executives from different branches traveled long distances to headquarters for reporting, and officers from the headquarters also spent significant time and money on business travel. CCB's video deployment has improved operating efficiency and saved daily expenses. A spokesman from the bank estimated that nearly RMB10 million has been saved on business travel with the implementation of the new system. "We have been quite pleased with Polycom's professional technical support and services," he said. "We conducted wide-ranging market research and evaluated products and services from various vendors. We identified Polycom as having superior advantages and selected their technology for its mature, reliable, user-friendly functionality, as well as high penetration rates in China and overseas markets with countless successful implementations," he added. CCB's video conferencing network is based on a high-speed Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) backbone and the company has deployed twelve Polycom ViewStation® FX set-top video solutions and 44 Polycom VS4000 rack-mounted systems as part of the solution. These are connected to two Polycom MGC video multipoint control units (MCUs), allowing multiple parties to participate in a video conference and be displayed simultaneously. The ViewStation FX and VS4000 provide TV-quality video for the most demanding video communications needs. The systems support both public and private network conferencing up to four sites at 384Kbps with continuous presence and can stream meetings over an intranet or the Internet to broaden the audience to anyone in the world with a browser-equipped PC. The Polycom MGC-100 MCU is an industry leading platform, capable of providing video, voice, web and data conferencing over multiple networks including those based on Internet Protocol (IP) and ISDN. Advanced features in the unit include continuous presence, which allows users to view multiple sites on the screen at the same time, making video conference meetings seem more like face-to-face meetings. The system also allows user to dynamically modify their multipoint video call depending on the meeting. "We are pleased that China Construction Bank, one of the most influential banks in China, has chosen Polycom's ViewStation and MGC video communications solutions for its deployment. This partnership further signifies that we have gained customer recognition for our quality offerings and services in China - a key market for Polycom," said Leo Cortjens, Polycom's Asia-Pacific vice president. "We are committed to providing advanced end-to-end products to more China users, helping them to capture enormous business opportunities anytime, anywhere." About China Construction Bank In recent years, CCB has consolidated its traditional competitive advantage in financing infrastructure and basic industries, such as highway, railway, telecommunication, power network, and urban construction. Large and profitable enterprises remain CCB's key clients, while the company has also increased lending business to medium- and small-sized companies with strong growth prospects. Now CCB has signed up nearly 500 large- and medium-sized enterprises to provide them with a package of comprehensive financial services, and joined efforts with over 10 very large companies to set up nationwide sales settlement networks. As a part of its efforts to improve its overall asset quality, CCB also expanded successfully its financial services into information products and service-related industries as well as other fast-growing sectors, thus resulting in higher profitability. Remarkable achievements have also been made in its retail consumer banking business. For detailed information about China Construction Bank, please visit Construction Bank's website at www.ccb.com.cn. About Polycom ### Polycom and the Polycom logo are registered trademarks and The Polycom Office is trademark of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. ©2002, Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. This release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including the potential fluctuations in results and future growth rates, the market acceptance of the company's products, possible delays in the development and shipment of new products and risks associated with changes in general economic conditions. Further risks are detailed from time to time in Polycom's SEC reports, including the Form 10-K, for 2001, and subsequent Form 10-Q filings.
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