Patton completes acquisition of Digi International's Datafire-RAS business and starts shipments.

Gaithersburg, MD - December 5, 2001 - Patton Electronics Company, a leading manufacturer of remote network access products today announced the first shipments of DataFire RAS products after completing a transaction to acquire Digi International's Datafire RAS business.

Patton's acquisition of the Datafire RAS business from Digi will have minimal impact on customers. Both companies have committed to a seamless transfer of the business from Digi to Patton, so that it take place without disrupting customer service, supply chain, or support infrastructures.

Patton started the process of moving the manufacturing of the Datafire RAS products into Patton's facility in Gaithersburg just hours after the transaction was closed on November 30, 2001.

"Patton has moved very fast to support the customers who depend on the Datafire products. We started shipping backorders immediately after the closing and we don't anticipate any major gaps in product availability," said Steve Schrader, V.P. of Manufacturing for Patton Electronics.

"Patton is seeing strong demand for RAS products from both the Carrier and Enterprise sectors of the market," said Burton A. Patton, Executive Vice President of Patton Electronics. "The Datafire RAS products complement Patton's chassis-based RAS products that are used by most Internet Service Providers and we anticipate strong demand for these server-based RAS products in the banking, government, industrial and enterprise market segments," said Patton.

Patton's chassis-based RAS product family, which scales from 16 to 120 ports and comes in the industry's highest-density 1U chassis, addresses the dial-up and DSL needs for Carrier, ISP, and co-location customers who are deploying IP services.

The DataFire RAS is a scalable server-based remote access concentrator for analog and digital connections. The DataFire family of digital signal processor (DSP) based RAS concentrator adapters provides the widest compatibility and most powerful performance available in a PCI RAS card. The DataFire RAS steps up to demanding server-based applications including modem pooling, remote access, advanced fax, and branch office internetworking. Supporting densities from 8 to 60 ports in a single PCI slot, the DataFire can also be upgraded for additional capacity as needed. The DataFire RAS supports a full range of connections, from medium-density Basic Rate Interface (BRI) ISDN, to high-density T1/E1 and Primary Rate Interface (PRI) ISDN. Multiple DataFire RAS PCI cards can be installed in a single server, so capacity can be added as the requirements grow.

About Digi International
Digi International, based in Minneapolis, is the leader in Connectware™ wired and wireless, hardware and software connectivity solutions. Digi markets its products through a global network of distributors and resellers, systems integrators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

About Patton
Patton Electronics Company is a U.S. manufacturer and marketer of Network Access and Connectivity products, including Remote Access Products (V.92,V.90, K56Flex, V.34+, and ISDN dial-in), Last Mile/Local Loop Access Products (T1, E1, and xDSL modems, NTUs and CSU/DSUs), Multi-Service Access Products (Voice, Intranet, Extranet, and Frame Relay access), and Connectivity Products (interface converters, short range modems, multiplexers, and data line surge protectors). Patton Electronics is an ISO 9001 certified and BABT approved manufacturer. Patton products are CE marked.

For more information or to request a free datacom catalog visit Patton's web side at www.patton.com or call 1-301-975-1000.

Patton Contacts:
Burton A. Patton, Executive Vice President
1-301-975-1000 or [email protected]

Christopher Christner, Director of Marketing Communications
1-301-975-1000 or [email protected]