Company Contact:
Bill Schultz
Transition Networks
(952) 996-1573
bills@transition.com Editorial Contact: Kim
Miller
KLM Public Relations Inc.
(617) 610-0583
klmcomm@hotmail.com Transition Networks Offers Complete Family of Power over Ethernet Media Converters
Roundout of Family Now Supplies Power to Wireless and Remote Applications Minneapolis, MN ― Dec. 15,
2004 ― The conversion technology expert, Transition Networks Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Communications Systems Inc., today announced the latest additions to
the family of Power over Ethernet (PoE) media converters. The complete line now enables
customers to power wireless and remote applications. The PoE suite includes fully compliant
IEEE 802.3af media converters for either 100-Base or 10-Base copper to fiber products and can
be powered by AC circuits or DC circuits worldwide. The PoE family of media converters are
designed for applications where the electrical
current to power each device needs to be carried by data cables rather than by power
cords. It is already widely used to power wireless access points, Internet/promo Kiosks,
voice over IP phones, and remote network cameras
Transition’s AC powered PoE media converters operate in two modes: IEEE 802.3af compliant
mode and Legacy mode. In the IEEE 802.3af Mode the converter combines data received over a
fiber optic link with –48VDC power, and delivers power to Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) Power
Devices (PD) over unshielded twisted pair cable. The converters include PD signature
sensing and power monitoring features compliant with the IEEE 802.3af standard. Such
features include Over-Current Protection, Under-Current Detection and Fault Protection Input.
The PoE converter is capable of inserting power on either the spare pairs or data pairs of the MDI
In the “legacy mode” PoE can be configured for reverse polarity, 12 VDC, 24 VDC, or 48 VDC power
insertion, as well as for other non-IEEE 802.3AF compatible power devices. These products also
include Transition’s premium selectable features such as Autonegotiation, Autocross, Link Pass Through,
Far End Fault and Pause. “Our family of PoE media converters
help our customers fight the battle of the 100 meters distance limitation in the PoE
applications. The PoE media converters extend the distance to 20km and offer the benefits
of PoE at the remote location. We are filling a major gap in our customers’ networks,” said
Bill Schultz, vice president of marketing at Transition Networks.
Product Configuration and Availability
With this announcement, four major product lines are available immediately –
AC powered 10Mbps, AC powered 100Mbps, DC powered 10Mbps, and DC powered 100Mbps
POE media converters. The 10Mbps PoE converters start at $450.00 and the 100Mbps
converters starts at $695.00.
Please contact Transition Networks at (800) 526-9267 or www.transition.com for
additional information.
About Transition Networks Products
Transition Networks' conversion products are known for their ruggedness and
reliability. They have a 99.4 percent customer acceptance rating, meaning
that approximately one in 1,000 experience failure in the field. All
Transition products carry a lifetime warranty. About Transition Networks Inc.
Transition Networks Inc. offers networking connectivity solutions that make
the conversion between disparate media types possible. The company designs
and markets these media conversion technologies across a broad spectrum of
networking protocols including Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, ATM, Gigabit
Ethernet, T1/E1, DS3,and more. The company works alongside leading networking
vendors - Nortel Networks, Hewlett Packard, 3COM, Cisco, Enterasys, Extreme,
Foundry, Avaya and others - to provide conversion technology solutions that
offer the necessary adaptations without affecting the performance, nature or
appearance of the network to the users or the network devices. Based in
Minneapolis, Transition Networks distributes hardware-based connectivity
solutions exclusively through a network of resellers in 50 countries,
including Ingram Micro and Tech Data. Transition Networks is a wholly owned
subsidiary of
Communications Systems, Inc.,
a publicly traded company
(AMEX: JCS)
.
Statements regarding the Company's anticipated performance
in 2004 are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties,
including but not limited to: competitive products and other factors
discussed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. | 
