VITAL NETWORK SERVICES ANNOUNCES NEWLY FORMED BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Board Members Offer Breadth of Experience and Knowledge in the Networking Arena

CLEARWATER, Florida -- May 6, 2002 -- VITAL Network Services, Inc., a multi-vendor provider of worldwide network lifecycle services, today announced that Paul Ferri, John Koehler and Carl Russo will make-up the company's newly formed Board of Directors.

"I am excited about the opportunities on the horizon for VITAL and believe we have selected a very strong group of individuals to serve on the Board," said John Koehler, president and CEO of VITAL Network Services. "Having served as a director for numerous public and private companies in the telecommunications and networking industry, Paul Ferri will contribute a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Board. Additionally, Carl Russo's real-world experience in building successful networking companies coupled with his vision and understanding of the market trends and direction will prove invaluable as we position the company for future growth."

About Paul Ferri
Paul Ferri, a venture capitalist for more than 30 years, is the founding partner of both Matrix Partners and Hellman Ferri Investment Associates. In February of 2001, Forbes magazine selected Ferri as one of the Top 20 Venture Investors of all time and the "Best VC in Boston." Additionally, the family of Matrix Partnerships has achieved industry record-setting returns over the last decade. Paul serves or previously served as a director of Applix, Inc., ArrowPoint Communications, Inc., Ascend Communications, Inc., Atria Software, Inc. Banctec, Inc., Bytex Corp., Cascade Communications Corporation, Codex Corporation, Paradyne Corporation, Redstone Communications, Inc., Sonus Networks, Inc., Stratus Computer, Inc., Sycamore Networks, Inc., VideoServer, Inc., Xyplex Inc., and numerous other private companies.

He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia University, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Polytechnic Institute of New York, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Cornell University.

About John Koehler
John Koehler is President and Chief Executive Officer of VITAL Network Services. Prior to joining VITAL in January 2002, John led Paradyne Network's DSL product and worldwide service teams as Senior Vice President and General Manager - DSL Products and Worldwide Service. From 1993 until 1999, Koehler served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director for TechForce Corporation, a publicly-traded data networking service company. During his tenure at TechForce, John grew the company's customer base from two primary customers to over 1000, producing an increase in revenues from $9 million in 1993 to annual revenues of over $90 million when it was sold to Equant Integration Services in August of 1999.

During his 35 years in the networking industry, John Koehler has also served in various mangement and executive management positions with BT North America, Syncordia Corporation, Paradyne Corporation, and IBM Corporation.

John received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri and has attended the IBM Program for Executives at Colgate University, IBM Systems Research Institute in New York City, the Financial Management Program at The Wharton School, the Harvard/MIT Executive Negotiations Program, and the Crosby Quality College.

About Carl Russo
Carl Russo serves as the Vice President of the Optical Networking Business Unit at Cisco Systems. Prior to Cisco, Russo was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cerent Corporation, which was acquired by Cisco Systems.

Carl has over 20 years of experience in the data networking industry. Before joining Cerent, he was the Chief Operating Officer at Xircom and was responsible for the sales, marketing, development and manufacturing of Xircom products. Russo also worked with AT&T Paradyne, Inc., where he was Vice President and General Manager, Data Networking Products Division.

Additionally, Carl Russo held executive management positions at Network Systems Corporation as Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Channel Networking Group. During that time, he was responsible for four business units with total revenues of $165 million. Russo attended Swarthmore College.

About VITAL Network Services
VITAL Network Services, a global multi-vendor, multi-technology support provider, delivers world-class network support services to large enterprise customers, network equipment manufacturers, integrators, value-added resellers, distributors, and carriers around the world. VITAL's comprehensive portfolio of data, voice, and video network services helps customers realize the full value of their network by addressing all facets of the network lifecycle including network design and planning, integration, training, maintenance, and proactive monitoring. With its own technical staff and over 200 authorized service partners located throughout the world, VITAL provides on-site service in more than 60 countries across six continents.

VITAL is headquartered in the United States and maintains sales and support organizations throughout the world. More information about VITAL and its services is available at www.vital-ns.com, or by calling 1-888-248-4825 (U.S. and Canada) or +1-813-818-5100 worldwide.

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