Graybar’s 280+ offices nationwide give government agencies easy, local access to Allied Telesyn’s huge portfolio of GSA-scheduled networking products

Bothell, WA and Clayton, MO, April 10, 2000 - Allied Telesyn International (www.alliedtelesyn.com), a worldwide leader in simplifying networking for businesses of all sizes, and Graybar, a leading national independent distributor of communications and data products, announced today that Graybar has signed-on to distribute and support the products covered under Allied Telesyn’s General Services Administration (GSA) contract. This agreement makes it possible for government customers to purchase any of Allied Telesyn’s GSA-scheduled networking – most all of the company’s portfolio of networking products – through any of Graybar’s more than 280 local offices around the United States according to Allied Telesyn’s pre-set GSA pricing and terms, eliminating the need to put commodity network hardware purchases out to bid.

"Graybar has been one of our top reselling partners – we’re thrilled to extend that longstanding partnership to include our federal government, GSA-scheduled business," said Vince Ricco, Allied Telesyn’s Senior Vice President of North American Sales. "Graybar’s nationwide presence, in combination with our comprehensive GSA schedule, will help to simplify the procurement process for our federal government customers, thereby making our broad range of reliable, affordable networking products more accessible to them."

"We’re excited about the opportunities our initiative provides us. Allied Telesyn will be a key partner for us moving forward as we expand our sales efforts with the government agencies," said Rob Bezjak, National Market Manager for Graybar. "We believe that the strength of our more than 280 domestic sales offices and the solid base of product knowledge that we have built over our years as an Allied Telesyn reseller will move us quickly to our goal of becoming a major supplier of Allied Telesyn networking products to the U.S. federal government."

Graybar’s participation in Allied Telesyn’s GSA Partner Program is effective immediately. For more information on the GSA-scheduled products and services available to government customers through this alliance, or to locate the Graybar office nearest you, visit Graybar’s Website at www.graybar.com, or phone the company at 1-800-GRAYBAR . Further information is also available on Allied Telesyn’s Website at www.alliedtelesyn.com.

About Graybar

Graybar, a Fortune 500 employee-owned company established in 1869, is a leading national independent distributor of communications and data products. Representing thousands of manufacturers in the United Stated, Graybar distributes more than 1.1 million products and components and provides valuable distribution services for resellers and other customers. For more information call 1-800-GRAYBAR (1-800-472-9227).