AOL NETWORKS ANNOUNCES FIELD TRIAL OF LUCENT AND
                 ROCKWELL "K56FLEX" MODEM TECHNOLOGY
Dulles, VA, April 9, 1997 - AOL Networks, a subsidiary of America
Online, Inc. (NYSE:AOL), along with Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU),
Rockwell (NYSE: ROK), and Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASND)
today announced that they will conduct a field trial of the Lucent and
Rockwell K56flex (tm) high-speed 56 kilobits per second modem
technology.  The K56flex technology has the potential to provide
online service and Internet connections at speeds nearly twice as fast
as those currently available over standard telephone lines.
The field trial will take place in selected cities, available to AOL
members with modems that support the K56flex technology.  They are
scheduled to begin early this summer, upon completion of internal
testing.
"By supporting K56flex and other leading high-speed technologies, AOL
is working to ensure for our members the fastest and most reliable
connections available anywhere," said Matt Korn, AOL Networks Senior
Vice President for Operations.  "We believe that the K56flex
technology is another important step toward developing one common
standard for Internet online services and providing more seamless
access for our approximately 8 million members."
"The majority of today's home personal computer users connect to
Internet online services using modem products manufactured from
Rockwell chipsets," said Vijay Parikh, vice president and general
manager, Rockwell Semiconductor Systems.  "As a result, AOL is
endorsing the high-speed technology we expect will be broadly
supported by their subscriber base." "PCs from Compaq, IBM,
Hewlett-Packard and other PC manufacturers will now be able to connect
to the largest private dial-up network in the world at speeds up to
56kbps," said Bob Rango, general manager of modem ICs for Lucent
Technologies' Microelectronics Group.  "These PC manufacturers rank
among the largest in the world and use Lucent modem chipsets."
"Ascend and AOL have been working together to provide a world class
Internet network and the best possible service to AOL's customers,"
commented Mory Ejabat, president and CEO of Ascend Communications.
"Ascend will provide the K56flex-compatible central site equipment
that will enable AOL's network to support their customers with K56flex
connectivity."
Upon the completion of the field trials, AOL will begin deploying the
K56flex modem in approximately 175 AOLnet markets.  With over 275,000
modems in more than 540 cities, AOLnet is the world's largest private
dial-up network, with the capacity to support the full range of
leading modem technology.  The installations of the K56flex modem will
be achieved over the section of AOLnet managed by BBN Corporation
(NYSE: BBN), equipping the Ascend Communications Max 4000 remote
access server equipment, already deployed in AOL's network, with
K56flex modems.
About The K56flex Protocol
K56flex is a technology developed by Lucent Technologies and Rockwell
Semiconductor Systems -- two of the world's leading manufacturers of
modem chips -- to ensure interoperability between their 56K modem
technologies.  K56flex is a protocol allowing Lucent's V.flex2
technology and Rockwell's K56Plus technology to interoperate.
The K56flex modem technology allows up to 56kbps speeds over standard
telephone lines.  By allowing downstream speeds of up to 56kbps,
K56flex significantly speeds the delivery of information.
Graphics-intensive web pages, audio and video, and files will download
at almost twice the rate of the prevailing 28.8K standard.
Rockwell Resumes Shipment of K56flex Chipsets
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. April 9,1997 --
Rockwell Semiconductor Systems today announced that it has
resumed shipment of K56flex modem chipsets. Production
ramp-up for these chipsets had been delayed for approximately
two weeks so that Rockwell could implement identified
software enhancements that improve modem performance in
selected network configurations. During the brief delay,
Rockwell implemented and tested enhancements to versions of
its client-side K56flex modem chipsets, and the company is
now resuming full volume production and shipment of these
products.
Rockwell reconfirmed that its software upgradeable "central
site" modem chipsets, which are employed in communications
network equipment and utilized by Internet service providers,
have remained on schedule during this period, and have now
also entered volume production.
          Editorial contacts:
           Eileen Algaze
           Media manager
           (714) 221-6849
           eileen.algaze@nb.rockwell.com
           RSS Web Site: http://www.nb.rockwell.com/
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