STEVE TRIPLETT JOINS VITAL NETWORK SERVICES AS VICE PRESIDENT OF FIELD OPERATIONS

TAMPA, Fla. -- June 26, 2006 -- VITAL Network Services, Inc., a multivendor provider of network lifecycle services, today announced that Steve Triplett has joined the company as its new Vice President of Field Operations.  In this position, which reports directly to John Koehler, VITAL’s president and CEO, Steve will hold responsibility for the management of VITAL’s field service organization including VITAL’s field engineers, dedicated onsite engineers and a network of Authorized Service Providers.  Additionally, he will be responsible for VITAL’s Repair and Manufacturing Center located in Irvine, CA. 

Steve possesses an extensive background in creating, implementing and managing customer and technical support organizations within the voice, data, VoIP, and video marketplaces.  Prior to joining VITAL, Steve held a variety of executive management positions with Avaya including VP of Technology, VP of Managed Services, VP, Avaya University, and VP of Technical Services.  As Avaya’s VP of Managed Services, Steve was responsible for the leadership of a $2 billion service P&L with 6,000 associates throughout the world.  As Avaya’s VP of Technical Services, Steve led and managed seven global customer/technical support and network operation centers.  While under his leadership, Avaya saw field technician productivity improve, remote technical resolution increase and customer service levels climb.  Earlier in his career, Steve held executive management positions at top telecommunications service-related corporations including Octel, Concert/British Telecom, AT&T Paradyne, and IBM.  Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Management from Southwest Missouri State University.  Additionally, he has completed the Columbia University Executive Management Program. 

“VITAL’s excellent reputation for delivering high quality service to their customers and their team’s dedication and energy made joining VITAL an easy choice for me,” said Steve Triplett.  “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead and further enhance the capabilities delivered by VITAL.”

“I am excited about Steve’s decision to join VITAL,” said John Koehler, president and CEO of VITAL Network Services, Inc.  “Steve brings a wealth of management talent and service experience to VITAL and will be a tremendous asset to our team.”

About VITAL Network Services, Inc.
VITAL Network Services, an independent, multivendor service and support provider headquartered in Tampa, Florida, delivers industry-leading network support services to large enterprise customers, network equipment manufacturers, integrators, value-added resellers, distributors, and carriers. The company’s comprehensive portfolio of traditional LAN/WAN internetworking, IP Telephony, and managed broadband-based VPN solutions helps customers realize the full value of their network investment by addressing all facets of the network lifecycle including network design and planning, integration, maintenance, and proactive monitoring. VITAL’s ubiquitous field engineering force enables the company to deliver onsite support services to nearly any zip code within North America.

More information about VITAL and its services is available online at http://www.vital-ns.com, or by calling 1-888-248-4825.

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