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Leading French bank goes live with Madge DeskStream™ switches

Crédit Agricole Centre France implements 32 switches to dramatically increase existing Token Ring network performance

Wexham Springs, UNITED KINGDOM (January 3, 2002) - Madge Networks N.V. (NASDAQ NM: MADGF) has announced that Crédit Agricole Centre France - the leading French bank - has gone live with an upgraded Token Ring network that includes 32 Madge Smart DeskStream switches. Crédit Agricole Centre France is now able to take advantage of increased bandwidth for all of its desktop PCs, increasing performance and improving network efficiency. The company chose Madge Networks' solutions because it was the only provider that could upgrade and maximize its existing Token Ring network investment in the same price range as Ethernet equipment.

With the Madge Networks' switches in place, Crédit Agricole has dramatically increased bandwidth to each desktop from shared 4/16Mbps to 16Mbps Full Duplex. This provides greater speed, network efficiency and reliability, and enables the company to use new, higher bandwidth applications. The Madge DeskStream switches are fully compatible with Crédit Agricole's existing infrastructure and have allowed the company to improve performance and maximize its existing investment.

J.C. Siauve, Telecom Manager, Crédit Agricole Centre France commented: "Our challenge lay in finding a scalable solution in the same price range as Ethernet equipment. The Madge DeskStream solution is unique in the Token Ring market. It is an innovative, easy to implement and attractively priced product that is compatible with our existing equipment.

"We initially implemented 18 Madge Networks switches but then expanded the project with another phase implementation for 14 additional DeskStream switches. Our collaboration with Madge Networks has been very positive and we are very impressed with the Madge solutions and the immediate benefits they offer to Crédit Agricole Centre France. We will be looking to work with Madge for future projects. The best-of-breed Madge Networks products have been installed at two Crédit Agricole Centre France buildings located in Clermont Ferrans, France, including the company's headquarters where 15 switches are being used to power 300 desktops," J.C. Siauve added.

About Crédit Agricole Centre France

Crédit Agricole Centre France is a market-leading bank in four French districts - Puy-de-Dóme, Allier, Creuse and Corréze - and has 1,850 employees. In 1999, Crédit Agricole Centre France had 45.1 per cent of the banking market shares and is one of the top regional banks of the Crédit Agricole bank grouping.

About Madge Networks N.V.

Madge Networks N.V. (NASDAQ NM: MADGF) is a global supplier of advanced networking product solutions to large enterprises, and is the market leader in Token Ring. Madge is pioneering next generation networking solutions, which enable the painless deployment of 100Mbps and Gigabit speed IP-based applications within existing corporate networks while protecting customers' investments in Token Ring. Madge Networks also has an associate company, Red-M™, a leading supplier of wireless networking product solutions. The Company's main business centers are located in Wexham Springs, United Kingdom and New York, USA. Information about Madge's complete range of products and services can be accessed at www.Madge.com.

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Statement

Investors should take note that certain statements in this press release are forward-looking and may not give full weight to all of the potential risks (e.g. difficulty of developing high technology products, changing industry standards, competition, the challenge of managing expenses to changing revenue and changed priorities and resource allocation resulting from these and other factors). Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements that refer to the dramatic increase in existing Token Ring performance from shared 4/16Mbps Full Duplex, the increased bandwidth, performance and improvement in network efficiency, the greater reliability enabling the use of new, higher bandwidth applications, the full compatability with Crédit Agricole's existing infrastructure and other statements, which are not completely historical. Actual results, actions or events could differ materially. For more information on risk factors, please refer to Madge's SEC filings.

Madge Networks, Madge Networks, the Madge logo, and Smart DeskStream are trademarks, and in some jurisdictions may be registered trademarks of Madge Networks or its affiliated companies. Red-M is a trademark, and in some jurisdictions may be a registered trademark of Red-M (Communications) Limited. Other trademarks in this document are the property of their respective owners.

For further information, please contact:

In the UK:
Simon Drennan
Madge Networks
Tel: +44 1753 661 000
Email: simon.drennan@madge.com In the UK:

Simon Gribbon
IBA, PR for Madge Networks
Tel: +44 1780 721 433
sgribbon@iba-europe.com

(Thursday, 03 January, 2002 )

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