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Page 1: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications
Page 2: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

   Dear Stockholders, 

I am pleased to invite you to attend the annual meeting of stockholders of Ribbon Communications Inc. on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. Our meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time at the offices of Latham & Watkins LLP, located at 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA 02116. 

As Ribbon’s President and Chief Executive Officer, I am dedicated to driving long‐term stockholder value. The Company seeks to achieve sustainable performance that creates value through the right business strategies, prudent management and  cost  discipline,  well‐functioning  talent  management  and  effective  corporate  governance.1    I  appreciate  this opportunity to address our stockholders and would like to highlight a few areas of particular significance for Ribbon this past year. 

2018 – A Year of Transformation  

I  am  pleased  with  the  Company’s  progress  during  2018.  We  exceeded  our  strategic  and  financial  objectives  while substantially  completing  the  integration of  two  former  industry‐leading companies  into one cohesive, global  software business.   The Company continued to successfully execute against our four strategic pillars of (1)  investing in our core products, (2) broadening our solutions offerings to our global installed base, (3) expanding into adjacent markets and (4) achieving scale through acquisitions, alliances and organic growth.  We brought new, innovative real‐time communications software products to the market and streamlined our existing product portfolio, while more than doubling the adjusted EBITDA profitability of our company from the prior year. 

We extended our leadership in virtualized software solutions and expanded our addressable enterprise market.  In August, Ribbon  acquired  Edgewater  Networks  and,  in  combination  with  our  organic  session  software  products,  we  were recognized as the market share leader in enterprise session border controllers during the third quarter of 2018 by leading market research firm IHS Markit.   Furthermore, the Company was subsequently recognized as having the  largest total market share for session border controllers for the fourth quarter of 2018 by independent market research firm Exact Ventures, with a 20 percent revenue market share.  I am pleased that our investment in the higher‐growing enterprise market  is driving  increased adoption of our  session software solutions by enterprises  from all market  sectors as  they evolve and modernize their data and voice network capabilities.  

We continued  to build  strategic  relationships with existing Tier 1 global  service providers and  large enterprises while investing in and expanding our software‐based solutions portfolio.  The Company strengthened partnerships with leading cloud providers and software vendors which further reinforced our ability to deliver the digital software solutions that our customers are demanding.  

Some 2018 highlights included: 

x We deployed a virtualized, software‐based Session Border Controller as a Service (SBCaaS) solution with Verizon.  The Verizon SBCaaS, powered by Ribbon, enables enterprises to dynamically respond to seasonal demands in a truly elastic operating expense model, helping them better manage their costs, adjust to changing business needs, and reduce their reliance on dedicated network hardware and potential points of network failure.  

x Our  industry‐leading virtualized session software solution – known as  the SWe product – now has over 1,500 systems deployed at customers ranging from Tier 1 service providers to medium‐sized enterprises. 

Page 3: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

__________________________ 1   Please refer to the inside back cover for Important Information Regarding Forward‐Looking Statements. 

x We successfully brought to market our next‐generation security and analytics software platform, Ribbon Protect.  The solution is fully operational at a Tier 1 service provider in Japan – Softbank – and also deployed in numerous other carrier and enterprise customers.  

x Our market‐leading session border controllers were selected by Microsoft as one of two vendors to deliver secure, integrated voice services from Office 365’s newest offering, Microsoft Direct Routing for Teams.  

x We completed one of  the  largest VoIP  (Voice over  Internet Protocol) deployments  in  the U.S. Department of Defense's history, migrating more than 60,000 users to our Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC)‐certified Unified Communications (UC) technology. 

x We also entered into an agreement with the City of Los Angeles, which includes more than 40 departments and 50,000‐plus employees, to upgrade the city’s UC capabilities and voicemail system with our Kandy cloud software, replacing its legacy PBX and key systems with state‐of‐the‐art, cloud‐based Kandy Unified Communications‐as‐a‐Service (UCaaS) capabilities. 

x We continued to make progress on various significant deployments of our network interconnect solutions.  We currently have billions of minutes of mobile traffic per month running on these solutions in large service provider networks.  

Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance 

We are dedicated to serving our customers and the communities in which we operate. Fulfilling this commitment dictates that we build a vibrant, innovative organization that satisfies our customers’ needs and delivers value to our stockholders.  Effectively addressing environmental, social and governance issues is a key part of building long‐term stockholder value.  We seek to maintain sound business practices that are designed to earn customer trust and support and maintain the highest level of legal and ethical conduct on the part of our employees, are respectful to our employees and to reward them for their hard work, ingenuity and creativity, and minimize the impact of our business on the environment.   

Looking Forward to 2019 

Ribbon is a leader in enabling network modernization through next generation software, and we plan to continue to invest in our software solutions platform approach to increase our global reach and scale. We aim to enable service providers and enterprises to significantly expand their software‐enabled real‐time communications (RTC) environments to provide better, more agile end‐customer experiences that contain their operational and capital expenditure costs.  By doing so, we believe we will sustain our industry‐leading position and succeed in our market.  

The Company entered 2019 with a much stronger software product  line‐up, numerous new market opportunities and long‐term earnings momentum.  Our industry is evolving quickly toward more complete end‐to‐end software solutions, which we believe will bring both additional opportunities and challenges.  Our customers are facing new competitors and expect more agility and innovation from us. We have the next generation software products, relationships, worldwide distribution and the financial resources to meet these expectations and help our customers maintain and increase their dominance in the RTC value chain.  

Even as we continue to operate in a very difficult and competitive environment, we feel we are well positioned from a leadership,  employee,  solutions  and  support  perspective  to  capitalize  on  the market  opportunities  before  us  and  to continue the excellent momentum we established in 2018 by delivering value to our customers, partners and stockholders.  

Thank you for your continued support. 

Best regards, 

Franklin (Fritz) Hobbs President and Chief Executive Officer 

Page 4: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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26APR201818530800

RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.4 Technology Park Drive

Westford, MA 01886

April 25, 2019

Dear Fellow Stockholders:

We cordially invite you to the annual meeting of stockholders at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday,June 5, 2019, at the offices of Latham & Watkins LLP, located at 200 Clarendon Street, Boston,MA 02116. We look forward to personally greeting those stockholders who are able to be present atthe meeting. However, whether or not you plan to attend in person, it is important that your shares berepresented and voted at the annual meeting. Therefore, I urge you to promptly vote and submit yourproxy by signing, dating, and returning the enclosed proxy card in the enclosed envelope, whichrequires no postage if mailed in the United States, or provide voting instructions to your broker, bankor other nominee. If you decide to attend the annual meeting, you will be able to vote in person, evenif you have previously submitted your proxy. Every stockholder’s vote is important.

Thank you very much for your continued trust and confidence in Ribbon. Please remember tovote your shares at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Franklin (Fritz) W. HobbsPresident and Chief Executive Officer

Page 5: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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26APR201818531418

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS OFRIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.

Place: AGENDALatham & Watkins LLP • Election of eight directors named in the Proxy Statement200 Clarendon Street

• Approval of the Ribbon Communications Inc. 2019Boston, MA 02116Incentive Award Plan

Date:• Ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLPJune 5, 2019

as Ribbon Communications’ independent registered publicTime: accounting firm for 201910:00 a.m. Eastern time

• Approval, on a non-binding advisory basis, of thecompensation of our named executive officers

• Transaction of other business, if any, as may properly comebefore the meeting or any adjournment, continuation orpostponement thereof

Record Date: You can vote at, and are entitled to notice of, the annual meeting if you were astockholder of record on April 15, 2019.

If you are attending the meeting, you will be asked to present a valid, government-issued photoidentification, such as a driver’s license, as described in the Proxy Statement.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

Westford, Massachusetts Justin K. FergusonApril 25, 2019 Executive Vice President, General Counsel and

Corporate Secretary

Page 6: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . iINFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4PROPOSAL 1—ELECTION OF DIRECTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9PROPOSAL 2—APPROVAL OF THE RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC. 2019

INCENTIVE AWARD PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17PROPOSAL 3—RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT

REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29PROPOSAL 4—APPROVAL, ON A NON-BINDING, ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE

COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD MATTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40DIRECTOR COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF OUR COMMON STOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . 47TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR INCLUSION IN 2020 PROXY STATEMENT . . . . . . . 79STOCKHOLDER NOMINATIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR PRESENTATION AT 2020

ANNUAL MEETING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79STOCKHOLDERS SHARING THE SAME ADDRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79FORM 10-K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80OTHER MATTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80APPENDIX A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1APPENDIX B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

Page 7: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The accompanying Proxy Statement contains ‘‘forward-looking statements’’ within the meaningof the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to a number of risksand uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in the accompanyingProxy Statement, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position,business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations and plans for futureproduct development and manufacturing, are forward-looking statements. Without limiting theforegoing, the words ‘‘anticipates’’, ‘‘believes’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘estimates’’, ‘‘expects’’, ‘‘intends’’, ‘‘may’’,‘‘plans’’, ‘‘seeks’’, ‘‘projects’’, ‘‘will’’ and other similar language, whether in the negative or affirmative,are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statementscontain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations andassumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-lookingstatements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes incircumstances that are difficult to predict. Our actual results could differ materially from thoseanticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limitedto: our ability to realize benefits from acquisitions; the effects of disruptions resulting from acquisitions,making it more difficult to maintain relationships with employees, customers or business partners; thetiming of customer purchasing decisions and our recognition of revenues; economic conditions; ourability to recruit and retain key personnel; difficulties supporting our strategic focus on channel sales;difficulties retaining and expanding our customer base; difficulties leveraging market opportunities; theimpact of restructuring and cost-containment activities; litigation; actions taken by significantstockholders; difficulties providing solutions that meet the needs of customers; market acceptance ofour products and services; rapid technological and market change; our ability to protect our intellectualproperty rights; our ability to maintain partner, reseller, distribution and vendor support and supplyrelationships; higher risks in international operations and markets; the impact of increased competition;increases in tariffs, trade restrictions or taxes on our products; currency fluctuations; changes in themarket price of our common stock; and/or failure or circumvention of our controls and procedures.Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in these forward-looking statements are discussed in the ‘‘Risk Factors’’, ‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis ofFinancial Condition and Results of Operations’’, and ‘‘Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures AboutMarket Risk’’ sections in our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2018and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statementsinvolve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results,performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance orachievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We therefore caution you againstrelying on any of these forward-looking statements. Also, any forward-looking statement made by us inthe accompanying Proxy Statement speaks only as of the date of the accompanying Proxy Statement.Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it isnot possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except asmay be required by law.

i

RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.PROXY STATEMENT

Summary Information

To assist you in reviewing the proposals to be acted upon at our 2019 annual meeting ofstockholders (the ‘‘2019 Annual Meeting’’), Ribbon Communications Inc. would like to call yourattention to the following information about Ribbon’s 2018 financial performance, key executivecompensation actions and decisions, and corporate governance highlights. Please note that the followingdescription is only a summary. For more complete information about these topics, please review ourAnnual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2018 (the ‘‘2018 Annual Report’’)and this proxy statement (‘‘Proxy Statement’’). This Proxy Statement and our 2018 Annual Report willbe mailed to our stockholders of record on or about April 25, 2019.

Effective October 27, 2017, we completed the merger (the ‘‘Merger’’) of Sonus Networks, Inc.(‘‘Sonus’’), GENBAND Holdings Company, GENBAND, Inc. and GENBAND II, Inc. (collectively,‘‘GENBAND’’). Because the Merger occurred on October 27, 2017, the information reported in thisProxy Statement for the period prior to that date principally relates to Sonus, our predecessor entity.Unless the content otherwise requires, references in this Proxy Statement to ‘‘Ribbon,’’ ‘‘RibbonCommunications,’’ ‘‘Company,’’ ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ and ‘‘our’’ and ‘‘the Company’’ refer to (i) Sonus and itssubsidiaries prior to the Merger and (ii) Ribbon Communications Inc. and its subsidiaries upon closingof the Merger, as applicable.

Business Overview

We are a leading provider of next generation software solutions to telecommunications, wirelessand cable service providers and enterprises across industry verticals. With over 1,000 customers aroundthe globe, including some of the largest telecommunications service providers and enterprises in theworld, we enable service providers and enterprises to modernize their communications networksthrough software and provide secure real-time communications solutions to their customers andemployees. By securing and enabling reliable and scalable Internet Protocol (‘‘IP’’) networks, we helpservice providers and enterprises adopt the next generation of software-based virtualized and cloudcommunications technologies for service providers to drive new, incremental revenue while protectingtheir existing revenue streams. Our software solutions provide a secure way for our customers toconnect and leverage multivendor, multiprotocol communications systems and applications across theirnetworks and the cloud, around the world and in a rapidly changing ecosystem of IP-enabled devices,such as smartphones and tablets. In addition, our software solutions secure cloud-based delivery ofunified communications (‘‘UC’’) solutions—both for service providers transforming to a cloud-basednetwork and for enterprises using cloud-based UC. We sell our software solutions through both directsales and indirect channels globally, leveraging the assistance of resellers, and we provide ongoingsupport to our customers through a global services team with experience in design, deployment andmaintenance of some of the world’s largest IP software networks.

We completed our acquisition of Edgewater Networks, Inc., a market leader in Network EdgeOrchestration for the distributed enterprise and UC market, on August 3, 2018, making us a softwaremarket leader in enterprise Session Border Controllers and allowing us to extend Edgewater softwaresolutions internationally while expanding our cloud offerings and entering the SD-WAN market. Inaddition, on February 28, 2019, we acquired the business and technology assets of Anova Data, Inc., aprovider of advanced analytics solutions, to reinforce and extend our strategy to expand into networkoptimization, security and data monetization via big data analytics and machine learning.

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Page 8: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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2018 Financial Highlights

• GAAP total revenue was $577.9 million, compared to $329.9 million in 2017.

• Non-GAAP total revenue was $612.0 million, compared to $353.2 million in 2017.

• GAAP net loss was $76.8 million, compared to $35.3 million in 2017.

• GAAP loss per share was $0.74, compared to $0.60 in 2017.

• Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.58, compared to $0.51 in 2017.

• Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA was $84.0 million, compared to $40.9 million in 2017.

Please see the reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures, and additionalinformation about non-GAAP measures, in Appendix A.

Executive Compensation Highlights

In 2018, we engaged in a thorough review of our compensation programs and practices inconnection with the establishment of a unified Ribbon executive compensation program for ourexecutive officers. We believe that the new program’s adoption has established a strong foundation tosupport the continued growth of our business and the attainment of key synergies and other goals ofour business. The ongoing compensation programs and practices are governed by effective and strongpay practices as set forth below.

Strong pay-for-performance philosophyIndependent compensation committee and compensation consultantAnnual market-based review of compensation levels and peer groupsAnnual risk assessment of compensation plans and policiesShare ownership guidelines for our executives and board membersFormal clawback policy with respect to incentive compensationInsider trading policy that prohibits hedging and other similar actions by our executive officers anddirectors

No gross-up provisionsNo pension plans or other post-employment benefit plansNo base pay severance multipliers in excess of twoNo multi-year guaranteed incentive awards for executivesNo liberal share recycling

2

What We Do

What We Don’t Do

Board of Directors and Committees

Kim S. Fennebresque, 69 Yes October • Compensation Committee (Chair) 32017 • Nominating and Corporate

Governance Committee (Chair)

Bruns H. Grayson, 71 Yes October • Audit Committee 12017 • Compensation Committee

Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs, 71 No October 22017

Beatriz V. Infante, 65 Yes January • Audit Committee 22010 • Compensation Committee

Richard J. Lynch, 70 Yes February • Chairman of the Board 22014 • Nominating and Corporate

Governance Committee

Kent J. Mathy, 59 Yes October 12017

Scott E. Schubert, 65 Yes February • Audit Committee (Chair, ACFE*) 02009 • Nominating and Corporate

Governance Committee

Richard W. Smith, 66 No October 02017

* ACFE—Denotes that Mr. Schubert is an ‘‘audit committee financial expert’’ as defined in Item 407(d)(5) ofRegulation S-K.

Annual Meeting Proposals

Election of eight directors named in this ProxyStatement FOR each of the nominees

Approval of the Ribbon Communications Inc. 2019Incentive Award Plan FOR

Ratification of the appointment of auditors FOR

Approval, on a non-binding, advisory basis, of thecompensation of our named executive officers FOR

3

Name, Age Independent Director Committee Membership Other Public BoardsSince

Proposal Recommendation of the Board

Page 9: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING

Our Board of Directors (our ‘‘Board’’) is soliciting proxies for the annual meeting ofstockholders of Ribbon to be held on Wednesday, June 5, 2019, and at any adjournments, continuationsor postponements thereof. This Proxy Statement contains important information for you to considerwhen deciding how to vote on the matters brought before the meeting. Please read it carefully.

Important Notice Regarding Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholder Meeting to be held onJune 5, 2019: This Proxy Statement and the 2018 Annual Report to Stockholders are available forviewing, printing and downloading at www.proxyvote.com.

Why am I receiving these materials?

You have received these proxy materials because our Board is soliciting your vote at the 2019Annual Meeting. This Proxy Statement includes information that we are required to provide to youunder the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘SEC’’) and that is designed toassist you in voting your shares.

When and where is the meeting?

The 2019 Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 10:00 a.m., Easterntime, at the offices of Latham & Watkins LLP, located at 200 Clarendon Street, Boston,Massachusetts 02116.

Who may vote at the meeting?

Stockholders of record at the close of business on April 15, 2019, the record date, or holders ofa valid proxy, may attend and vote at the meeting. Each stockholder is entitled to one vote for eachshare of common stock held on all matters to be voted. As of the close of business on April 15, 2019,an aggregate of 111,390,821 shares of our common stock were outstanding, including 867,834 unvestedshares of restricted stock. A list of our stockholders will be available for inspection at our corporateoffices at 4 Technology Park Drive, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, beginning no less than ten daysprior to the meeting.

How many shares must be present to hold the meeting?

A majority of the 111,390,821 shares of our common stock that were outstanding as of therecord date must be present at the meeting in order to hold the meeting and conduct business. This iscalled a quorum. For purposes of determining whether a quorum exists, we count as present any sharesthat are properly represented in person at the meeting or that are represented by a valid proxyproperly submitted over the Internet, by telephone or by mail. Further, for purposes of establishing aquorum, we count as present shares that a stockholder holds and that are represented by their proxyeven if the stockholder does not vote on one or more of the matters to be voted upon. If a quorum isnot present at the scheduled time of the 2019 Annual Meeting, the chairperson of the meeting isauthorized by our by-laws to adjourn the meeting, without the vote of stockholders.

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What proposals will be voted on at the meeting?

There are four proposals scheduled to be voted on at the meeting:

• The election of the eight nominees for director named in this Proxy Statement to holdoffice until the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders of the Company (the ‘‘2020 AnnualMeeting’’) (Proposal 1);

• The approval of the Ribbon Communications Inc. 2019 Incentive Award Plan (Proposal 2);

• The ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP to serve as the Company’sindependent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019(Proposal 3); and

• The approval, on a non-binding, advisory basis, of the compensation of our namedexecutive officers (Proposal 4).

How does the Board of Directors recommend that I vote?

Our Board recommends that you vote your shares:

• ‘‘For’’ the election of each of the nominees to our Board named in this Proxy Statement(Proposal 1);

• ‘‘For’’ the approval of the Ribbon Communications Inc. 2019 Incentive Award Plan(Proposal 2);

• ‘‘For’’ the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP to serve as ourindependent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019(Proposal 3); and

• ‘‘For’’ the approval, on a non-binding, advisory basis, of the compensation of our namedexecutive officers (Proposal 4).

What vote is required to approve each matter and how are votes counted?

Election of Directors (Proposal 1). In an uncontested election, such as the election of directorsat the 2019 Annual Meeting, to be elected, each of the nominees for director must receive more votes‘‘For’’ such nominee’s election than ‘‘Against’’ such election (with abstentions and broker non-votes notcounted as a vote for or against). With respect to each nominee, you may vote ‘‘For,’’ ‘‘Against,’’ or‘‘Abstain.’’ Abstaining will have no effect on the outcome of the election.

Approval of Our 2019 Incentive Award Plan (Proposal 2). The affirmative vote of a majority ofthe shares of common stock present or represented at the 2019 Annual Meeting and entitled to vote onthis proposal will be required to approve this proposal. You may vote ‘‘For,’’ ‘‘Against’’, or ‘‘Abstain’’from voting on this proposal. Abstaining from voting on this proposal will have the effect of a voteagainst the approval of this proposal.

Ratification of the Appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP to Serve as the Company’s IndependentRegistered Public Accounting Firm for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2019 (Proposal 3). Theaffirmative vote of a majority of the shares of common stock present or represented at the 2019

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Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on this proposal will be required to approve this proposal. Youmay vote ‘‘For’’, ‘‘Against’’, or ‘‘Abstain’’ from voting on this proposal. Abstaining from voting on thisproposal will have the effect of a vote against this proposal.

Approval, on a Non-Binding, Advisory Basis, of the Compensation of Our Named ExecutiveOfficers (Proposal 4). The vote on the compensation of the named executive officers is non-binding, asprovided by law. However, our Board and its Compensation Committee will review and consider theoutcome of this vote when making future compensation decisions for our named executive officers. Theaffirmative vote of a majority of the shares of common stock present or represented at the 2019Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on this proposal will be required to approve this proposal. Youmay vote ‘‘For’’, ‘‘Against’’, or ‘‘Abstain’’ from voting on this proposal. Abstaining from voting on thisproposal will have the effect of a vote against this proposal.

For the proposals relating to the election of directors (Proposal 1), the approval of our 2019Incentive Award Plan (Proposal 2), and the approval, on a non-binding, advisory basis, of thecompensation of our named executive officers (Proposal 4), please note that if you are a beneficialowner of our common stock and your stock is held through a broker, bank or other nominee (in‘‘street name’’), under stock exchange rules a broker, bank or other nominee subject to those rules isnot permitted to vote your shares on these three proposals without your instruction. Therefore, if abeneficial owner of our common stock fails to instruct such a broker, bank or other nominee how tovote on Proposals 1, 2 and 4, that beneficial owner’s shares cannot be voted on these matters—in otherwords, your broker, bank or other nominee’s proxy will be treated as a ‘‘broker non-vote,’’ which isexplained in the following question and explanation.

What are broker non-votes and what is the effect of broker non-votes?

Brokers, banks and other nominees have the discretion to vote shares held in ‘‘street name’’—aterm that means the shares are held in the name of the broker, bank or other nominee on behalf of itscustomer, the beneficial owner—on routine matters, such as the ratification of the appointment of ourindependent registered public accounting firm, but not on non-routine matters. Generally, brokernon-votes occur when shares held by a broker, bank or other nominee for a beneficial owner are notvoted with respect to a non-routine matter because the broker, bank or other nominee has not receivedvoting instructions from the beneficial owner and the broker, bank or other nominee lacks discretionaryauthority to vote the shares because of the non-routine nature of the matter. The election of directors(Proposal 1), the approval of our 2019 Incentive Award Plan (Proposal 2), and the approval, on anon-binding, advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers (Proposal 4) are‘‘non-routine’’ matters for which brokers, banks and other nominees, under applicable stock exchangerules, may not exercise discretionary voting power without instructions from the beneficial owner, andtherefore broker non-votes will not affect the outcome of the vote on these proposals. The ratificationof the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal 3) is a ‘‘routine’’matter for which brokers have discretionary authority to vote. Therefore, we do not expect any brokernon-votes in connection with this proposal. Broker non-votes are counted as shares present forpurposes of determining the presence of a quorum. Your vote is very important, whether you holddirectly or through a broker, bank or other nominee. We encourage you to read this Proxy Statementand the 2018 Annual Report carefully and if you are a beneficial owner, please be sure to give votinginstructions to your broker, bank or other nominee.

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What happens if an incumbent director nominee fails to receive more ‘‘For’’ votes than ‘‘Against’’votes?

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines require that as a condition to being nominated by theBoard for re-election as a director, each incumbent director must deliver to the Board an irrevocableresignation from the Board that will become effective if, and only if, both (i) in the case of anuncontested election, such nominee does not receive more votes ‘‘For’’ his or her election than votes‘‘Against’’ such election, and (ii) the Board accepts such resignation. The Board will decide (based onthe recommendation of a committee of the Board) whether to accept the director’s resignation within90 days after the election results are certified.

An incumbent director who does not receive the required vote in an uncontested election willcontinue to serve as a director while the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and theBoard decide whether to accept or reject such director’s resignation. If the Board accepts suchresignation, the Board may fill the remaining vacancy or may decrease the size of the Board inaccordance with our by-laws. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines are posted on our website atwww.ribboncommunications.com.

How can I vote my shares in person at the meeting?

Shares held directly in your name as the stockholder of record may be voted in person at themeeting. If you choose to attend the meeting, please bring the enclosed proxy card and a valid,government-issued photo identification, such as a driver’s license, for entrance to the meeting.

If you hold your shares in street name, please bring the enclosed voting instruction form youreceived from your broker, bank or other nominee and proof of identification for entrance to themeeting. You must also request a legal proxy from your broker, bank or other nominee and bring it tothe 2019 Annual Meeting if you would like to vote at the meeting.

How can I vote my shares without attending the meeting?

If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote by proxy in any of the following ways:

• Submit your proxy by mail. You may complete, date and sign the proxy card and mail it inthe postage-prepaid envelope that you received. The persons named in the proxy card willvote the shares you own in accordance with your instructions on the proxy card you return.If you return the proxy card but do not give any instructions on a particular matterdescribed in this Proxy Statement, the persons named in the proxy card will vote the sharesyou own in accordance with the recommendations of our Board.

• Submit your proxy over the Internet. If you have Internet access, you may vote over theInternet at www.proxyvote.com by following the instructions set forth on your proxy card. Ifyou submit your proxy over the Internet, it is not necessary to return your proxy card.

• Submit your proxy by telephone. If you are located in the United States or Canada, you mayvote by telephone by calling 1-800-690-6903 and following the instructions set forth on yourproxy card. If you submit your proxy by telephone, it is not necessary to return your proxycard.

The ability to vote by telephone or over the Internet for stockholders of record will beavailable until 11:59 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time on June 4, 2019.

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If your shares are held in the name of a broker, bank or other nominee, please follow thevoting instructions on the forms you received from such broker, bank or other nominee. The availabilityof submitting your voting instructions by telephone or over the Internet will depend upon their votingprocedures.

Who is serving as the Company’s inspector of elections?

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has been engaged as our independent inspector ofelections to tabulate stockholder votes for the 2019 Annual Meeting.

How can I change my vote?

You may revoke your proxy and change your vote at any time before the polls close at themeeting. You may do this by signing and submitting a new proxy card with a later date, submitting aproxy by telephone or submitting a proxy over the Internet (your latest telephone or Internet proxy iscounted), by giving written notice of revocation to our Secretary prior to the 2019 Annual Meeting orby attending the meeting and voting in person. If your shares are held in street name, you may changeor revoke your voting instructions by following the specific directions provided to you by your bank orbroker. Attending the meeting by itself, however, will not revoke your proxy unless you specificallyrequest it.

What are the directions to the meeting?

The meeting is being held at the offices of Latham & Watkins LLP, 200 Clarendon Street,Boston, Massachusetts 02116. Please call (617) 948-6000 if you need directions.

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PROPOSAL 1 — ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Our Board has nominated eight directors for election at the 2019 Annual Meeting to holdoffice until the next annual meeting and the election of their successors. All of the nominees arecurrently directors. Each agreed to be named in this Proxy Statement and to serve if elected. Allnominees are expected to attend the 2019 Annual Meeting.

In connection with the Merger, Sonus and GENBAND agreed on the selection of directors toserve on the initial Board of Directors of Ribbon upon the closing of the Merger as follows: Kim S.Fennebresque, Bruns H. Grayson, Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs, Kent J. Mathy and Richard W. Smithwere designated by GENBAND, and Beatriz V. Infante, Richard J. Lynch, and Scott E. Schubert weredesignated by Sonus. Upon the closing of the Merger, we entered into a principal stockholdersagreement (the ‘‘Stockholders Agreement’’) with Heritage PE (OEP) II, L.P. and Heritage PE (OEP)III, L.P., entities affiliated with the Company’s largest stockholder, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (collectivelywith any successor entities, the ‘‘JPM Stockholders’’). The JPM Stockholders owned 44.83% ofRibbon’s common stock as of April 8, 2019. Under the Stockholders Agreement, the JPM Stockholdershave designated Kim S. Fennebresque, Bruns H. Grayson, Kent J. Mathy and Richard W. Smith forelection to our Board. The Company has agreed to take all necessary actions within its control toinclude the JPM Stockholders’ designees in the slate of nominees recommended by the Board forelection of directors and to cause the stockholders of the Company to elect the JPM Stockholders’designees. For so long as the JPM Stockholders have the right to designate a director under theStockholders Agreement, with respect to any proposal or resolution relating to the election of directors,the JPM Stockholders have agreed to take all necessary actions within their control to vote their shareseither affirmatively in favor of all of the Board’s director nominees, or in the same proportion to allshares voted by other stockholders of the Company.

Except for Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs, our Chief Executive Officer (the ‘‘CEO’’), and RichardW. Smith, each of our nominees is independent according to the director independence standards setforth in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, which meet the director independence standards of TheNasdaq Stock Market LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’). For more information, see ‘‘Corporate Governance and BoardMatters — Director Independence’’. We have no reason to believe that any of the nominees will beunable or unwilling to serve if elected. However, if any nominee should become unable to serve, or forgood cause will not serve as a director, proxies may be voted for another person nominated as asubstitute by the Board, or the Board may reduce the number of directors. In the event any directordesignated by the JPM Stockholders is unable to serve, the JPM Stockholders are entitled to designatea replacement director, subject to the conditions set forth in the Stockholders Agreement. Proxiescannot be voted for a greater number of persons than the number of nominees named in this proposal.

Director Experience and Tenure

Our directors collectively possess a broad mix of skills, qualifications and proven leadershipabilities. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee practices a long-term approach toboard refreshment. The Committee regularly identifies individuals who would complement and enhancethe current directors’ skills and experience.

It is of great importance to the Company that the Nominating and Corporate GovernanceCommittee recruit directors who help achieve the goal of an experienced, diverse Board that functionseffectively as a group. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee expects each of theCompany’s directors to have proven leadership skills, sound judgment, integrity, and a commitment tothe success of the Company. In evaluating director candidates and considering incumbent directors fornomination to the Board, this Committee considers a variety of factors, including independence,

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financial literacy, personal and professional accomplishments, and experience in light of the needs ofthe Company. For incumbent directors, the factors also include attendance, past performance on theBoard and contributions to the Board and its respective committees.

Director Nominees

The biographies below describe the skills, qualities, attributes and experience of the nomineesthat led the Board and its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to determine that it isappropriate to nominate these directors.

Kim S. Fennebresque, 69, has been a director of Ribbon since October 2017. He has served as aSenior Advisor to Cowen Group, Inc., a financial services company, since 2008, where he also served asits Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer from 1999 to 2008. He has been the Chairman ofthe Board of Directors of BlueLinx Holdings Inc., a distributor of building products, since May 2013,and a member of the Board of Directors of Albertson’s Companies LLC, a food and drug retailer,since May 2015. He was a Director of Ally Financial Inc., a bank holding company, since May 2009 andhas also served on the board of the BAWAG Group, a leading financial services companyheadquartered in Austria, since September 2017. Mr. Fennebresque previously served as Chairman ofDahlman Rose & Co., a financial services company, from 2010 to 2012, head of the corporate financeand mergers & acquisitions departments at UBS and was a general partner and co-head of investmentbanking at Lazard Freres & Co. Prior to that, he held various positions at The First BostonCorporation, an investment bank acquired by Credit Suisse. Mr. Fennebresque earned his Bachelor ofArts degree from Trinity College and a Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt Law School. The Boardbelieves Mr. Fennebresque is qualified to serve on the Board due to his experience in finance and as achief executive officer and director of various public companies.

Bruns H. Grayson, 71, has been a director of Ribbon since October 2017. He is a ManagingPartner at ABS Ventures, a venture capital firm, where he has managed all of the firm’s partnershipssince 1983. A majority of his investments has been in data communication and software and he hasserved as a director of many private and public companies over the last 30 years. Prior to ABSVentures, Mr. Grayson was an associate at McKinsey and Co., a management consulting firm, from1978 to 1980 and a venture capitalist at Adler & Co. from 1980 to 1983. Mr. Grayson has also servedas a Director of Everbridge, Inc., a provider of communications solutions, since 2012. Mr. Graysonholds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College, a Master’s degree from Oxford University, anda Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia Law School, and was elected a Rhodes Scholarfrom California in 1974. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and separated as a captain in 1970.The Board believes Mr. Grayson is qualified to serve on the Board based on his knowledge of the datacommunication and software industries, his investment experience as a Managing Partner at ABSVentures, and his experience as a director of various public companies.

Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs, 71, has been a director of Ribbon since October 2017 and itsPresident and Chief Executive Officer since December 2017. He has served as Chairman of AllyFinancial Inc., a bank holding company, since April 2009. He served as Supervisory Chairman ofBAWAG PSK, an Austrian bank, in Vienna from 2013 to March 2017. He was previously the CEO ofHoulihan Lokey Howard & Zukin and served as Chairman at UBS, AG’s investment bank, WarburgDillon Read. Prior to that, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dillon,Read & Co. Inc., an investment bank, from 1992 to 1997. Mr. Hobbs currently serves as a Director ofMolson Coors Brewing Co., a multinational brewing company, and UNICEF USA, a United Nationsprogram that provides humanitarian and development assistance. Formerly, he served on the Board ofOverseers of Harvard University, the Frick Collection and was President of the Board of Trustees ofMilton Academy. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and a Master of

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Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. The Board believes Mr. Hobbs isqualified to serve on the Board due to his role as Ribbon’s Chief Executive Officer, his prior chiefexecutive officer experience and his background in finance and investment banking.

Beatriz V. Infante, 65, has been a director of Ribbon since October 2017 and was a director ofSonus from January 2010 until the closing of the Merger. Since 2009, Ms. Infante has served as ChiefExecutive Officer of BusinessExcelleration LLC, a business consultancy specializing in corporatetransformation and renewal. From 2010 until its acquisition by Infor in 2011, Ms. Infante was the ChiefExecutive Officer and a director of ENXSUITE Corporation, a leading supplier of energy managementsolutions. From 2006 until its acquisition by Voxeo Corporation in 2008, she was the Chief ExecutiveOfficer and a director of VoiceObjects Inc., a market leader in voice applications servers. Ms. Infanteserved as a director and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Sychron Inc., a data center automationcompany, from 2004 to 2005 until its sale to an investor group. Ms. Infante was Chief Executive Officerand President of Aspect Communications Corporation (which we refer to as Aspect), a market leaderin communications solutions, from April 2000 until October 2003. She was named Board Chair ofAspect in February 2001 and between October 1998 and April 2000, held additional executive roles,including Co-President. Since January 2018, she has served on the Board of Directors and the AuditCommittee of PriceSmart Inc., and additionally became Chair of the Compensation Committee andChair of the Digital Transformation Committee in November 2018 and January 2019, respectively. Shehas served on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Liquidity Services Inc. since May 2014,and has additionally served as Chair of the Compensation Committee since November 2015. From July2016 until its acquisition by Veeco in May 2017, Ms. Infante served on the Board of Directors and theNominating and Corporate Governance Committee of Ultratech. From May 2012 until its acquisitionby Broadcom Limited in May 2015, she served on the Board of Directors and CompensationCommittee of Emulex Corporation, and additionally became Chair of the Nominating and CorporateGovernance Committee in February 2014. Ms. Infante has previously served as a director at a numberof privately held companies. Ms. Infante has also served since June 2016 as an Advisory Board memberof Guardian Analytics and since July 2015 as the Chair of the Advisory Board of Infrascale.Additionally, Ms. Infante is a National Association of Corporate Directors Board Leadership Fellow,and in 2016 was named to the 2016 NACD Directorship 100, which honors the most influentialboardroom leaders each year. In 2013, she was named to the Financial Times Agenda ‘‘Top 50 DigitalDirectors’ List.’’ Ms. Infante holds a Bachelor of Science and Engineering degree in ElectricalEngineering and Computer Science from Princeton University and holds a Master of Science degree inEngineering Science from California Institute of Technology. Among other qualifications, the Boardbelieves Ms. Infante is qualified to serve on the Board due to her executive leadership experience,including as a chief executive officer of various companies, along with extensive operational expertiseand experience in engineering, sales, and marketing.

Richard J. Lynch, 70, has been a director and Chairman of the Board of Ribbon since October2017 and was a director of Sonus from February 2014, and Chairman of the Board of Sonus from June2016, until the closing of the Merger. Since September 2011, Mr. Lynch has served as the President ofFB Associates, LLC, which provides advisory and consulting services at the intersection of technology,marketing and business operations. Mr. Lynch was the Executive Vice President and Chief TechnologyOfficer for Verizon Communications between 2007 and 2011, and the Executive Vice President andChief Technology Officer of Verizon Wireless and its predecessors from 1990 until 2007. Mr. Lynch hasbeen at the forefront of wireless technology solutions and was responsible for the selection of CDPD,CDMA, EV-DO and LTE for use within the Verizon network. Building on these and other keytechnology decisions, Mr. Lynch has driven the introduction of key innovative products and servicesinto the marketplace. Mr. Lynch is a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineersand has been awarded patents in the field of wireless communications. Mr. Lynch has served as amember of the Board of Directors and the Compensation, Nominating and Governance Committee of

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Page 13: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

Blackberry Limited since February 2013. He was also on the Board of Directors of VectoIQ AcquisitionCorporation since February 2017. From March 2012 to May 2016, he served as a member of the Boardof Directors, Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a member of theCompensation Committee of Ruckus Wireless, Inc. From November 2010 to November 2013,Mr. Lynch served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and a member of the Nominating andCorporate Governance Committee of TranSwitch Corp. Mr. Lynch also serves as a member of theBoard of Directors of two privately held companies. He has also sat on the boards of numerousindustry organizations, including the GSM Association and the CDMA Development Group, and as amember of the Federal Communications Commission Technical Advisory Committee andCommunications Security Reliability and Interoperability Council. For his leadership in the early yearsof wireless data, Mr. Lynch was honored with the President’s Award by the CellularTelecommunications Industry Association. He has also been inducted into the Wireless HistoryFoundation’s Hall of Fame. Mr. Lynch is a graduate of Lowell Technological Institute (now theUniversity of Massachusetts, Lowell), where he received Bachelor of Science and Master of Sciencedegrees in electrical engineering. He has also completed post-graduate work at the Wharton School ofthe University of Pennsylvania and the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. TheBoard believes Mr. Lynch is qualified to serve on the Board based on his significant experience intechnology leadership positions, in particular at Verizon Communications, and as a director of variouspublic companies in the telecommunications industry.

Kent J. Mathy, 59, has been a director of Ribbon since October 2017. He has been ChiefExecutive Officer of Sequential Technology International, a provider of customer care and customerexperience outsourcing, since January 2017. Previously, beginning in November 2013, Mr. Mathy servedas President, Southeast Region of AT&T Mobility, a wireless telecommunications provider. FromNovember 2008 to November 2013, Mr. Mathy was President, North Central Region for AT&TMobility, and from December 2007 to November 2008, he was President, Small Business for AT&TMobility. From January 2003 to December 2007, he was President, Business Markets Group at CingularWireless (as AT&T Mobility was formerly known). Mr. Mathy has also served as a director ofEverbridge, Inc. since 2013. Earlier in his career, Mr. Mathy held a variety of management positions atAT&T over a period of 18 years. Mr. Mathy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from theUniversity of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and attended the University of Michigan, Executive Program in 1993.The Board believes Mr. Mathy is qualified to serve on the Board because of his extensive leadershiproles at various telecommunications companies, in particular at AT&T.

Scott E. Schubert, 65, has been a director of Ribbon since October 2017 and was a director ofSonus from February 2009 until the closing of the Merger. From 2005 until 2008, Mr. Schubert servedas Chief Financial Officer of TransUnion LLC, a leading global information solutions company. From2003 to 2005, Mr. Schubert served as Chief Financial Officer and, prior to that, Executive VicePresident of Corporate Development of NTL, Inc. (now Virgin Media, Inc.). From 1999 to 2003,Mr. Schubert held the position of Chief Financial Officer of Williams Communications Group, Inc., ahigh-technology company. Mr. Schubert also was the head of BP Amoco’s Global Financial Servicesfrom 1995 to 1999, leading the initial integration of BP and Amoco’s worldwide financial operationsfollowing the merger of the two companies in 1998. From August 2011 to October 2014, he served as amember of the Board of Directors, the Compensation Committee, the Audit Committee and theCompliance Committee of Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. Mr. Schubert is a graduate of the KrannertSchool of Business at Purdue University, where he completed his Master of Business Administrationdegree in Finance and Economics. He also earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Purdue University,with dual majors in Engineering and Accounting. Among other qualifications, Mr. Schubert brings tothe Board executive leadership experience, including from his service as a chief financial officer ofvarious companies, along with extensive financial expertise. The Board believes Mr. Schubert isqualified to serve on the Board because of his experience as a Chief Financial Officer, in particular at

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TransUnion LLC and NTL, Inc. (now Virgin Media, Inc.), and his experience leading the integration oftwo large public companies.

Richard W. Smith, 66, has been a director of Ribbon since October 2017. He has been the Headof Private Investments at JPMorgan Chase & Co., a multinational banking and financial servicesholding company, since November 2014, which position includes private and public companyinvestments on the bank’s balance sheet. He has held positions as Managing Director and ManagingPartner and General Partner at private equity and venture funds since 1981, including One EquityPartners from 2002 to November 2014 and Allegra Partners and predecessor entities from 1981 to 2013.From 1979 to 1981, Mr. Smith was Senior Investment Manager at Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd., aformer venture and private equity investment division of Citigroup Inc. Prior to that, he worked in theInternational Money Management Group of Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York from 1974to 1979. Mr. Smith was previously a Director of GENBAND from 2014 to 2017 and has 40 years’experience as a technology investor and as a board member of both public and private companies. Hehas also served as a Director of Smartrac N.V., a provider of software and RFID tags targeted at theInternet of Things market, since 2012, Alorica, Inc., a provider of outsourced customer care solutions,since July 2016, and Merchant-Link, LLC, a provider of cloud-based payment gateway and data securitysolutions, since October 2016. He also served as Chairman of Schoeller Allibert Group, a manufacturerof Returnable Transit Packaging, from July 2016 to May 2018. Additionally, he has served as a Directorof the Princeton National Rowing Association since 2008. Mr. Smith earned his Bachelor of Arts fromHarvard College and is co-author of the book Treasury Management: A Practitioner’s Handbook, JohnWiley & Sons, 1980. The Board believes Mr. Smith is qualified to serve on the Board due to hisextensive background in finance and private equity and his experience serving as a director ofcompanies in the telecommunications industry.

Board of Directors’ Recommendation

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The Board of Directors recommends that stockholders vote ‘‘FOR’’ the election of the eight directornominees named above.

Page 14: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

PROPOSAL 2 — APPROVAL OF RIBBON’S 2019 INCENTIVE AWARD PLAN

Our Board believes that the future success of Ribbon depends, in large part, on our ability tomaintain a competitive position in attracting, retaining and motivating key employees with relevantexperience and superior ability. On April 24, 2019, our Board adopted, subject to stockholder approval,the Ribbon Communications Inc. 2019 Incentive Award Plan (the ‘‘New Plan’’). Awards granted underthe New Plan are intended to attract, retain and motivate personnel who are expected to makeimportant contributions to the Company, thereby promoting shareholder interests and enhancingshareholder value. The Company may grant awards under the New Plan with respect to up to 7,000,000shares of common stock (subject to adjustment in the event of stock splits and other similar events),plus the number of shares of common stock previously reserved for issuance under the Company’sAmended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan (the ‘‘2007 Equity Plan’’) that remained available forgrant as of the date of approval of the New Plan, if at all, by the Company’s stockholders at its 2019Annual Meeting, plus any shares covered by covered by awards under the 2007 Equity Plan (or PriorPlans (as defined below)) that again become available for grant pursuant to the provisions of the 2007Equity Plan.

The New Plan is intended to replace the 2007 Equity Plan, which is expected to expire onJune 9, 2026. While the 2007 Equity Plan does not expire for another seven years, our Board adoptedthe New Plan to more fully represent the interests of the combined companies as well as to reflectrecent changes to stock grant philosophies in the marketplace.

If the New Plan is approved by our stockholders, the New Plan will become effective onJune 5, 2019, and no further awards will be made under the current 2007 Equity Plan or any PriorPlan. We expect the proposed aggregate share reserve under the New Plan to provide us with sufficientshares for awards for at least two years, assuming we continue to grant awards consistent with ourcurrent practices and historical usage, as reflected in our historical burn rate, and further dependent onthe price of our shares and hiring activity during the next few years, forfeitures of outstanding awards,and noting that future circumstances may require us to change our current equity grant practices. Wecannot predict our future equity grant practices, the future price of our shares or future hiring activitywith any degree of certainty at this time, and the share reserve under the New Plan could last for ashorter or longer time. If stockholders do not approve the New Plan, the current 2007 Equity Plan willremain in effect in its current form. However, there will be insufficient shares available under the 2007Equity Plan to make annual awards and to provide grants to new hires in the coming years. In thisevent, the Compensation Committee would be required to revise its compensation philosophy andformulate other cash-based programs to attract, retain, and compensate key employees andnon-employee directors.

The Board believes that the future success of the Company depends, in large part, upon theability of Ribbon to maintain a competitive position in attracting, retraining and motivating keypersonnel. Accordingly, the Board believes the adoption of the New Plan is in the best interests of theCompany and its stockholders and recommends a vote ‘‘FOR’’ the approval of the New Plan.

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Highlights of the New Plan

No ‘‘Evergreen’’ Provision • Shares authorized for issuance under the New Plan are notautomatically replenished.

No Liberal Share Counting • The New Plan prohibits the reuse of shares withheld ordelivered to satisfy the exercise price of an award or to satisfytax withholding requirements with respect to any award.

No Repricing of Stock Options • The New Plan prohibits the direct or indirect repricing of stockor Stock Appreciation Rights options or stock appreciation rights (‘‘SARs’’) without

stockholder approval, including a prohibition on the exchangeof ‘‘underwater’’ stock options or SARs for a cash payment.

No Discounted Stock Options or • All stock options and SARs (other than substitute awards) mustStock Appreciation Rights have an exercise price or measurement price equal to or greater

than the fair market value of the underlying common stock onthe grant date.

Minimum One-Year Vesting • Awards under the New Plan are subject to a minimum vestingPeriod on All Awards period of one year, except awards granted, in the aggregate, for

up to 5% of the maximum number of authorized shares underthe New Plan and awards subject to certain other limitedexceptions.

Awards Subject to Forfeiture/ • All awards granted under the New Plan and payments madeClawback thereunder are subject to the Company’s Clawback Policy or

any other clawback policy established from time to time by theCompany.

No Dividends or Dividend • No participant will be paid dividends or dividend equivalentsEquivalents on Unvested with respect to any award until the applicable vesting conditionsAwards have been satisfied.No ‘‘Liberal’’ Change in Control • The change in control definition in the New Plan is notDefinition ‘‘liberal’’ and, for example, would not occur merely upon

shareholder approval of a transaction. A change in control mustactually occur in order for the change in control provisions inthe New Plan to be triggered.

Administration by an • Administration of the New Plan has been delegated to theIndependent Committee Compensation Committee, which is comprised of independent

directors.Material Amendments Require • Stockholder approval is required prior to an amendment of theStockholder Approval New Plan that would (i) materially increase the number of

shares available, (ii) expand the types of available awards or(iii) materially expand the class of participants eligible toparticipate.

Analysis of Share Reserve

In adopting the New Plan, the Compensation Committee and our Board, respectively, reviewedand relied upon the analysis prepared by Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc., the Compensation Committee’sindependent compensation consultant, which analyzed the costs of the plan, the Company’s pastpractices regarding its equity compensation program (including share usage or burn rate), provisionsassociated with the proposed New Plan and trends, as well as practices of Company peers and othercompanies. Specifically, the Compensation Committee and our Board considered, among other things,the information set forth below.

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Share Usage and Overhang

The following table sets forth information regarding stock-settled, time-vested equity awardsgranted and performance-based, stock-settled equity awards earned over each of the last three fiscalyears:

2018 2017 2016

Stock Options/SARs Granted — 7,760 172,450Stock-Settled Time-Vested Restricted Shares/Units 2,032,256 1,763,912 1,720,082

GrantedStock-Settled Performance-Based Stock Units 57,768 145,357 18,438

EarnedWeighted-Average Basic Common Shares 103,916,078 58,822,000 49,385,000 3-Year

Outstanding Average

Share Usage Rate 2.0% 3.3% 3.9% 3.0%

The Board recognizes that the increase in the number of shares under the New Plan will resultin additional dilution or ‘‘overhang’’ for our stockholders, although we believe that the incrementaldilution would not be material. As commonly calculated, the total potential overhang resulting from theadoption of the New Plan would be approximately 11.2%, with the incremental overhang resulting fromthe share increase equal to approximately 5.8%. This overhang is calculated as follows, as ofDecember 31, 2018 (unless otherwise noted):

(a) Stock Options/SARs Outstanding 582,061

Weighted-Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Stock Options/SARs $9.01

Weighted-Average Remaining Term of Outstanding Stock Options/SARS 4.82

(b) Total Stock-Settled Full-Value Awards Outstanding 2,354,727

(c) Shares Remaining Available for Future Issuance 4,932,727

(d) Incremental Share Request Subject to Shareholder Approval 7,000,000

(e) Total shares authorized for, or outstanding under, equity awards (a + b + c + d) 14,869,515

(f) Common shares outstanding as of the record date of April 15, 2019 111,390,821

(g) Total fully-diluted overhang (e / (e + f)) 11.8%

In light of the factors described above and the fact that the ability to continue to grant equitycompensation is integral to our ability to continue to attract and retain talented employees in themarkets in which we compete, the Compensation Committee and our Board have determined that thesize of the share reserve under the New Plan is reasonable and appropriate at this time. The Board willnot create a subcommittee to evaluate the risks and benefits for issuing the additional authorizedshares requested.

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EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2018 with respect to the shares ofour common stock that may be issued under our existing equity compensation plans:

(A) (B) (C)Number of Securities

Remaining Available forNumber of Securities to Future Issuance Underbe Issued upon Exercise Weighted Average Equity Compensation

of Outstanding Exercise Price of Plans (ExcludingOptions, Outstanding Options, Securities Reflected

Plan Category Warrants and Rights Warrants and Rights in Column (A))

Equity Compensation Plans Approvedby Stockholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846,716(1) $ — 4,880,269(2)

Equity Compensation Plans NotApproved by Stockholders . . . . . . . . 582,061(3) $9.01(4) 52,458(5)

1,428,777 4,932,727

(1) Consists of 636,600 RSUs and 210,416 PSUs at target, all of which do not have voting or otherrights of ownership under the 2007 Equity Plan.

(2) Consists of shares available for future issuance under the 2007 Equity Plan and the Amendedand Restated 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the ‘‘ESPP’’). As of December 31, 2018,3,448,756 shares of common stock were available for issuance under the 2007 Equity Plan and1,431,513 shares of common stock were available for issuance under the ESPP. In addition tobeing available for future issuance upon exercise of options that may be granted afterDecember 31, 2018, the shares available under the 2007 Equity Plan may also be issued in theform of restricted stock, RSUs, SARs, performance-based awards or other equity-based awards.

(3) Consists of 267,732 options outstanding under the 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (the ‘‘2008 Plan’’,which was assumed in connection with the Company’s August 24, 2012 acquisition of NetworkEquipment Technologies, Inc. (‘‘NET’’)) and 40,160 options outstanding under the 2012Amended Performance Technologies, Incorporated Omnibus Incentive Plan (the ‘‘2012 Plan’’,which was assumed in connection with the Company’s February 19, 2014 acquisition ofPerformance Technologies, Incorporated (‘‘PT’’)) and 274,169 options outstanding under theEdgewater Networks, Inc. Amended and Restated 2002 Stock Option Plan, as amended(assumed in connection with the Company’s August 3, 2018 acquisition of Edgewater) (the‘‘2002 Plan’’). These amounts include options that were either outstanding as of the respectivedates of acquisition of NET, PT and Edgewater and assumed by the Company or granted undereither the 2008 Plan or the 2012 Plan since the respective acquisition dates. No future awardsmay be granted under any of the 2008 Plan or 2012 Plan.

(4) Represents the weighted average exercise price for options to purchase the Company’s commonstock outstanding under the 2008 Plan, the 2012 Plan and the 2002 Plan.

(5) Consists of shares available for future issuance under the 2002 Plan. The Company does notintend to make any future grants under the 2002 Plan. At the Company’s special meeting ofstockholders on December 2, 2014, our stockholders approved amendments to the 2007 EquityPlan that, among other matters, transferred all shares available for future issuance from eachof the 2008 Plan and 2012 Plan to the 2007 Equity Plan and provided that any outstandingawards under the 2008 Plan and 2012 Plan that expire, are terminated, cancelled, surrenderedor forfeited, or are repurchased by the Company at their original issuance price pursuant to a

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contractual repurchase right under the 2008 Plan or 2012 Plan will be returned to the 2007Equity Plan.

Summary of the New Plan

The following is a summary of the material terms of the New Plan and is qualified by itsentirety by the full text of the New Plan, a copy of which is attached as Appendix B to this ProxyStatement. References to our Board in this summary include the Compensation Committee or anysimilar committee appointed by our Board to administer the New Plan.

Shares Available for Issuance under the New Plan

Awards may be made under the New Plan for an aggregate number of shares equal to7,000,000 shares, plus the number of shares of common stock reserved under the 2007 Equity Plan thatremain available for issuance as of the date of the 2019 Annual Meeting. The number of sharesissuable under the New Plan is subject to adjustment for changes in capitalization, including stock splitsand other similar events. No more than 7,000,000 shares of common stock may be issued as incentivestock options under the New Plan.

If an award expires, terminates, is surrendered or cancelled or otherwise results in shares notbeing issued, the unused shares covered by such award will generally become available for future grantunder the New Plan. However, any shares tendered to pay the exercise price of an award or to satisfy atax withholding obligation will not become available for future grant under the New Plan. Furthermore,any shares repurchased by us on the open market using the proceeds from the exercise of an award willnot increase the number of shares available for the future grant of awards under the New Plan. Inaddition, shares subject to a SAR that are not issued in connection with its share settlement on exercisethereof will not increase the number of shares of common stock available for the future grant ofawards under the New Plan.

If any award (or award under the 2007 Equity Plan, the Company’s 2008 Stock Incentive Planor the Company’s 2012 Amended Performance Technologies, Incorporated Omnibus Incentive Plan(collectively, the ‘‘Prior Plans’’)) expires or is terminated, surrendered or canceled without having beenfully exercised, is cash-settled, is forfeited in whole or in part (including as the result of shares ofcommon stock subject to such award (or award under a Prior Plan) being repurchased by the Companyat the original issuance price pursuant to a contractual repurchase right), then shares of common stockcovered by such award (or award under a Prior Plan) will, to the extent of such termination, surrender,cancellation, cash-settlement or forfeiture, again become available for the grant of awards under theNew Plan.

In connection with a corporate transaction with another entity, such as a merger orconsolidation of an entity with us or our acquisition of property or stock of an entity, our Board maygrant awards under the New Plan in substitution for any options or other stock or stock-based awardsgranted by such entity or an affiliate thereof on such terms as our Board determines appropriate in thecircumstances, notwithstanding any limitation on awards contained in the New Plan (subject tocompliance with the applicable requirements of Section 424 of the Code and Section 409A of the Code(together with the Department of Treasury regulations and other interpretive guidance issuedthereunder, ‘‘Section 409A’’)). No such substitute awards will count against the overall share limitsdescribed above, except as required by Section 422 and related provisions of the Code.

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Administration of the New Plan

The New Plan is administered by our Board, which has the authority to adopt, amend andrepeal the administrative rules, guidelines and practices relating to the New Plan and to interpret theprovisions of the New Plan. Pursuant to the terms of the New Plan and to the extent permitted byapplicable law, our Board may delegate authority under the New Plan to one or more committees orsubcommittees of our Board. Our Board has authorized the Compensation Committee to administerthe New Plan.

Subject to any applicable limitations contained in the New Plan, our Board, the CompensationCommittee, or any other committee to whom our Board delegates authority, as the case may be, selectsthe recipients of awards and determines the terms of the awards.

Subject to any requirements of applicable law, our Board may delegate to one or more of ourofficers the power to grant awards to our employees, officers, and non-executive directors (each, a‘‘Director’’), as well as consultants and advisors to the Company (as the terms consultants and advisorsare defined and interpreted for purposes of Form S-8 under the Securities Act or any successor form)and to exercise such other powers under the New Plan as our Board may determine; provided that ourBoard will fix the maximum number of shares subject to awards that the officers may grant, and thetime period in which such awards may be granted. No officer shall be authorized to grant awards tohimself or herself or any of our other officers.

Our Board may make equitable adjustments in connection with the New Plan and anyoutstanding awards to reflect stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations, combination or exchange ofshares, consolidation, reclassification of shares, spin-offs and other similar changes in capitalization orevent, or any other dividend or distribution other than an ordinary cash dividend, or any other changeaffecting the shares of common stock or the share price of the common stock (other than an EquityRestructuring, as such term is defined below). In the event of an Equity Restructuring, the Companywill equitably adjust in the manner determined by our Board the number and class of security subjectto each outstanding award and the exercise or purchase price thereof, if applicable (and suchadjustments shall be nondiscretionary and final and binding) and/or the aggregate number and class ofsecurity that may be issued under the New Plan (including, without limitation, any share countingprovisions related thereto). ‘‘Equity Restructuring’’ means a nonreciprocal transaction between theCompany and our stockholders, such as a stock dividend, stock split, spin-off, rights offering orrecapitalization through a large, nonrecurring cash dividend, that affects the number or kind of sharesof common stock (or other securities of the Company) or the share price of common stock (or othersecurities) and causes a change in the per-share value of the common stock underlying outstandingawards.

The New Plan also contains provisions addressing the consequences of a Reorganization Event,which is defined as: (i) any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another entity as aresult of which all of our common stock is converted into or exchanged for the right to receive cash,securities or other property, or is cancelled; (ii) any exchange of all of our common stock for cash,securities or other property pursuant to a share exchange transaction; (iii) any liquidation or dissolutionof our Company; or (iv) certain capitalization events described in the New Plan or any other unusualor nonrecurring transaction or event affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or theirrespective financial statements).

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In connection with a Reorganization Event, our Board may take any one or more of thefollowing actions as to all or any (or any portion of) outstanding awards, on such terms as our Boarddetermines:

• provide that awards will be assumed, or substantially equivalent awards will be substituted,by the acquiring or succeeding corporation (or an affiliate thereof);

• upon written notice, provide that all unexercised awards will terminate immediately priorto the consummation of such Reorganization Event unless exercised within a specifiedperiod following the date of such notice;

• provide that outstanding awards will become exercisable, realizable or deliverable, orrestrictions applicable to an award will lapse, in whole or in part prior to or upon suchReorganization Event;

• in the event of a Reorganization Event under the terms of which holders of our commonstock will receive upon consummation thereof a payment of cash and/or property for eachshare surrendered in the Reorganization Event (the value of such payment, the‘‘Acquisition Price’’), make or provide for a payment of cash and/or property to an awardholder with a value equal to the excess, if any, of (A) the Acquisition Price times thenumber of shares of common stock subject to the holder’s awards (to the extent theexercise price does not exceed the Acquisition Price) over (B) the aggregate exercise priceof all such outstanding awards and any applicable tax withholdings, in exchange for thetermination of such awards (and, if as of the Reorganization Event, our Board determinesin good faith that there is no such excess with respect to an award, then such award maybe terminated by the Company without payment);

• provide that awards will be replaced with other rights or property selected by our Board(including in connection with a liquidation or dissolution of our company, conversion intothe right to receive liquidation proceeds (if applicable, net of the exercise price thereof andany applicable tax withholdings);

• provide that awards cannot vest, be exercised or become payable after the ReorganizationEvent; and

• any combination of the foregoing.

In taking any of the actions permitted directly above, the Board is not obligated by the New Plan totreat identically all awards, all awards held by a holder of such awards or all awards of the same type.

The New Plan also contains provisions addressing a Change in Control and our Board’sauthority to determine whether a Change in Control has occurred pursuant to the below definition, thedate of the occurrence of a Change in Control, and any incidental matters related thereto. Under theNew Plan, a Change in Control means:

(i) a transaction or series of transactions (other than an offering of common stock to thegeneral public through a registration statement filed with the SEC) whereby any‘‘person’’ or related ‘‘group’’ of ‘‘persons’’ (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d)and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) directly or indirectly acquires beneficial ownership(within the meaning of Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act) of securities ofthe Company possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of the

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Company’s securities outstanding immediately after such acquisition; provided,however, that the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control underthe New Plan: (A) any acquisition by the Company; (B) any acquisition by anemployee benefit plan maintained by the Company, (C) any acquisition which is not aChange in Control under subsection (iii) below as a result of compliance withsubsections (A), (B) and (C) of subsection (iii) below; or (D) in respect of an awardheld by a particular participant, any acquisition by the participant or any group ofpersons including the participant (or any entity controlled by the participant or anygroup of persons including the participant); or

(ii) the Incumbent Directors cease for any reason to constitute a majority of our Board;

(iii) the consummation by the Company (whether directly involving the Company orindirectly involving the Company through one or more intermediaries) of (x) a merger,consolidation, reorganization, or business combination, (y) a sale or other dispositionof all or substantially all of the Company’s assets in any single transaction or series ofrelated transactions or (z) the acquisition of assets or stock of another entity, in eachcase other than a transaction:

(A) which results in the Company’s voting securities outstandingimmediately before the transaction continuing to represent (either by remainingoutstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the Company or the personthat, as a result of the transaction, controls, directly or indirectly, the Company orowns, directly or indirectly, all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or otherwisesucceeds to the business of the Company (the Company or such person, the ‘‘SuccessorEntity’’)) directly or indirectly, at least a majority of the combined voting power of theSuccessor Entity’s outstanding voting securities,

(B) after which no person or group beneficially owns voting securitiesrepresenting 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Successor Entity;provided, however, that no person or group shall be treated for purposes of thissubsection (B) as beneficially owning 50% or more of the combined voting power ofthe Successor Entity solely as a result of the voting power held in the Company priorto the consummation of the transaction; and

(C) immediately after which at least a majority of the members of theboard of directors (or the analogous governing body) of the Successor Entity wereBoard members at the time of our Board’s approval of the execution of the initialagreement providing for such transaction; or

(iv) The effective date of a liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

‘‘Incumbent Directors’’ means for any period of 12 consecutive months, individualswho, at the beginning of such period, constitute our Board together with any newDirector(s) (other than a Director designated by a person who shall have entered intoan agreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in subsection (i) or(iii) above) whose election or nomination for election to our Board was approved by avote of at least a majority (either by a specific vote or by approval of the proxystatement of the Company in which such person is named as a nominee for Directorwithout objection to such nomination) of the Directors then still in office who eitherwere Directors at the beginning of the 12-month period or whose election or

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nomination for election was previously so approved. No individual initially elected ornominated as a director of the Company as a result of an actual or threatened electioncontest with respect to Directors or as a result of any other actual or threatenedsolicitation of proxies by or on behalf of any person other than our Board shall be anIncumbent Director.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a Change in Control constitutes a payment eventwith respect to any award (or any portion of an award) that provides for the deferralof compensation that is subject to Section 409A, to the extent required to avoid theimposition of additional taxes under Section 409A, the transaction or event describedin subsection (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) above with respect to such award (or portion thereof)will only constitute a Change in Control for purposes of the payment timing of suchaward if such transaction also constitutes a ‘‘change in control event,’’ as defined inTreasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5).

Our Board may at any time provide that any award will become immediately exercisable in fullor in part, free of some or all restrictions or conditions, or otherwise realizable in full or in part, as thecase may be, including, without limitation, (A) upon the death or disability of the holder of such awardor (B) in connection with an Acquisition of the Company (as defined in the New Plan).

Except as otherwise provided in the New Plan with respect to repricing outstanding stockoptions or SARs, our Board may amend, modify or terminate any outstanding award, including but notlimited to, substituting another award of the same or a different type, changing the date of exercise orrealization, and converting an incentive stock option to a non-statutory stock option, provided that theparticipant’s consent to any such action will be required unless our Board determines that the action,taking into account any related action, would not materially and adversely affect the participant or thechange is otherwise permitted under the terms of the New Plan in connection with a change incapitalization or reorganization event.

Descriptions of Awards

The New Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options intended to qualify underSection 422 of the Code, non-statutory stock options, SARs, restricted stock, RSUs and other stock unitawards and performance awards as described below.

Incentive Stock Options and Non-statutory Stock Options. Optionees receive the right topurchase a specified number of shares of common stock at a specified option price and subject to suchother terms and conditions as are specified in connection with the option grant. Options must begranted at an exercise price that is not less than the fair market value of our common stock at theclose of trading on the date of grant. Options may not be granted for a term in excess of 10 years;provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing and unless determined otherwise by the Company, in theevent that on the last business day of the term of an option (other than an incentive stock option)(i) the exercise of the option is prohibited by applicable law, as determined by the Company, or(ii) shares of common stock may not be purchased or sold by the applicable participant due to anyCompany insider trading policy (including blackout periods) or a ‘‘lock-up’’ agreement undertaken inconnection with an issuance of securities by the Company, the term of the option shall be extendeduntil the date that is thirty (30) days after the end of the legal prohibition, black-out period or lock-upagreement, as determined by the Company; provided, the extension will not last beyond the term of theapplicable option (which will in no event exceed 10 years from the date of grant). The New Planpermits the following forms of payment for the exercise price of options: payment by cash or check (ifdetermined appropriate by the Company, electronic payment); via broker-assisted sale; subject to

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certain conditions and if permitted by our Board, withholding of shares of our common stock otherwiseissuable under an award or surrender to the Company of shares of our common stock held by theoptionee; any other lawful means as provided for in the applicable option agreement or approved bythe Board; or any combination of these forms of payment. Stock options granted under the New Planmay not provide for the payment or accrual of dividend equivalents or contain any provision entitlingthe grantee to the automatic grant of additional stock options in connection with the exercise of theoriginal stock option.

Stock Appreciation Rights. A SAR is an award entitling the holder, upon exercise, to receivean amount in common stock or cash or a combination thereof determined by reference to appreciation,from and after the date of grant, in the fair market value of a share of common stock over the exerciseprice, which may not be less than the fair market value of the common stock on the date the SAR isgranted. SARs may be granted independently or in tandem with an option granted under the NewPlan. Each SAR granted under the New Plan will be exercisable subject to terms and conditions as theBoard may specify in the applicable SAR agreement; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing andunless determined otherwise by the Company, in the event that on the last business day of the term ofan SAR (i) the exercise of the SAR is prohibited by applicable law, as determined by the Company, or(ii) shares of common stock may not be purchased or sold by the applicable participant due to anyCompany insider trading policy (including blackout periods) or a ‘‘lock-up’’ agreement undertaken inconnection with an issuance of securities by the Company, the term of the SAR will be extended untilthe date that is thirty (30) days after the end of the legal prohibition, black-out period or lock-upagreement, as determined by the Company; provided, that the extension will not last beyond the termof the applicable SAR (which, in no event will exceed 10 years from the date of grant) SARs grantedunder the New Plan may not provide for the payment or accrual of dividend equivalents or contain anyprovision entitling the grantee to the automatic grant of additional SARs in connection with theexercise of the original SAR.

Restricted Stock Awards. Restricted stock awards entitle recipients to acquire shares ofcommon stock, subject to our right to repurchase all or part of such shares at their issue price or otherstated or formula price or to require forfeiture if issued at no cost if the conditions specified in theapplicable award are not satisfied prior to the end of the applicable restriction period established bythe Board for such award. Our Board will determine the terms and conditions of the applicable award,including the conditions for vesting and repurchase and the issue price, if any. Any dividends, whetherpaid in cash, stock or property, declared and paid by us with respect to shares of restricted stock willbe paid to a participant only if and when such shares become free from the restrictions ontransferability and forfeitability that apply to such shares. No interest will be paid on unvesteddividends.

Restricted Stock Unit Awards. RSU awards entitle the recipient to receive shares of commonstock or cash to be delivered at the time such award vests pursuant to the terms and conditionsestablished by our Board. The award agreement for RSUs may provide the participant with a right toreceive dividend equivalents, which will be subject to the same restrictions on transfer and forfeitabilityas the underlying RSUs. No interest will be paid on dividend equivalents.

Other Stock or Cash-Based Awards. Under the New Plan, our Board has the right to grantother awards of shares of common stock and other awards that are valued in whole or in part byreference to, or otherwise based on, shares of common stock or other property (‘‘Other Stock-BasedAwards’’), which may include, without limitation, deferred shares or deferred stock units, as well ascash payments and other cash bonus awards (‘‘Cash-Based Awards’’), and dividend equivalents andawards entitling recipients to receive shares of common stock or cash to be delivered in the future(collectively, ‘‘Other Stock- Based Awards and Cash-Based Awards’’). Other Stock-Based Awards and

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Cash-Based Awards will have such terms and conditions as our Board may determine. An Other Stock-Based Award may provide the participant with a right to receive dividend equivalents, which may besettled in cash and/or shares of common stock and will be subject to the same restrictions on transferand forfeitability as the underlying Other Stock-Based Award. No interest will be paid on dividendequivalents.

Performance Awards. Under the New Plan, any award may be made subject to theachievement of performance goals. For any performance award, our Board may specify that the degreeof vesting, settlement and/or payout (or other term or condition of the performance award) shall besubject to the achievement of one or more performance measures established by the Board, which mayinclude, without limitation, the relative or absolute attainment of specified levels of one or anycombination of the following: (i) bookings, (ii) backlog, (iii) revenue, (iv) gross margin ($), (v) grossprofit (%), (vi) operating expenses, (vii) operating income (loss), (viii) net income (loss), (ix) earnings(loss) per share, (x) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and/or amortization (‘‘EBITDA’’),(xi) adjusted EBITDA, (xii) earnings before interest and/or taxes (‘‘EBIT’’), (xiii) adjusted EBIT,(xiv) cost reduction or savings, (xv) productivity ratios or other similar metrics, (xvi) performanceagainst budget, (xvii) cash flow from operations, (xviii) stock price, (xix) financial ratings, (xx) financialmetrics and ratios, (xxi) exit rate operating metrics, (xxii) total stockholder return (whether in theabsolute or measured against or in relationship to other companies comparably, similarly or otherwisesituated), (xxiii) regulatory achievements or compliance (including, without limitation, regulatory bodyapproval for commercialization of a product), (xxiv) implementation or completion of critical projects,(xxv) economic value or economic value added, (xxvi) customer satisfaction, (xxvii) working capitaltargets, (xxviii) organization/transformation metrics, (xxix) return measures (including but not limitedto, return on assets, capital, invested capital, equity, sales or revenue), (xxx) market share, and(xxxi) any other objective or subjective measure determined by our Board.

The Board may specify that such performance measures shall be adjusted to take into accountevents or circumstances determined appropriate by the Board. Performance measures may vary byparticipant and may be different for different awards and may be particular to a participant or thedepartment, branch, line of business, subsidiary or other unit in which the participant works and maycover such period as may be specified by the Board. Performance measures may be calculated ongenerally accepted accounting principles (‘‘GAAP’’) or non-GAAP basis or otherwise in accordance withapplicable accounting principles or such other methodology as determined appropriate by our Board.

Restrictions on Repricings

Unless approved by our stockholders, our Board may not: (i) lower the exercise price of anoption or a SAR; (ii) cancel an option or SAR when the exercise price per share exceeds the fairmarket value of one share in exchange for cash or another award (other than in connection with achange in control); or (iii) take any other action with respect to an option or SAR that would betreated as repricing under the rules and regulations of the principal U.S. national securities exchangeon which the shares of common stock are listed.

Transferability of Awards

Awards, other than vested shares of restricted stock, may not be sold, assigned, transferred,pledged or otherwise encumbered by the person to whom they are granted, either voluntarily or byoperation of law, except by will or the laws of descent and distribution or, other than in the case of anincentive stock option, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order. During the life of the holder ofan award, awards, other than vested shares of restricted stock, are exercisable only by such holder. OurBoard may permit the gratuitous transfer of an award by the holder of an award to or for the benefit

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of any immediate family member, family trust or other entity established for the benefit of such holderor an immediate family member of such holder if, with respect to such transferee, the Company wouldbe eligible to use a Form S-8 for the registration of the sale of the common stock subject to such awardunder the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Eligibility to Receive Awards

Our employees, non-employee directors, consultants and advisors and those of our subsidiariesare eligible to be granted awards under the New Plan.

As of April 1, 2019, approximately 2,287 employees, seven non-employee directors and twoconsultants and advisors were eligible to receive awards under the New Plan, including our executiveofficers and non-employee directors. On April 15, 2019, the last reported sale price of common stockon the Nasdaq Global Select Market was $5.16.

Director Award Limit

During any calendar year, the sum of the grant date fair value of awards and the amount ofany cash fees granted or paid to non-employee directors in respect of such director’s services for suchyear, may not exceed $650,000, provided that the Board may make exception to such limit inextraordinary circumstances.

Clawback Policy

All awards granted under the New Plan are subject to clawback pursuant to the Company’sClawback Policy and any other clawback policy that the Company may adopt in the future.

Minimum Vesting Periods

Under the New Plan, no award (other than cash-based awards) will vest earlier than the firstanniversary of its date of grant; provided, however, such minimum vesting requirement will not apply to(i) any substitute award, (ii) shares of common stock delivered in lieu of full-vested cash-based awards(or other cash awards or payments), (iii) awards to non-employee directors of the Company that veston the earlier of the one-year anniversary of the date of grant and the next annual meeting ofstockholders which is at least 50 weeks after the immediately preceding year’s annual meeting, and(iv) any additional awards our Board may grant, up to a maximum of five percent (5%) of the availableshare reserve authorized for issuance under the New Plan (subject to adjustment for certaincapitalization and reorganization events); and, provided, further, that the foregoing restriction does notapply to our Board’s discretion to provide for accelerated exercisability or vesting of any awards upon(A) the death or disability of a participant, (B) in connection with retirement, termination ofemployment or other separation from service, or (C) in connection with a change in control.

Treatment of Dividends and Dividend Equivalents on Unvested Awards

Notwithstanding any other provision of the New Plan to the contrary, with respect to anyaward that provides for or includes a right to dividends or dividend equivalents, if dividends aredeclared during the period that an equity award is outstanding, such dividends (or dividend equivalents)shall either (i) not be paid or credited with respect to such award or (ii) be accumulated but remainsubject to vesting requirement(s) to the same extent as the applicable award and shall only be paid atthe time or times such vesting requirement(s) are satisfied.

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Provisions for Foreign Participants

Our Board may modify awards granted to participants who are foreign nationals or employedoutside the United States or establish subplans or procedures under the New Plan to recognizedifferences in laws, rules, regulations or customs of such foreign jurisdictions with respect to tax,securities, currency, employee benefit or other matters.

Effective Date and Term of New Plan; Amendment or Termination

The New Plan will be adopted upon stockholder approval at our 2019 Annual Meeting. OurBoard may at any time amend, suspend or terminate the New Plan; provided that, to the extentdetermined by our Board, no amendment requiring stockholder approval under any applicable legal,regulatory or listing requirement will become effective until such stockholder approval is obtained.

New Plan Benefits / Interest of Certain Persons

Shareholders should understand that our executive officers and non-employee directors may beconsidered to have an interest in the approval of the New Plan because they may in the future receiveawards under such plan. In particular, to the extent the New Plan is approved by our stockholders,certain of our named executive officers, other executive officers, non-executive directors andnon-executive officer employees are expected to receive certain RSU grants in the amounts set forthbelow:

Name and Position Dollar Value(1)

Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs, our President and Chief $2,000,000Executive Officer

Daryl E. Raiford, our Executive Vice President and $350,000Chief Financial Officer

Steven Bruny, our Executive Vice President, Global $375,000Sales and Services

Anthony Scarfo, our Executive Vice President, $375,000Products, Research and Development, Support andSupply Chain

Michael Swade, our former Executive Vice President, —Global Sales

Executive Group, Excluding NEOs $900,000

Non-Executive Director Group $720,000

Non-Executive Officer Employee Group $362,500

(1) Number of shares underlying awards is not determinable at this time and will bedetermined by dividing the dollar value of each individual’s grant by the closingprice of our common stock on the date of grant.

The benefits that will be received by participants, including the named executive officers, otherexecutive officers, non-executive directors and other non-executive officer employees, under the New

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Plan will depend on a variety of factors, including the fair market value of the Company’s commonstock at various future dates and the Board’s discretion in granting awards. Therefore, except as setforth in the table above, it is not possible to determine the benefits that would have been received byor allocated to for the last fiscal year, or that will be received by or allocated to, any participants,including the name executive officers, other executive officers, non-executive directors and othernon-executive officer employees if the New Plan is approved by our stockholders. For additionalinformation regarding our equity grants in 2018, please see the tables entitled ‘‘Grants of Plan-BasedAwards’’ and ‘‘Director Compensation’’ in this Proxy Statement.

Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following summarizes the United States federal income tax consequences that generallywill arise with respect to awards granted under the New Plan. This summary is based on the federal taxlaws in effect as of the date of this Proxy Statement. In addition, this summary assumes that all awardsare exempt from, or comply with, the rules under Section 409A of the Code regarding nonqualifieddeferred compensation. Changes to these laws or assumptions could alter the tax consequencesdescribed below.

Incentive Stock Options. A participant will not have income upon the grant of an incentivestock option. Also, except as described below, a participant will not have income upon exercise of anincentive stock option if the participant has been employed by us or our corporate parent or a 50% ormore-owned corporate subsidiary at all times beginning with the option grant date and ending threemonths before the date the participant exercises the option. If the participant has not been soemployed during that time, then the participant will be taxed as described below under the sectionentitled ‘‘Non-statutory Stock Options.’’ The exercise of an incentive stock option may subject theparticipant to the alternative minimum tax.

A participant will have income upon the sale of the stock acquired under an incentive stockoption at a profit (if sales proceeds exceed the exercise price). The type of income will depend onwhen the participant sells the stock. If a participant sells the stock more than two years after the optionwas granted and more than one year after the option was exercised, then all of the profit will belong-term capital gain. If a participant sells the stock prior to satisfying these waiting periods, then theparticipant will have engaged in a disqualifying disposition and a portion of the profit will be ordinaryincome and a portion may be capital gain. This capital gain will be long-term if the participant has heldthe stock for more than one year and otherwise will be short-term. If a participant sells the stock at aloss (sales proceeds are less than the exercise price), then the loss will be a capital loss. This capitalloss will be long-term if the participant held the stock for more than one year and otherwise will beshort-term.

Non-statutory Stock Options. A participant will not have income upon the grant of anon-statutory stock option. A participant will have ordinary income upon the exercise of anon-statutory stock option equal to the value of the stock on the day the participant exercised theoption less the exercise price. Upon sale of the stock, the participant will have capital gain or loss equalto the difference between the sales proceeds and the value of the stock on the day the option wasexercised. This capital gain or loss will be long-term if the participant has held the stock for more thanone year and otherwise will be short-term.

Stock Appreciation Rights. A participant will not have income upon the grant of a SAR. Aparticipant will recognize ordinary income upon the exercise of a SAR equal to the amount of the cashand the fair market value of any stock received. Upon the sale of the stock, the participant will havecapital gain or loss equal to the difference between the sales proceeds and the value of the stock on

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the day the SAR was exercised. This capital gain or loss will be long-term if the participant held thestock for more than one year and otherwise will be short-term.

Restricted Stock Awards. A participant will not have income upon the grant of restricted stockunless the participant voluntarily makes an election under Section 83(b) of the Code within 30 days ofthe date of grant. If a timely Section 83(b) election is made, then a participant will have ordinaryincome equal to the value of the stock on the date of grant less the purchase price. When the stock issold, the participant will have capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the sales proceedsand the value of the stock on the date of grant, if a timely Section 83(b) election has been made.

If the participant does not make a Section 83(b) election, then when the stock vests (i.e., thetransfer restrictions and forfeiture provisions lapse) the participant will have ordinary income equal tothe value of the stock on the vesting date less the purchase price. When the stock is sold, theparticipant will have capital gain or loss equal to the sales proceeds less the value of the stock on thevesting date, if no Section 83(b) election has been made. Any capital gain or loss will be long-term ifthe participant held the stock for more than one year following (i) the day after the grant date if atimely Section 83(b) election has been made or (ii) the day after the vesting date if no Section 83(b)election has been made, and otherwise will be short-term.

Restricted Stock Units. A participant will not have income upon the grant of an RSU. Aparticipant is not permitted to make a Section 83(b) election with respect to an RSU award. When theRSU vests, the participant will have income on the vesting date in an amount equal to the amount ofcash received or the fair market value of the stock on the vesting date less the purchase price, if any.When the stock is sold, the participant will have capital gain or loss equal to the sales proceeds less thevalue of the stock on the vesting date. Any capital gain or loss will be long-term if the participant heldthe stock for more than one year and otherwise will be short-term.

Other Stock- or Cashed-Based Awards and Performance Awards. The tax consequencesassociated with any other stock- or cashed-based award or performance award granted under the NewPlan will vary depending on the specific terms of such award. Among the relevant factors are whetheror not the award has a readily ascertainable fair market value, whether or not the award is subject toforfeiture provisions or restrictions on transfer, the nature of the property to be received by theparticipant under the award and the participant’s holding period and tax basis for the award orunderlying common stock.

Tax Consequences to the Company. There will be no tax consequences to us except that we willbe entitled to a deduction when a participant has ordinary income. Any such deduction may be subjectto the limitations of Sections 162(m) of the Code.

Board of Directors’ Recommendation

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The Board of Directors recommends that stockholders vote ‘‘FOR’’ the approval of Ribbon’s 2019Incentive Award Plan.

PROPOSAL 3 — RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENTREGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has appointed Deloitte & Touche LLP(‘‘Deloitte’’) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year endingDecember 31, 2019. Deloitte has acted as the independent registered accounting firm of Ribbon sincethe closing of the Merger, and of Sonus from August 2005 until the closing of the Merger. We areasking our stockholders to ratify this appointment. If this proposal is not approved at the 2019 AnnualMeeting, our Audit Committee may consider this fact when it appoints our independent registeredpublic accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020. Even if the proposal is approvedat the 2019 Annual Meeting, the Audit Committee may, in its discretion, direct the appointment of adifferent independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines thatsuch change would be in the interests of the Company and its stockholders.

Representatives of Deloitte are expected to be present at the 2019 Annual Meeting and willhave the opportunity to make a statement and be available to respond to appropriate questions bystockholders.

Deloitte Fees

The following is a summary and description of fees for services provided by Deloitte in 2018and 2017:

Fee Category 2018 2017

Audit Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,586,871 $2,512,297Audit-Related Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205,960 —Tax Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,666 127,639All Other Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,910 13,475Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,933,407 $2,653,411

Audit Fees. These amounts represent fees for the audit of our consolidated financialstatements included in our 2018 Annual Report, the review of financial statements included in ourQuarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, the audit of internal control over financial reporting and the servicesthat an independent auditor would customarily provide in connection with subsidiary audits, statutoryrequirements, regulatory filing and similar engagements for the fiscal year, such as consents andassistance with review of documents filed with the SEC. Audit fees also include advice on accountingmatters that may arise in connection with or as a result of the audit or the review of periodicconsolidated financial statements and statutory audits that non-U.S. jurisdictions require. The 2017amount includes $767,125 of fees incurred in connection with the Merger of Sonus and GENBANDand the filing of the related registration statement on Form S-4.

Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees related to due diligence services andaccounting consultations regarding the application of generally accepted accounting principles toproposed transactions.

Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of professional services for tax compliance, tax advice and taxplanning. These services include assistance regarding federal, state and international tax compliance,value-added tax compliance, and transfer pricing advice and planning. Of this amount for fiscal 2018,$89,666 represents fees for tax compliance and preparation.

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All Other Fees. All other fees consist of professional products and services other than theservices reported above, including fees for our subscription to Deloitte’s online accounting researchtool.

Policy on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services

The Audit Committee had adopted a policy to pre-approve audit and permissible non-auditservices provided by the independent registered public accounting firm. These services may includeaudit services, audit-related services, tax services and other services. Prior to engagement of theindependent registered public accounting firm for the next year’s audit, the independent registeredpublic accounting firm and our management submit a list of services expected to be rendered duringthat year for each of the four categories of services to the Audit Committee for approval. Pre-approvalis generally provided for up to one year and any pre-approval is detailed as to the particular service orcategory of services. The independent registered public accounting firm and our managementperiodically report to the Audit Committee regarding the extent of services provided by theindependent registered public accounting firm in accordance with this pre-approval process. The AuditCommittee may also pre-approve particular services on a case-by-case basis. The Audit Committeepre-approved all of the services and fees of Deloitte set forth above in accordance with such policy.

Our Audit Committee requires the regular rotation of the lead audit partner and concurringpartner as required by Section 203 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and is responsible forrecommending to our Board policies for hiring employees or former employees of the independentregistered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee has determined that the provision of servicesdescribed above to us by Deloitte is compatible with maintaining Deloitte’s independence.

Board of Directors’ Recommendation

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The Board of Directors recommends that stockholders vote ‘‘FOR’’ the ratification of the appointmentof Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2019.

PROPOSAL 4 — APPROVAL, ON A NON-BINDING, ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPENSATIONOF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The Board is dedicated to excellence in governance and is mindful of the interests ourstockholders have in our executive compensation program. As part of that commitment and pursuant tothe rules of the SEC, our stockholders are being asked to approve a non-binding advisory resolution onthe compensation of our named executive officers. This proposal, which is typically called the‘‘Say-on-Pay’’ proposal, offers stockholders the opportunity to express their opinions on our 2018executive compensation program and policies for our named executive officers through the followingresolution:

‘‘RESOLVED, that the stockholders of Ribbon Communications Inc. (the ‘‘Company’’)approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to the Company’s named executiveofficers as disclosed pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the U.S. Securities andExchange Commission, including the ‘‘Compensation Discussion and Analysis’’ section and theaccompanying compensation tables and the related narratives in the Proxy Statement for theCompany’s 2019 annual meeting of stockholders.’’

This vote is not intended to address any specific element of compensation, but rather theoverall compensation policies and practices relating to the named executive officers. Even though theoutcome of this advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers is non-binding, theCompensation Committee and the Board will, as they have done in prior years, take into account theoutcome of this vote when making future compensation arrangements. The outcome of this advisoryvote does not overrule any decision by the Company or the Board (or any committee thereof), createor imply any change to the fiduciary duties of the Company or the Board (or any committee thereof),or create or imply any additional fiduciary duties for the Company or the Board (or any committeesthereof).

We believe that for the reasons summarized in the ‘‘Compensation Discussion and Analysis’’section of this Proxy Statement, we have a compensation program deserving of stockholder support.Unless the Board modifies its policy regarding the frequency of holding ‘‘say on pay’’ advisory votes,such votes will take place every year and the next such vote will occur at the 2020 Annual Meeting.

Board of Directors’ Recommendation

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The Board of Directors recommends that stockholders vote ‘‘FOR’’ the approval, on a non-binding,advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers.

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD MATTERS

We are committed to strong corporate governance practices, which include building long-termvalue for our stockholders and assuring the success of the Company for its stockholders andstakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and the communities in which we operate. Toachieve these goals, our Board is charged with monitoring the performance of the Company and itsofficers as well as its programs and procedures to ensure compliance with law and our overall success.Governance is an ongoing focus at Ribbon, starting with the Board and extending to management andall employees. In addition, we solicit feedback from stockholders on governance and executivecompensation practices in order to improve our practices.

We believe our governance practices are strong for the following reasons:

Annual Election of Directors: Yes (no staggered board)

Majority Voting for Director Elections: Yes

Separate Chairman and CEO: Yes

Substantial Majority of Independent Directors: Yes

Independent Directors Meet without Management: Yes

Board with Wide Range of Experience and Skills: Yes

Annual Equity Grant to Non-Employee Directors: Yes

Annual Board and Committee Self-Evaluations: Yes

Annual Advisory Approval of Executive Compensation: Yes

Disclosure Committee for Financial Reporting: Yes

Review and Approval Policy for Related Party Transactions: Yes

Share Ownership Guidelines for our CEO, Certain Officers and our Non-EmployeeDirectors: Yes

Clawback Policy for Recovering Incentive-Based Compensation Following an AccountingRestatement: Yes

Insider Trading Policy that Prohibits Hedging and Other Similar Actions for our ExecutiveOfficers and Directors: Yes

Oversight of Risk Management

At Ribbon, we believe that innovation and leadership are impossible without taking risks. Wealso recognize that imprudent acceptance of risk or the failure to appropriately identify and mitigaterisks could be destructive to stockholder value. The Board is responsible for assessing the Company’sapproach to risk management and overseeing management’s execution of its responsibilities foridentifying and managing risk. The Board exercises its responsibilities through discussions in Boardmeetings and also through its committees, each of which examines various components of enterpriserisk as part of its responsibilities. Generally, strategic risks and the risks related to managementdelegation are overseen and evaluated by the full Board; financial, internal control and cybersecurityrisks are overseen and evaluated by the Audit Committee; risks relating to our compensation policiesare overseen and evaluated by the Compensation Committee; and risks related to governance areoverseen and evaluated by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Each committeeassesses identified risks and informs the Board about the risks as needed. Management also regularlyreports on each such risk to the relevant committee or the Board. Moreover, an overall review of risk

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is inherent in the Board’s consideration of our long-term strategies and in the transactions and othermatters presented to the Board, including capital expenditures, acquisitions and divestitures, andfinancial matters. Additional review or reporting on risks is conducted as needed or as requested by theBoard or one of its committees. The Board believes that its role in the oversight of the Company’srisks complements our current Board structure, as our structure allows our independent directors,through our three fully independent Board committees, to exercise effective oversight of the actions ofmanagement in identifying risks and implementing effective risk management policies and controls.

Board Composition and Stockholders Agreement

Our Board currently consists of eight directors, one of whom is employed by the Company(Mr. Hobbs). On October 27, 2017, in connection with the Merger, the Company entered into theStockholders Agreement with the JPM Stockholders. The Stockholders Agreement provides, amongother things, that: (i) for so long as the JPM Stockholders beneficially own at least 80% of the commonstock beneficially owned by the JPM Stockholders on the closing date of the Merger, the JPMStockholders will have the right to designate five directors to serve on the Board, at least two of whommust be independent directors as defined in the Stockholders Agreement; (ii) from and after the firsttime that the JPM Stockholders beneficially own less than 80% of the common stock beneficiallyowned by the JPM Stockholders on the closing date of the Merger, the number of directors that theJPM Stockholders will have the right to designate will be reduced to four, at least one of whom mustbe an independent director as defined in the Stockholders Agreement; (iii) from and after the firsttime that the JPM Stockholders beneficially own less than 70% of the common stock beneficiallyowned by the JPM Stockholders on the closing date of the Merger, the number of directors that theJPM Stockholders will have the right to designate will be reduced to three, at least one of whom mustbe an independent director as defined in the Stockholders Agreement; (iv) from and after the first timethat the JPM Stockholders beneficially own less than 50% of the common stock beneficially owned bythe JPM Stockholders on the closing date of the Merger, the number of directors that the JPMStockholders will have the right to designate will be reduced to two, neither of whom need be anindependent director as defined in the Stockholders Agreement; (v) from and after the first time thatthe JPM Stockholders beneficially own less than 30% of the common stock beneficially owned by theJPM Stockholders on the closing date of the Merger, the number of directors that the JPMStockholders will have the right to designate will be reduced to one, who does not need to be anindependent director as defined in the Stockholders Agreement; and (vi) upon the first date that theJPM Stockholders beneficially own less than 10% of the common stock beneficially owned by the JPMStockholders on the closing date of the Merger, the JPM Stockholders will have no board designationrights and the Company may, following a request of the majority of directors serving (other than thosedesignated by the JPM Stockholders), require any designees of the JPM Stockholders to resign fromthe Board. The Stockholders Agreement further provides that the Nominating and CorporateGovernance Committee will designate the Company’s then-serving CEO as a director, as well as suchadditional number of directors as constitutes the full Board.

Director Independence

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that, in determining the independence of adirector, the Board will be guided by the definitions of ‘‘independent director’’ in the listing standardsof Nasdaq and applicable laws and regulations as well as the definition of ‘‘independent director’’ setforth in the Stockholders’ Agreement.

For purposes of the Stockholders Agreement, ‘‘independent director’’ means a personnominated or serving as a director on the Board who: (i) is independent for purposes of the rules ofthe Nasdaq and the SEC; (ii) does not then serve and has not served as a director, officer, partner or

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other senior-level employee (or other employee or consultant within the prior five years) of, and doesnot otherwise then receive (and has not at any time otherwise received) any material compensationfrom, any JPM Stockholder or any of its affiliates; and (iii) does not then serve (and has not at anytime within the prior two years served) as a director, officer, employee or consultant of, and does nototherwise then receive (and has not at any time within the prior two years otherwise received) anycompensation from, any portfolio company of any JPM Stockholder or any of its affiliates or any otherthird party that owns 15% or more of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock (as definedin the Stockholders Agreement). Certain qualifications and exclusions apply to the foregoing definition,and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may waive certain of the foregoingindependent director independence requirements in certain circumstances.

During its annual review of director independence, the Board considers all information itdeems relevant, including without limitation, any transactions and relationships between each directoror any member of his or her immediate family and the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates. TheBoard conducted an annual review of director independence and affirmatively determined that each ofKim S. Fennebresque, Bruns H. Grayson, Beatriz V. Infante, Richard J. Lynch, Kent J. Mathy andScott E. Schubert does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independentjudgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director, and that, as a result, each is an ‘‘independentdirector’’ as defined under Nasdaq Rule 5605(a)(2). The Board also conducted a review of directorindependence under the standards set forth in the Stockholders Agreement and determined that eachof Kim S. Fennebresque, Bruns H. Grayson, Beatriz V. Infante, Richard J. Lynch, Kent J. Mathy andScott E. Schubert is an ‘‘independent director’’ as defined in the Stockholders Agreement. Due to hisrole as our CEO, Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs does not qualify as an independent director. Due to hisaffiliation with the JPM Stockholders, Richard W. Smith does not qualify as an independent directorunder the Stockholders Agreement.

There are no family relationships among any of our directors, nominees for director andexecutive officers.

Meeting Attendance

Our Board recognizes the importance of director attendance at Board and committee meetings.Our Board held nine meetings during 2018, four of which were regular meetings and five of which werespecial meetings. Each of the directors attended at least 75% of the combined total meetings of theBoard and its committees on which they served. While we do not have a formal policy regarding theattendance of directors at our annual meetings of stockholders, it is expected that, absent compellingcircumstances, all of our directors will attend. All of the current members of the Board attended theCompany’s 2018 annual meeting of stockholders.

Board Committees

Our Board has three standing committees: the Audit Committee, the CompensationCommittee, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Each of the standingcommittees is composed entirely of independent directors as defined under applicable rules, includingthe Nasdaq rules and, in the case of all members of the Audit Committee, the independencerequirements of Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act and, in the case of all members of theCompensation Committee, the heightened independence requirements for Compensation Committeemembers under the Nasdaq rules.

In June 2018, the Board dissolved the Integration Committee because it determined that suchcommittee was no longer necessary and that it was in the best interests of the Company and its

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stockholders to have the entire Board participate in discussions and decisions relating to the Company’sintegration efforts going forward.

Under the Stockholders Agreement, subject to the Company’s obligation to comply with anyapplicable independence requirements under the Nasdaq rules and the rules of the SEC, for as long asthe JPM Stockholders have the right to designate at least three directors to serve on our Board, atleast one member of each of our Board’s standing committees must be a designee of the JPMStockholders. In addition, for so long as the JPM Stockholders have the right to designate at least onedirector who is an ‘‘independent director’’ as defined in the Stockholders Agreement, the Nominatingand Corporate Governance Committee must consist of three directors, each of whom must be an‘‘independent director’’ under the Stockholders Agreement and one of whom must be a designee of theJPM Stockholders.

Audit Committee. Our Board has established an Audit Committee consisting of threemembers: Messrs. Schubert (Chair) and Grayson and Ms. Infante. Our Board has determined thatMr. Schubert is an ‘‘audit committee financial expert’’ as defined in Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K.This designation is a disclosure requirement of the SEC related to Mr. Schubert’s experience andunderstanding with respect to certain accounting and auditing matters, but it does not impose uponMr. Schubert any duties, obligations or liability that are greater than are generally imposed on him as amember of the Audit Committee and the Board, and his designation as an audit committee financialexpert pursuant to this SEC requirement does not affect the duties, obligations or liability of any othermember of the Audit Committee or the Board. The Audit Committee held six meetings during 2018.

As described more fully in its charter, the Audit Committee’s responsibilities include, amongother things: (i) appointing, evaluating, compensating, overseeing the work of and, if appropriate,terminating the appointment of the independent auditor; (ii) overseeing the Company’s financialreporting, including reviewing and discussing with management, the independent auditor and a memberof the internal audit function, prior to public release, the Company’s annual and quarterly financialstatements to be filed with the SEC; (iii) overseeing management’s design and maintenance of theCompany’s internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures; and(iv) reviewing and discussing with management and the independent auditor the Company’s financialrisk exposures and assessing the policies and procedures management has implemented to monitor andcontrol such exposures. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a written charter adopted by theBoard that reflects standards and requirements adopted by the SEC and Nasdaq, a current copy ofwhich is available at www.ribboncommunications.com, in the section entitled Company—InvestorRelations—Corporate Governance—Governance Highlights.

Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee consists of three members:Messrs. Fennebresque (Chair) and Grayson and Ms. Infante. The Compensation Committee held sixmeetings during 2018.

As described more fully in its charter, the Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include,among other things: (i) reviewing and approving the Company’s compensation plans, practices andpolicies for directors and executive officers, including a review of any risks arising from compensationpractices and policies for employees that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on theCompany; (ii) reviewing the Company’s succession plans for executive officers, where requested to doso by the Board; (iii) making recommendations to the Board regarding the establishment and terms ofany incentive compensation or equity-based plans and monitoring their administration; and (iv) beforeselecting or receiving advice from a compensation advisor (other than in-house legal counsel),considering various factors relating to the independence of such advisor. The Compensation Committeemay delegate its authority under its charter to one or more subcommittees or members of management,

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consistent with applicable law and SEC and Nasdaq rules. Specifically, the Compensation Committeemay delegate to one or more executive officers of the Company the power to grant options or otherstock awards pursuant to the Company’s equity plans to certain employees of the Company.

The Compensation Committee operates pursuant to a written charter adopted by the Boardthat reflects standards and requirements adopted by Nasdaq, a current copy of which is available atwww.ribboncommunications.com, in the section entitled Company—Investor Relations—CorporateGovernance—Governance Highlights.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Nominating and CorporateGovernance Committee consists of three members: Messrs. Fennebresque (Chair), Lynch and Schubert.The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held five meetings during 2018.

As described more fully in its charter, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’sresponsibilities include, among other things: (i) identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualifiedto serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the Board, and recommending to the Boardcandidates for: (a) nomination for election by the stockholders and (b) any Board vacancies that are tobe filled by the Board, subject to any rights regarding the selection of directors by holders of preferredshares and any other contractual or other commitments of the Company; (ii) developing andrecommending to the Board, overseeing the implementation and effectiveness of, and recommendingmodifications as appropriate to, a set of corporate governance guidelines applicable to the Company;(iii) reviewing annually with the Board the composition of the Board as a whole and a succession planin the event one or more directors ceases to serve for any reason; (iv) overseeing the annualself-evaluation of the Board, its committees, individual directors and management; and (v) identifyingappropriate director development and continuing education opportunities and making recommendationsto the Board as appropriate.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee operates under a written charteradopted by the Board that reflects standards and requirements adopted by Nasdaq, a current copy ofwhich is available at www.ribboncommunications.com, in the section entitled Company—InvestorRelations—Corporate Governance—Governance Highlights.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During 2018, the members of the Compensation Committee were Messrs. Fennebresque(Chair) and Grayson and Ms. Infante, none of whom are or previously were officers or employees ofthe Company.

None of our executive officers serves as a member of the board of directors or compensationcommittee (or other committee performing equivalent functions) of any entity that has one or moreexecutive officers serving on our Board or compensation committee.

Director Nomination Process

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee screens and recommends candidatesfor nomination by the full Board. There are no specific minimum qualifications for a recommendednominee to our Board; however, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers,among other skills and criteria, the following for nomination as a director: demonstrated businessknowledge, technical skills and experience; an ability to exercise sound judgment in matters that relateto our current and long-term objectives; commitment to understanding us and our industry and toregularly attend and participate in meetings of our Board and its committees; a reputation for integrity,

36

honesty and adherence to high ethical standards; diversity of background and other desired qualities;the ability and experience to understand the sometimes conflicting interests of our variousconstituencies and to act in the interests of all stockholders; and the absence of any conflict of interestthat would impair the nominee’s ability to represent the interest of all our stockholders and to fulfillthe responsibilities of being a director.

In considering whether to recommend any particular candidate for inclusion in our Board’sslate of recommended director nominees, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committeeapplies the criteria generally set forth in the Nominating and Corporate Governance CommitteeCharter. The process followed by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to identifyand evaluate director candidates includes requests to our Board members and others forrecommendations, meetings from time to time to evaluate biographical information and backgroundmaterial relating to potential candidates and interviews of selected candidates by members of theNominating and Corporate Governance Committee and our Board. Our Board believes that thebackgrounds and qualifications of its directors, considered as a group, should provide a composite mixof experience, knowledge and abilities that will allow our Board to fulfill its responsibilities. Inidentifying potential director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee andthe Board also focus on ensuring that the Board reflects a diversity of experiences, backgrounds andskills. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has the authority to engage independentadvisors to assist in the process of identifying and evaluating director candidates, but has not engagedany such advisors to date.

Stockholder Nominations and Recommendations of Director Candidates

Stockholders who wish to recommend candidates to the Nominating and CorporateGovernance Committee for consideration as potential director candidates should send theirrecommendation to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, c/o Corporate Secretary,Ribbon Communications Inc., 4 Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA 01886. In considering candidatessubmitted by stockholders, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will take intoconsideration the current make-up of the Board, what skills should be added (if any) and thequalifications of the candidate. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will considerdirector candidates recommended by stockholders in the same manner as candidates recommended bythe Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, as described above in ‘‘Director NominationProcess.’’

Stockholders who wish to nominate director candidates or propose business to be considereddirectly at an annual meeting in accordance with the procedures set forth in our by-laws should followthe procedures set forth under the sections entitled ‘‘Stockholder Nominations and Proposals ForPresentation At 2020 Annual Meeting.’’

Board Leadership Structure

The Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that the Board leadership structurethat is most appropriate for the Company at this time is a non-executive Chairman. The Boardevaluates its leadership structure and role in risk oversight on an ongoing basis, and makes decisions onthe basis of what it considers to be best for the Company at any given point in time. Currently, ourBoard leadership structure consists of an independent Chairman, a separate CEO and strongcommittee chairs. The Board believes its leadership structure provides for appropriate independencebetween the Board and management because the current leadership structure offers the followingbenefits: (i) increasing the independent oversight of Ribbon and enhancing our Board’s objectiveevaluation of our CEO, (ii) focusing the CEO on company operations instead of Board administration,

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(iii) providing the CEO with an experienced sounding board, (iv) providing greater opportunities forcommunication between stockholders and our Board, (v) enhancing the independent and objectiveassessment of risk by our Board, and (vi) providing an independent spokesperson for our Company.

Executive Sessions of the Board

The Company’s Board is structured to promote independence and is designed so thatindependent directors exercise oversight of the Company’s management and key issues related tostrategy and risk. Under our Corporate Governance Guidelines, our independent directors are requiredto meet in executive session at regularly scheduled Board meetings without management present todiscuss any matters the independent directors consider appropriate. We expect the Board to have aleast four executive sessions each year.

Stock Ownership Guidelines

The Board believes that it is important to link the interests of our directors and managementto those of our stockholders. Accordingly, our non-employee directors, our Chief Executive Officer andour other officers required to file reports under Section 16 of the Exchange Act are subject to a stockownership policy. For additional information regarding our stock ownership policy, please see thesection entitled ‘‘Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Stock Ownership Requirements’’ below.

Additional Governance Matters

Code of Ethics. Our Board has adopted a written Code of Conduct, which qualifies as a ‘‘codeof ethics’’ as defined by SEC rules. The Code of Conduct is intended to provide guidance on theconduct expected of Ribbon’s employees, officers and directors in the interests of preserving Ribbon’sreputation for integrity, accountability and fair dealing. To ensure that our business is conducted in aconsistently legal and ethical manner, our Code of Conduct applies to all of our directors, officers andemployees.

We intend to disclose any amendment to or waiver of a provision of the Code of Conduct thatapplies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer orcontroller, or persons performing similar functions, by posting such information on our website atwww.ribboncommunications.com.

Sustainability, Social and Environmental Responsibility. Ribbon has a mature sustainabilityprogram and an active environmental management system (‘‘EMS’’). This is highlighted by ourcontinuous ISO 14001 certification since 2010 for our major North American and European sites andour compliance with international laws relating to environmental management. In our EnvironmentalPolicy, we state our commitment to: (i) protecting the environment and preventing pollution within ourproducts’ lifecycle with responsible product design and by requiring our suppliers to adhere tosustainable practices, (ii) fulfilling our compliance obligations by complying with all applicableenvironmental legislation and other requirements, and (iii) continually improving our EMS to enhanceenvironmental performance.

We implement administrative controls to assess our compliance obligations, processes andpractices, and to identify opportunities for reductions in energy use, carbon emissions and waste. Wealso take appropriate measures to meet the following objectives: (i) reduce and optimize ourconsumption of nature resources, (ii) prevent hazardous and/or banned substances from entering ourproducts, and (iii) recycle those materials required for operations in the global marketplace. TheCompany takes its corporate social responsibilities seriously, as evidenced through its publicly available

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statement on slavery and human trafficking as well as its published Supplier Code of Conduct. Ribbondemonstrates leadership in environmental management to all of our suppliers through our ISO 14001certification and ensuring that in all of our business dealings, we comply with applicable national andinternational legislation and human rights. Our company policy documents are available athttps://ribboncommunications.com/company/company-policies-1.

Public Availability of Corporate Governance Documents. For more corporate governanceinformation, you are invited to access our key corporate governance documents, including ourCorporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Conduct and the charters of our Audit Committee,Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee on our corporatewebsite at www.ribboncommunications.com, in the section entitled Company—Investor Relations—Corporate Governance—Governance Highlights or in print, free of charge, if you request them from ourcorporate secretary at Ribbon Communications Inc., 4 Technology Park Drive, Westford, Massachusetts01886, Attention: Corporate Secretary. The references in this Proxy Statement to our corporate websiteare not intended to, and do not, incorporate by reference into this Proxy Statement any materialscontained on such website.

Stockholder Communications with the Board of Directors. Stockholders may communicate withour Board by writing, calling or e-mailing our Investor Relations Department at RibbonCommunications Inc., 4 Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA 01886, Attention: Investor Relations,(978) 614-8440, [email protected]. Our Investor Relations Department will review all such communicationsand will forward to the Chairman of the Audit Committee all communications that raise an issueappropriate for consideration by our Board.

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Page 27: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

The information contained in this report shall not be deemed to be ‘‘soliciting material’’ or ‘‘filed’’or incorporated by reference in future filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or subjectto the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent thatwe specifically request that it be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporate it by reference into adocument filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, asamended.

We reviewed Ribbon’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31,2018 and discussed these financial statements with Ribbon’s management, including a discussion of thequality, not just the acceptability, of the accounting principles, the reasonableness of significantjudgments and the clarity of disclosures in the financial statements. Ribbon’s management isresponsible for Ribbon’s financial reporting process, including its system of internal controls, and forthe preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accountingprinciples. Ribbon’s independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP(‘‘Deloitte’’), is responsible for performing an independent audit of Ribbon’s financial statements inaccordance with standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States)(‘‘PCAOB’’) and issuing a report on those financial statements and issuing a report on the effectivenessof Ribbon’s internal control over financial reporting as of the end of the fiscal year. Our responsibilityis to monitor and review these processes. We also reviewed and discussed with Deloitte the auditedfinancial statements and the matters required by SEC Regulation S-X Rule 2-07 and AS No. 1301,Communications with Audit Committees.

Deloitte provided us with, and we reviewed, the written disclosures and the letter required byPCAOB Ethics and Independence Rule 3526, Communications with Audit Committees ConcerningIndependence. This rule requires independent registered public accounting firms annually to disclose inwriting all relationships that in the independent registered public accounting firm’s professional opinionmay reasonably be thought to bear on independence, to confirm their independence and to engage in adiscussion of independence. In addition to engaging in this discussion with Deloitte regarding itsindependence, we also considered whether Deloitte’s provision of other, non-audit related services toRibbon is compatible with maintaining Deloitte’s independence.

Based on our discussions with management and Deloitte, and our review of informationprovided by management and Deloitte, we recommended to the Ribbon Board of Directors that theaudited financial statements be included in Ribbon’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year endedDecember 31, 2018.

Submitted by,AUDIT COMMITTEE:Scott E. Schubert (Chairman)Bruns H. GraysonBeatriz V. Infante

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DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

The Compensation Committee reviews the compensation of our non-employee directorsperiodically and recommends changes to the Board when it deems appropriate. The following tabledescribes the components of the non-employee directors’ compensation for 2018:

Annual Retainer $60,000+

$120,000+ in shares of restricted stock that vest after one year (or, if earlier, on theAnnual Equity Retainer date of the next annual meeting if the non-employee director does not stand for

re-election or is not re-elected by stockholders of the Company))

$15,000 for the Audit Committee$10,000 for the Compensation CommitteeCommittee Fees* $5,000 for the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee$5,000 for the Integration Committee++

$100,000 for the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board*$25,000 for the Audit Committee**

Chair Fee $17,000 for the Compensation Committee**$10,000 for the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee**$10,000 for the Integration Committee**,++

New Director Equity Award $180,000+ in shares of restricted stock that vest after one year(one-time grant)

Ownership of common stock that has a value equivalent to five times the annualStock Ownership cash retainer; to be satisfied on or before October 27, 2022 for current directors orGuidelines within five years of joining the Board for future directors

* Compensation for service as the chairman of the Board or a committee member is in additionto the compensation paid for Board service.** Compensation for service as a committee chair is in addition to the compensation paid forservice on such committee.+ Mr. Smith is not entitled to any annual director equity grants. In lieu of such grants,Mr. Smith’s annual retainer is $160,000. All compensation paid to Mr. Smith is paid directly toHeritage PE (OEP) III L.P. (‘‘Heritage III’’).++ The Board dissolved the Integration Committee in June 2018. However, compensation forservice on the Integration Committee was paid in full for 2018.

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Compensation Element Compensation Payment

Page 28: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

Total Director Compensation for 2018

The following table contains information on compensation earned by each non-employeemember of our Board during 2018:

2018 Director Compensation

Fees Earned or Stock Awards TotalDirector Paid in Cash ($) ($)(1) ($)(2)

Kim S. Fennebresque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102,000 120,001 222,001Bruns H. Grayson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90,000 120,001 210,001Beatriz V. Infante . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85,000 120,001 205,001Richard J. Lynch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165,000 120,001 285,001Kent J. Mathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000 120,001 195,001Scott E. Schubert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110,000 120,001 230,001Richard W. Smith(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160,000 — 160,000

(1) The amounts in this column do not reflect compensation actually received by the applicabledirector. Instead, the amounts reflect the grant date fair value of restricted stock awards, ascalculated in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 718, Compensation—Stock-Based Compensation (‘‘ASC 718’’).

The $120,001 reported for each member of the Board, with the exception of Mr. Smith,represents the grant date fair value of his or her 2018 Ribbon Director Grant of 18,162 sharesof restricted stock, which shares were granted on June 15, 2018 and which will vest on June 15,2019.

As of December 31, 2018, our non-employee directors held an aggregate of 260,358 unvestedshares of our common stock as follows:

Number of UnvestedShares Held as of

Non-Employee Directors 12/31/18

Kim S. Fennebresque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,393Bruns H. Grayson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,393Beatriz V. Infante . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,393Richard J. Lynch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,393Kent J. Mathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,393Scott E. Schubert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,393Richard W. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . —

(2) Non-employee directors also are eligible to be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocketexpenses incurred in connection with attendance at our Board or committee meetings.

(3) Mr. Smith is not entitled to any equity compensation in connection with his services as amember of the Board. Fees paid to Mr. Smith included herein represent annual director fees,consistent with other non-employee directors, and additional fees in lieu of the 2018 annualdirector grant. More specifically, Mr. Smith’s cash compensation for 2018 includes $100,000 ofcash that was paid quarterly in arrears in lieu of his 2018 Ribbon Director Grant. Allcompensation for Mr. Smith’s services is paid directly to Heritage III.

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

The executive officers of the Company as of the date hereof are listed below:

Name Age Position

Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs . . . . . . 71 President and Chief Executive OfficerDaryl E. Raiford . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerSteven Bruny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Executive Vice President, Global Sales & ServicesJustin K. Ferguson . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate

SecretaryPatrick Joggerst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President,

Business DevelopmentJohn McCready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy OfficerKevin Riley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and

Advanced R&DAnthony Scarfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Executive Vice President, Products, R&D, Support &

Supply Chain

Biographical information regarding each executive officer other than Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbsis set forth below. Mr. Hobbs’ biographical information is set forth above under the section entitled‘‘Proposal 1—Election of Directors.’’

Daryl E. Raiford has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer sinceOctober 2017. He previously served in the same position at GENBAND since 2010, and wasresponsible for global financial, business operations and supply chain functions. Between 2007 and2010, Mr. Raiford served as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer and then as Vice President ofBusiness Transformation at Freescale Semiconductor, which was headquartered in Austin, Texas. From2004 through 2007, Mr. Raiford was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of TravelportWorldwide Limited, and was responsible for the global financial, communications, productmanagement, information technology, and general administrative functions of this UK-based globaltravel distribution firm. Before Travelport, Mr. Raiford served as Vice President, Finance andAdministration, Americas for Hewlett Packard between 2002 and 2004, and as Corporate Controller forCompaq Computer Corporation from 1999 until its acquisition by Hewlett Packard in 2002. He alsowas the Chief Financial Officer for Shell Technology Ventures, based in Houston, Texas and TheHague, Netherlands. Mr. Raiford served for ten years at the accounting firm Price Waterhouse inLondon and Houston, and is a Certified Public Accountant. Effective February 2019, Mr. Raiford wasappointed to serve on the Board of Directors and as Chair of the Audit Committee of LeoneMedia Inc., a global media technology company that acquired Ericsson’s Media Solutions business andwhich operates under the trade name MediaKind. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administrationdegree in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin. In 2012, Mr. Raiford was honored as afinalist for the Outstanding CFO, Private Company by D CEO Magazine.

Steven Bruny has served as our Executive Vice President, Global Sales & Services since January2019. He previously served as our Executive Vice President, Global Operations from October 2017 toJanuary 2019; as Chief Operating Officer of GENBAND from January 2015 to October 2017; and asSenior Vice President of Major Accounts Sales for GENBAND from July 2012 to January 2015. Priorto joining GENBAND, from July 2005 to March 2012, Mr. Bruny served as Chief Executive Officer ofAztek Networks, Inc., a telecommunications company, which was acquired by GENBAND in 2012.Prior to joining Aztek Networks, Inc., in 1999, Mr. Bruny co-founded Connexn Technologies, Inc., atelecommunications company, which was acquired by Azure Solutions, Ltd., in 2004. Prior to hisposition at Connexn Technologies, Inc., Mr. Bruny was Founder and CEO of IGS, a

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Page 29: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

telecommunications software supplier, from 1993 to 1998. From 1988 to 1993, Mr. Bruny was alsoFounder and CEO of Information + Graphics Systems, Inc., a GIS software provider that was acquiredby Hitachi Software Engineering in 1993. Mr. Bruny holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physicsfrom Colorado State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University ofColorado.

Justin K. Ferguson has served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and CorporateSecretary since April 2018. Prior to joining Ribbon, from 2015 to 2018, Mr. Ferguson was the VicePresident, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Zix Corporation, a Nasdaq listed company thatprovides email security solutions. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Ferguson served as Senior Vice President—Director of Legal for GENBAND. Prior to GENBAND, he was an attorney at the law firms of Weil,Gotshal & Manges LLP and Baker Botts L.L.P. Mr. Ferguson received a Juris Doctorate degree fromTexas Tech University School of Law and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from TexasTech University. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Patrick Joggerst has served as our Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President,Business Development since October 2017. He joined GENBAND in March 2015 as Executive VicePresident and Chief Marketing Officer and in January 2016 became Executive Vice President of GlobalSales and Marketing. Prior to that, Mr. Joggerst served as Vice President of Global Sales forBroadSoft, Inc., a software company, from August 2012 to September 2014. Mr. Joggerst was theExecutive Vice President and General Manager for the Carrier Services & Solutions business unit atAricent Group, a software company, from September 2009 to July 2012. Earlier positions held byMr. Joggerst include: Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at NextPoint Networks (formerlyNexTone), a software company, from January 2007 to September 2008, Executive Vice President ofGlobal Sales and Marketing at Telcordia Technologies, a telecommunications software company, fromOctober 2002 to January 2006, President of PrimeCo Personal Communications, L.P., a wirelesstelecommunications provider, from January 2002 to August 2002, President of Carrier Service at GlobalCrossing, a telecommunications company, from February 1998 to December 2001, as well as severalexecutive positions at AT&T, a telecommunications company, from February 1981 to January 1998.Mr. Joggerst is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

John McCready has served as our Chief Strategy Officer since October 2017. Previously, heserved as GENBAND’s Executive Vice President, Products and Corporate Development since July2013. Prior to this role, Mr. McCready was a Senior Vice President responsible for the ProductManagement organization from May 2010 until July 2013. Mr. McCready held leadership roles atNortel Networks Corporation, a telecommunications manufacturer, in Wireless Networks, CarrierMultimedia Networks and Carrier Data Networks between January 2007 and May 2010 and betweenSeptember 1991 and August 2001. Prior to that, Mr. McCready led the Marketing and Carrier Salesorganizations at SavaJe Technologies Inc., a software developer, which was acquired by SUNMicrosystems, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oracle Corporation. From August 2001 to February2005, Mr. McCready was Vice President of Marketing at Phonetic Systems Ltd., which was acquired byNuance Communications in 2005. Mr. McCready holds a Bachelor of Science degree in ElectricalEngineering from the University of Calgary and a Master of Business Administration degree from theIvey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Kevin Riley has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and AdvancedR&D since October 2017 and was Sonus’ Senior Vice President, Engineering and Operations and ChiefTechnology Officer from February 2016 until the Merger. Previously, Mr. Riley served as Sonus’ VicePresident, Engineering and Chief Technology Officer from July 2014 to January 2016; Vice President ofPlatform Engineering from October 2012 to July 2014; and a Sonus Fellow from May 2011 toSeptember 2012. Prior to joining Sonus, he was the Software Development Director at Verivue, Inc., a

44

content delivery network software company, from August 2009 to May 2011. Mr. Riley holds aBachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherstand a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University.

Anthony Scarfo has served as our Executive Vice President, Products and R&D since January2018. From October 2016 to January 2018, he consulted for VTCSecure, a global communicationssolutions company. He has also served on the advisory board of VTCSecure since 2012. From October2017 to January 2018, he was a consultant for the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, helping tolaunch a new company focused on helping people age in place. Mr. Scarfo was previously Sonus’Executive Vice President, Services, Product Management and Corporate Development from October2013 to October 2016; Senior Vice President, Technology Development from May 2012 to October2013; Vice President and General Manager of Trunking, Policy and Business Development fromFebruary 2012 to May 2012; and Vice President of Business Development from September 2011 toFebruary 2012. Prior to joining Sonus, Mr. Scarfo was the Vice President of Global Services Providersand System Integrators at Polycom, Inc., a leader in open, standards-based unified communications andcollaboration solutions for voice and video collaboration, from February 2010 to May 2011, where hewas responsible for developing Polycom, Inc.’s cloud strategy to deploy video and voice infrastructurefor Managed and Hosted Unified Communication services. Previously, Mr. Scarfo was the ChiefStrategy Officer and Head of Global Channels at ECI Telecom, which delivers communicationsplatforms to carriers and services providers worldwide, from July 2006 to January 2010, where he ledthe development of a multi-faceted business strategy and developed a partner program with strategicand original equipment manufacturer partners. He also served as Vice President of Global Alliancesand Partnerships at Juniper Networks, Inc., which designs, develops and sells network infrastructureproducts and services, from July 2002 to June 2006. Mr. Scarfo started his career at AT&T Inc., apremier communications holding company, and held leadership roles at Lucent Technologies, whichdesigned and delivered systems, services and software for next-generation communications networks.Mr. Scarfo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer information systems from ManhattanCollege and a Master of Business Administration degree from Seton Hall University.

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Page 30: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF OUR COMMON STOCK

The following table sets forth information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stockas of April 8, 2019 by:

• each person who beneficially owns, to the best of our knowledge, more than 5% of theoutstanding shares of our common stock;

• each of our named executive officers;

• each of our directors; and

• all of our current executive officers and directors as a group.

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC, and includesvoting or investment power with respect to shares. In computing the number of shares beneficiallyowned by each person named in the following table and the percentage ownership of that person,shares of common stock that the person has the right to acquire within 60 days of April 8, 2019,through the exercise of any stock option or other equity right, are deemed owned by that person andare also deemed outstanding. These shares are not, however, deemed outstanding for purposes ofcomputing the percentage ownership of any other person.

Unless otherwise indicated below, to our knowledge, all persons named in the table have solevoting and investment power with respect to their shares of common stock, except to the extentauthority is shared by spouses under applicable law. The percentage of common stock outstanding as ofApril 8, 2019 is based upon 111,390,821 shares of common stock outstanding on that date, includingunvested shares of restricted stock.

Percentage ofNumber of Shares Common Stock

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner Beneficially Owned Outstanding

Named Executive Officers:Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217,930 *Daryl E. Raiford(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191,399 *Steven Bruny(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,190 *Michael Swade(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202,050 *Anthony Scarfo(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,699 *

Non-Employee Directors:Kim S. Fennebresque(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,076 *Bruns H. Grayson(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154,076 *Beatriz V. Infante(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,929 *Richard J. Lynch(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117,408 *Kent J. Mathy(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,076 *Scott E. Schubert(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116,036 *Richard W. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — —

All current executive officers and directors as a group(15 persons)(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,847,260 1.66%

5% Owners:JPMorgan Chase & Co.(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,940,222 44.83%

* Less than 1% of the outstanding shares of common stock.

(1) Includes 64,555 shares of restricted stock subject to vesting, of which 16,139 shares will vestwithin 60 days of April 8, 2019.

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(2) Includes 50,555 shares of restricted stock subject to vesting, of which 12,639 shares will vestwithin 60 days of April 8, 2019.

(3) Mr. Swade stepped down as our Executive Vice President, Global Sales, effective January 14,2019. Mr. Swade remained with the Company through March 31, 2019 to assist with thetransition of his responsibilities to Mr. Bruny.

(4) Includes 49,999 shares of restricted stock subject to vesting, of which no shares will vest within60 days of April 8, 2019.

(5) Includes 18,182 shares of restricted stock subject to vesting, of which no shares will vest within60 days of April 8, 2019.

(6) Includes 443,391 shares of restricted stock subject to vesting, of which 54,056 will vest within60 days of April 8, 2019, owned by our current directors and officers. Each of our currentdirectors and executive officers may be reached at 4 Technology Drive, Westford,Massachusetts 01886.

(7) Based solely on a Schedule 13D/A filed with the SEC on December 7, 2018, reporting thebeneficial ownership of 49,940,222 shares of our common stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.(‘‘JPMorgan Chase’’) reported shared voting and dispositive power with respect to all 49,940,222shares, JPMC Heritage Parent LLC (‘‘JPMC Heritage’’) reported shared voting and dispositivepower with respect to 48,190,718 shares, OEP III Co-Investors, L.P. (‘‘OEP III Co-Investors’’)reported shared voting and dispositive power with respect to zero shares, OEP II PartnersCo-Invest, L.P. (‘‘OEP II Partners Co-Invest’’) reported shared voting and dispositive power withrespect to 1,749,504 shares, and Heritage PE (OEP) III, L.P. (‘‘Heritage III’’) reported sharedvoting and dispositive power with respect to 47,048,711 shares. JPMorgan Chase, JPMC Heritage,OEP III Co-Investors, OEP II Partners Co-Invest and Heritage III are collectively referred to asthe ‘‘JPMorgan Reporting Persons’’. JPMorgan Chase is a publicly traded entity listed on theNew York Stock Exchange, which is the sole member of JPMorgan Holdings LLC, which is thesole member of Banc One Financial LLC, which is the sole member of OEP Holdings LLC,which is the sole member of JPMC Heritage, which is the general partner of OEP GeneralPartner III L.P., which is the general partner of Heritage III. As such, each of OEPHolding LLC, JPMC Heritage and OEP General Partner III L.P. may be deemed to have orshare beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by Heritage III. OEP II PartnersCo-Invest is subject to certain contractual agreements and statutory obligations to acquire andvote shares side-by-side with Heritage III. By virtue of these agreements and obligations,JPMorgan Chase may be deemed to have or share beneficial ownership over the shares helddirectly by OEP II Partners Co-Invest. Notwithstanding the above, JPMorgan Chase does notdirectly or indirectly own any interest in OEP II Partners Co-Invest. The business address ofOEP II Partners Co-Invest is 510 Madison Ave., 19th Floor, New York, NY 10022. The businessaddress of each of the other JPMorgan Reporting Persons is 270 Park Avenue, 10th Floor,New York, NY 10017.

SECTION 16(A) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our officers (as defined under Rule 16a-1(f) underthe Exchange Act), directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of our common stock tofile reports of initial ownership and subsequent changes in that ownership with the SEC. Based solelyon a review of the copies of reports furnished to us and the written representations of our directorsand officers, we believe that all of Ribbon’s directors, officers and greater than 10% stockholderscomplied with all Section 16(a) filing requirements, except that one Form 4 for Franklin (Fritz) W.Hobbs reporting one transaction was filed late.

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Page 31: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS

The Board adopted a written related person transaction policy, which sets forth our policiesand procedures for the review, approval or ratification of any transaction required to be reported inour filings with the SEC. Under the policy, any potential related person transactions must be reportedto our general counsel, who is responsible for determining whether such transactions constitute relatedperson transactions subject to the policy. Our general counsel is required to present to the AuditCommittee each proposed related person transaction. The Audit Committee may approve or ratify thetransaction only if the Audit Committee determines that, under all of the circumstances, the transactionis in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, as the Audit Committee determines ingood faith. The Audit Committee may, in its sole discretion, impose such conditions as it deemsappropriate on the Company or the related person in connection with approval of the related persontransaction. If the Audit Committee does not approve or ratify a related person transaction, suchtransaction will not be entered into or will be terminated, as the Audit Committee directs.

Other than as described below and the compensation arrangements described elsewhere in thisProxy Statement, since January 1, 2018, there has not been, and there is not currently proposed, anytransaction or series of similar transactions (i) to which we were or will be a participant, (ii) in whichthe amount involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000, and (iii) in which any director, executive officeror a holder of five percent or more of any class of our capital stock or any member of their immediatefamily had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Stockholders Agreement

On October 27, 2017, in connection with the Merger, the Company entered into a StockholdersAgreement with the JPM Stockholders. The Stockholders Agreement provides the JPM Stockholderswith certain Board and Board committee designation rights as described above under ‘‘CorporateGovernance—Board Composition and Stockholders Agreement’’ and ‘‘Corporate Governance—BoardCommittees,’’ and contains certain voting commitments as described in ‘‘Proposal 1—Election ofDirectors’’.

The Stockholders Agreement contains certain standstill provisions restricting the JPMStockholders from acquiring (or seeking or making any proposal or offer with respect to acquiring)additional common stock or any security convertible into common stock or any assets, indebtedness orbusinesses of the Company or any of its subsidiaries. Certain customary exclusions apply, andacquisitions of common stock by the JPM Stockholders will be permitted in open market acquisitionsduring open trading windows, following the determination of a majority of the Company’s independentdirectors (as defined by the Stockholders Agreement) not to cause the Company to repurchase amaterial amount of common stock during such trading window. These restrictions are subject to certaincustomary exclusions. The standstill restrictions apply from the date of the Stockholders Agreementuntil the earlier of the acquisition of the Company by a third party in a change of control transactionas discussed in further detail below and when the JPM Stockholders no longer have any rights tonominate or designate nominees to the Board.

Without the approval of a majority of the independent directors (as defined by theStockholders Agreement), no JPM Stockholder may enter into or affirmatively support any transactionresulting in a change of control of the Company in which any JPM Stockholder receives per shareconsideration as a holder of common stock in excess of that to be received by other holders of commonstock.

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Until three years following the effective time of the Merger, except as otherwise approved by amajority of the Company’s independent directors (as defined by the Stockholders Agreement) or asmay be required as a result of a Regulatory Requirement (as defined by the Stockholders Agreement),no JPM Stockholder may transfer any voting stock that it beneficially owns if such transfer involvesmore than 15% of the outstanding voting stock or if the transferee would own 15% of the outstandingvoting stock following such transfer, unless the transferee agrees to be subject to the StockholdersAgreement.

The Stockholders Agreement will terminate by mutual consent of a majority in interest of theJPM Stockholders and the Company (including the approval by a majority of the Company’sindependent directors (as defined by the Stockholders Agreement)) or when the JPM Stockholders, inthe aggregate, beneficially own less than 2% of the issued and outstanding common stock.

Registration Rights Agreement

On October 27, 2017, in connection with the Merger, the Company entered into a registrationrights agreement with the JPM Stockholders (the ‘‘Registration Rights Agreement’’). Under theRegistration Rights Agreement, the JPM Stockholders were granted certain registration rightsbeginning on the 180th day following the consummation of the Merger, including (i) the right torequest that the Company file an automatic shelf registration statement and effect unlimitedunderwritten offerings pursuant to such shelf registration statement; (ii) unlimited demand registrations;and (iii) unlimited piggyback registration rights that allow holders of registrable shares to require thatshares of Company common stock owned by such holders be included in certain registration statementsfiled by the Company, in each case subject to the transfer restrictions contained in the StockholdersAgreement. In connection with these registration rights, the Company has agreed to effect certainprocedural actions, including taking certain actions to properly effect any registration statement oroffering and to keep the participating JPM Stockholders reasonably informed with adequateopportunity to comment and review, as well as customary indemnification and contribution agreements.

Promissory Note

In connection with the Merger, on October 27, 2017, the Company issued a promissory notefor $22.5 million to certain former equity holders of GENBAND, including certain affiliates of the JPMStockholders (the ‘‘Promissory Note’’). The Promissory Note does not amortize and the principalthereon is payable in full on the third anniversary of its execution. Interest on the Promissory Note ispayable quarterly in arrears and accrues at a rate of 7.5% per year for the first six months afterissuance, and thereafter at a rate of 10% per year. The failure to make any payment under thePromissory Note when due and, with respect to payment of any interest, the continuation of suchfailure for a period of thirty days thereafter, constitutes an event of default under the Promissory Note.If an event of default occurs under the Promissory Note, the payees may declare the entire balance ofthe Promissory Note due and payable (including principal and accrued and unpaid interest) within fivebusiness days of the payees’ notification to the Company of such acceleration. At December 31, 2018,the Promissory Note balance was $24.1 million, comprised of $22.5 million of principal plus $1.6 millionof interest converted to principal.

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Page 32: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

The information contained in this report shall not be deemed to be ‘‘soliciting material’’ or ‘‘filed’’or incorporated by reference in future filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or subjectto the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent thatwe specifically request that it be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporate it by reference into adocument filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, asamended.

The Compensation Committee consists of Kim S. Fennebresque (Chairman), Bruns H. Graysonand Beatriz V. Infante. The Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the CompensationDiscussion and Analysis required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K with our management. Based onthis review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to our Board of Directors thatthe Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement.

Submitted by,COMPENSATION COMMITTEE:Kim S. Fennebresque (Chairman)Bruns H. GraysonBeatriz V. Infante

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COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

The following discussion and analysis contain statements regarding performance targets and goalsof the Company. These targets and goals are discussed in the limited context of our compensation programsand should not be understood to be statements of management’s expectations or estimates of results or otherguidance. Investors should not apply these statements to other contexts.

Overview

This section explains our compensation philosophy, describes the material components of ourexecutive compensation program for our named executive officers (‘‘NEOs’’), whose compensation isset forth in the 2018 Summary Compensation table and other compensation tables contained in thisProxy Statement, and provides an overview of our executive compensation philosophy and program.

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2018 Named Executive Officers

• Franklin (Fritz) W. Hobbs, our President and Chief Executive Officer

• Daryl E. Raiford, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

• Steven Bruny, our Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Services

• Anthony Scarfo, our Executive Vice President, Products, Research and Development, Supportand Supply Chain

• Michael Swade, our former Executive Vice President, Global Sales

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24APR201917431604

Executive Summary of 2018 Executive Compensation Decisions

We believe that our executive compensation program supports our business strategies andtalent management objectives and is consistent with sound governance practices that are intended tobest serve our stockholders’ long-term interests. In making its compensation decisions for 2018, theCompensation Committee considered, among other things, our financial and operational results for theyear, the result of the say-on-pay vote at the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, and the achievementof the compensation objectives set by the Compensation Committee. The components of the NEOs’2018 compensation and the key decisions underlying such components are described below:

2018 Target Compensation Components of CEO and Other Named Executive Officers(as a Percentage of Total Direct Compensation)

CEO NEO Average

47%Restricted

stockgrants

13%Targetbonus

13%Base salary

27%Perf-based stock

units

31%Restricted

stock grants

33%Targetbonus

36%Base salary

Our senior executives are responsible for achieving both short- and long-term performancegoals critical to our long-term success. Accordingly, compensation is weighted more heavily towardsrewarding variable compensation as an individual rises within the organization as evidenced by the factthat at least 50% of the total direct compensation of each NEO and 87% of the CEO, was comprisedof target bonus and equity awards.

Executive Compensation Highlights

In 2018, the Company reviewed and updated its pay practices to align with the combined goalsand objectives of the post-Merger business and adopt good pay practices from both Sonus andGENBAND, where appropriate, to reflect the Company’s strong governance and pay for performancecompensation philosophy. Some of the highlights of our compensation programs and practices are asfollows:

• Increased emphasis on key elements of the business through linkage to performance-basedlong-term incentives. The Company redesigned its long-term incentive program for 2018 tointroduce a new performance-based stock unit (‘‘PSUs’’) program for our CEO. Suchprogram placed greater emphasis on the use of performance-based long-term incentives inthe long-term incentive program while maintaining a retentive effect of a three-year vestingperiod. For 2018, the compensation mix for our CEO was weighted to performance-basedcompensation, with PSUs representing approximately 27% of his total direct compensation,RSUs representing approximately 47% of his total direct compensation, and target bonusand base salary, each representing approximately 13% of his total direct compensation.

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• Redesigned PSU component for 2019 and granted to all executive officers. For 2019, we grantedPSUs to our executive officers, including our CEO, with vesting based upon (i) attainmentof growth (annual pre-bonus adjusted EBITDA) and results of our stock performance (theCompany’s total shareholder return (‘‘TSR’’) relative to the TSR of certain companiesincluded in the Russell 2500 Telecommunications Sub Sector Index at the time of grant fora three-year period) and (ii) continued employment for three years after the grant date ofthe PSUs.

• Updated Peer Group. The Compensation Committee, together with its compensationconsultants, reviewed and updated our peer group to assist with benchmarking of2018-2019 compensation to ensure our programs remain market competitive.

• Adopted key compensation practices. In 2019, Ribbon adopted amended and restated shareownership guidelines and an amended and restated insider trading policy, which the Boardbelieved were consistent with good governance practices. Our amended and restated shareownership guidelines apply to our CEO, our other Section 16 reporting officers, and ournon-employee directors. These guidelines generally require the holding of shares with a fairmarket value equal to six times the annual base salary for our CEO within six years ofbecoming our CEO, two times the annual base salary of our Section 16 reporting officerswithin five years of becoming a Section 16 reporting officer, and five times the annual cashretainer of our non-employee directors within five years of becoming a non-employeedirector. Our amended and restated insider trading policy contains stringent restrictions ontransactions in Company common stock by directors and officers and was amended andrestated in 2019 to prohibit all executive officers and directors from engaging intransactions involving hedging, monetization, margin accounts, pledges, puts, calls andother derivative securities.

• Increased Equity Ownership Through the Stock-for-Cash Elections. In connection with theCompany’s annual cash bonus incentive program under the Senior Management CashIncentive Plan, each of our executive officers and certain other employees were given thechoice to receive a portion, ranging from 10% to 50% of their fiscal year 2018 targetbonuses, if any were earned, in the form of shares of the Company’s common stock inorder to increase their equity ownership in the Company.

Consideration of Stockholder Say-on-Pay Vote

The Compensation Committee has historically considered the outcome of the Company’sannual say-on-pay vote when making decisions regarding the Company’s executive compensationprogram, including engaging in shareholder outreach, and in 2018, we took into account the outcomeof the advisory vote when determining the terms and conditions of 2018 compensation. In both 2018and 2019, we engaged with our compensation consultants to review and update our executivecompensation program in a manner that we believe reflects the goals of our current business, andcertain of the material aspects of the updated compensation program are described in thisCompensation Discussion and Analysis section. While we believe our updated program provides theappropriate incentives and pay-for-performance culture for our NEOs, the Compensation Committeeintends to continue to review our compensation practices in the future based on the results ofsay-on-pay votes and to engage stockholders for input into the Company’s pay practices, whereappropriate.

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Overview of the Company’s Compensation Program

The Company’s executive compensation programs are administered by the CompensationCommittee. In addition to attracting and retaining high caliber executives, the components of theexecutive compensation program are designed to reward both annual and long-term businessperformance. Additionally, other factors are critical, such as the successful execution of corporatestrategies and fostering and driving continuous improvement and a high-performance culture.

Who Oversees the Company’s Compensation Program?

The Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee, which is comprised entirely ofindependent directors as defined by the independence standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules, isprimarily responsible for overseeing the Company’s executive compensation program, after consideringadvice from an independent compensation consultant regarding competitive market pay practices. OurBoard sets the overall corporate performance objectives for each year, while the CompensationCommittee determines and approves the compensation level for the CEO; reviews and setscompensation levels of other key executive officers; evaluates the performance of these executives; andevaluates and approves all grants of equity-based compensation to the CEO and the other executiveofficers. All decisions regarding the CEO’s compensation are made by the Compensation Committee inexecutive session without the CEO present. After the end of the fiscal year, the CompensationCommittee reviews the actual corporate performance to determine the appropriate bonus amount, ifany, to be paid to each eligible executive officer.

Role of the Compensation Consultant. The duties of the compensation consultant we engageare generally to evaluate executive compensation, perform an analysis on realized pay alignment withfinancial and stock performance, discuss general compensation trends, provide competitive marketpractice data and benchmarking, participate in the design and implementation of certain elements ofthe executive compensation program, and assist our CEO in developing compensationrecommendations to present to the Compensation Committee for the other executive officers. Thecompensation consultant provides the Compensation Committee with advice, consultation and marketinformation on a regular basis, as requested, throughout the year. The Compensation Committee mayaccept, reject or modify any recommendations by compensation consultants or other outside advisors.

Since December 2017, Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc. (‘‘FW Cook’’) has served as thecompensation consultant of the Compensation Committee and has advised the CompensationCommittee regarding its compensation decisions. The Compensation Committee assessed FW Cook’sindependence relative to standards prescribed by the SEC and determined that no conflicts existed.

Roles of the Chief Executive Officer and the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. TheCEO, in consultation with the Compensation Committee’s compensation consultant, developscompensation recommendations for the Compensation Committee to consider for other executives, butexcluding the CEO. The CEO considers various factors when making individual compensationrecommendations, including the relative importance of the executive’s position within the organization,the individual tenure and experience of the executive, and the executive’s individual performance andcontributions to the Company’s results.

The Senior Vice President of Human Resources works with the CEO to monitor existingcompensation plans and programs applicable to the NEOs and other executives, to recommendfinancial and other targets to be achieved under those plans and programs, to prepare analyses offinancial data, peer comparisons and other briefing materials for the Compensation Committee to aidin making its decisions and, ultimately, to implement the decisions of the Compensation Committee.

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The Compensation Committee considers, but is not bound by, recommendations made byCompany management regarding the compensation of all executives, but excluding the CEO. TheCompensation Committee determines the CEO’s compensation in its sole discretion.

Compensation Philosophy and Practices

Our compensation philosophy and practices are an important part of our business strategy. Wehave a rigorous performance and compensation management system and we believe our compensationprocesses and programs are aligned to provide strong incentive for success while appropriatelybalancing risk. Our overall executive compensation program is generally founded on three guidingprinciples:

• We offer competitive compensation packages to attract executives from largetelecommunications or similar companies that may offer significantly greater cashcompensation, and from smaller private telecommunications companies that may offergreater perceived equity growth potential;

• We offer cash- and equity-based incentive compensation to motivate our executives tocontinue to transform Ribbon into a seamlessly combined, profitable company in growingmarkets for secure real-time communications software, appliance and cloud-native solutionsfor service providers and enterprises; and

• We seek to retain our key executives in the face of other opportunities.

We seek to accomplish these objectives by providing independent Compensation Committeeoversight; avoiding overly rigid, formulaic or short-term oriented goals; encouraging and rewardingoutstanding initiative, achievement, teamwork and a shared success environment; and reinforcingcritical measures of performance derived from our business strategy and key success factors. Theseobjectives, and our general compensation philosophy, are reviewed on an annual basis and updated asappropriate.

Competitive Benchmarking

As part of the ongoing assessment of our executive compensation program, the CompensationCommittee, with the assistance of its compensation consultant, reviews market compensation data,including the compensation practices of selected similar companies. Accordingly, the CompensationCommittee updates the peer group from time to time in order to ensure that the Company’s executivecompensation program remains competitive and in line with market compensation data. The peergroup generally consists of publicly-traded industrial companies that are in the information technologyand related sub-industries with market capitalization and revenue in a similar range to that of theCompany. The compensation consultant reviews the business descriptions of potential peer companiesto identify businesses generally in the telecommunications and/or networking industries. Then, theCompensation Committee considers factors, such as executive talent and business-line competitors,global scope and complexity, research and development expenses, and market capitalization-to-revenuemultiples, when selecting peers.

For executive compensation relating to 2018, at the recommendation of Pearl Meyer &Partners LLC (‘‘Pearl Meyer’’), who served as the compensation consultant of the CompensationCommittee from June 2015 until December 2017, the Compensation Committee ratified a revised peergroup in August 2017 in anticipation of the Merger. As discussed in the Company’s 2018 ProxyStatement, which was filed with the SEC on April 30, 2018, the peer group ratified by the

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Compensation Committee in August 2017 was updated to remove 8x8, Inc., Aerohive Networks, Inc.,Ixia and RadiSys Corporation, respectively. Further, the Compensation Committee identified eightreplacement companies as new peers: Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., CSG Systems International, Inc.,Finisar Corporation, Harmonic Inc., Mitel Networks Corporation, NETGEAR, Inc., Oclaro, Inc. andViavi Solutions Inc. In identifying new peer companies, the Compensation Committee reviewedcompanies based on the following characteristics: (1) geographic base—United States; (2) industryfocus—technology hardware and equipment makers, with preference for communications equipment (orwere other technology-based companies that serve the communications industry); (3) annual revenue—within a reasonable range of Ribbon’s pro forma revenue; (4) market capitalization—within areasonable range of the estimated post-Merger market cap; and (5) self-identification as a competitor—served similar customers and/or markets or had comparable margin profits. Compared to the peergroup we previously used for executive compensation purposes earlier in 2017 and given theconsummation of the Merger, the sixteen peer group companies represent larger companies asmeasured by revenue and market capitalization. The revised peer group consisted of the companiesbelow. Pearl Meyer compiled compensation information from the peer group based on the publicly-filed documents of each member of the peer group.*

Data at Time of Peer GroupRoster Selection

Last TwelveMonths MarketRevenue Capitalization

Company ($ Millions) ($ Millions)

ADTRAN, Inc. $702 $998Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. $449 $1,174BroadSoft, Inc. $385 $1,322Calix, Inc. $519 $342Comtech Telecommunications Corp. $553 $447CSG Systems International, Inc. $781 $1,371Extreme Networks, Inc. $593 $1,016F5 Networks, Inc. $2,112 $8,221Finisar Corporation $1,524 $2,897Harmonic Inc. $409 $423Infinera Corporation $772 $1,564Mitel Networks Corporation $958 $902NETGEAR, Inc. $1,388 $1,399Oclaro, Inc. $600 $1,562ShoreTel, Inc. $353 $396Viavi Solutions Inc. $810 $2,390Ribbon Communications Inc. $675 $788

* All data was compiled by Pearl Meyer, who obtained peer company financial marketintelligence from S&P Capital IQ. The data generally represents revenue for the most recentfour quarters available to Pearl Meyer at the time it compiled the data in July 2017, andmarket capitalization as of June 2017.

The Compensation Committee has further updated the Company’s peer group for purposes ofits 2019 compensation decisions so that the Company’s executive compensation program remainscompetitive and aligned with market compensation data.

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Compensation Components

The Compensation Committee annually reviews fixed and variable compensation received byour NEOs, including base salary, annual and long-term incentives, equity awards, and total equity in theCompany. Our executive compensation program has four major components that support theCompany’s compensation objectives, each of which is discussed in detail below. Such major componentsreflect the compensation provided to our NEOs in 2018. The Compensation Committee reviews theexecutive compensation program on an annual basis and, in connection with its review of theCompany’s 2018 performance period, the compensation of all of our current executive officers has beenstreamlined into a structure similar to the below.

Compensation Mix. A significant portion of our executive officers’ total direct compensation(which includes base salary, cash bonus and equity-based incentives) opportunity is attributable tovariable compensation—that is, the amount our executives earn is dependent upon Companyperformance. The 2018 equity-based component of Mr. Hobbs consisted primarily of restricted stockand PSUs, each of which vest over time (and, in the case of the PSUs, company performance), if at all,and the value of which is tied to the value of the Company’s common stock. For the remaining NEOs,the equity-based component of their 2018 compensation package consisted primarily of restricted stock,which vests over time, if at all, and the value of which is tied to the value of the Company’s commonstock. These variable elements were intended to align the executives’ performance and interests withCompany performance and long-term stockholder value.

The table below generally summarizes the elements of our compensation program for ourNEOs in 2018:

Link to CompanyElement Form of Compensation Purpose Performance

Base Salaries Cash Provide competitive, fixed Lowcompensation to attract and retainexceptional executive talent

Annual Cash Incentives Cash Provide a direct incentive to achieve Highstrong annual operating results

Long-Term Equity Restricted shares of common stock Encourage executive officers to build HighIncentives and PSUs and maintain a long-term equity

ownership position in Ribbon so thattheir interests are aligned with thoseof our stockholders

Health, Retirement and Eligibility to participate in benefit Benefit plans are part of a broad- LowOther Benefits plans generally available to our based employee benefits program

employees, including 401(k) plan,Our executives do not generallypremiums paid on long-term disabilityreceive any material nonqualifiedand life insurancedeferred compensation plans orperquisites, with the exception of thefollowing 2018 payments: $19,786 paidto Mr. Raiford in connection with hishousing allowance, $4,237 paid toMr. Raiford to provide him withfinancial planning services, and$25,000 paid to Mr. Scarfo as part ofhis annual cost-of-living adjustmentallowance.

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How Target Levels of Compensation are Determined. In determining the amount ofcompensation to pay our NEOs, the Compensation Committee considers factors such as the executiveofficer’s role within the Company and the level of responsibility, skills and experiences required by theposition, the executive officer’s qualifications, our ability to replace such individual and the overallcompetitive environment for executive talent. The Compensation Committee also takes into accountthe Company’s performance, the executive’s performance, the Compensation Committee’s view ofinternal equity and consistency and other considerations it deems relevant. In analyzing these factors,the Compensation Committee reviews competitive compensation data gathered in comparative surveys(benchmarking and peer group data). The Compensation Committee does not have a policy forallocating target compensation among the various elements in any particular ratio, but generallyattempts to provide an allocation similar to that used by other companies with whom the Companycompetes for executive talent using the peer data provided by our outside compensation consultant. Ofthe elements of total direct compensation, only base salary is fixed compensation, while cash bonusesand equity-based awards are both performance-contingent and variable compensation.

2018 Compensation Payouts

The established targets for individual components and overall executive compensation aredesigned to be competitive in order to attract, motivate and retain the executives necessary to drive andachieve the Company’s objectives. In some cases, individual components may be over or under market(in order to emphasize a particular element or if individual circumstances dictate), but we believe thatthe total compensation package is market competitive for executives with the necessary backgroundsand skill sets. The Compensation Committee believes that the overall compensation program serves tobalance the mix of cash and equity compensation with the mix of short- and long-term compensationfor our NEOs.

Base Salary. Base salaries are designed to reflect the scope of responsibilities, performanceand competencies of the individual executives, and the relation of that position to other positions in theCompany and the external benchmark data for similar positions at peer companies. Each NEO’s salaryand performance are reviewed annually as well as at the time of a promotion or other change inresponsibilities.

In 2018, with the exception of Mr. Bruny, who received a base salary increase from $300,000 to$350,000 in March 2018 because of his expanded role as Executive Vice President, Global Operationafter the Merger, no changes were made to any NEO’s base salary in connection with the annualcompensation review or otherwise.

Annual Cash Bonuses. Annual cash incentives provide NEOs with the opportunity to earnadditional cash compensation beyond base salary. The eligibility for an annual cash bonus creates anincentive to achieve desired near-term corporate goals that are in furtherance of the Company’slong-term objectives. The compensation program establishes target bonuses for each NEO. Cashbonuses are expected to represent a substantial part of total compensation for our NEOs, if earned.

Setting of or Changes to Certain NEO’s Eligibility for Annual Cash Bonuses. In connection withthe Merger, the Compensation Committee, with the assistance of its compensation consultant, reviewedthe compensation paid to its executive officers. Based on such review, in an effort to keep executivecompensation competitive, to reflect certain executives’ expanded roles after the Merger, and toimprove certain executives’ position against the market and the Company’s peers, the Compensation

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Committee set or adjusted, as applicable, the bonus target eligibility of certain executive officers asfollows:

Previous Target Revised TargetNEO Bonus Bonus Effective Date Effective Change

Franklin (Fritz) N/A Fixed dollar April 2018 Not applicable asHobbs amount of Mr. Hobbs was hired in

$500,000 December 2017

Steven Bruny 50% of his annual Fixed dollar March 2018 Target bonus increased bybase salary (which amount of $175,000was $350,000) $350,000

Anthony Scarfo N/A Fixed dollar January 2018 Not applicable asamount of Mr. Scarfo was hired in$350,000 2018

Michael Swade 75% of his annual Fixed dollar January 2018 Target bonus increased bybase salary (which amount of $68,750was $375,000) $350,000

Senior Management Cash Incentive Plan. For 2018, the Company sponsored one cash incentiveplan—the Senior Management Cash Incentive Plan (the ‘‘SMCIP’’)—that covered all of the NEOs overone full-year bonus period. The 2018 annual cash incentive plan for the CEO was calculated pursuantto a fixed formula based solely on the achievement of one financial metric—pre-bonus adjustedearnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (‘‘pre-bonus Adjusted EBITDA’’). TheCompensation Committee added another metric—individual performance—to the SMCIP for NEOs(other than the CEO) such that 30% of their annual cash incentive bonus was attributable to individualperformance and the remaining 70% was attributable to the Company’s pre-bonus Adjusted EBITDA.

In February 2019, the Compensation Committee determined the 2018 cash bonus payout foreach NEO. With the exception of Mr. Hobbs, such payout was calculated by multiplying the aggregatepercentage achievement of two metrics—pre-bonus Adjusted EBITDA and the individual performancemetric of each NEO—by the bonus at target for each such NEO. For Mr. Hobbs, the CompensationCommittee determined his 2018 cash bonus payout by multiplying the percentage achievement of onemetric—pre-bonus Adjusted EBITDA—by his bonus at target.

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The performance targets under the SMCIP for each of the NEOs as well as the actual resultsof these financial measurements for 2018 were as follows:

Actual 2018Target SMCIP Bonus Metrics Results

Pre-Bonus Adjusted <$80,000,000 $99,304,000 $103,639,000 >$103,639,000 $110,856,000EBITDA Metric*

Company 0% 80% 100% Amount above 107%Performance Payout target (or 100%)

based onCommitteediscretion withinpre-establishedguidelines (not toexceed 125%)+

* The Company calculated the pre-bonus Adjusted EBITDA component of the SMCIP as net income (loss)of the Company for the applicable performance period, excluding the following items: interest income(expense), net; income tax benefit (provision); depreciation and amortization; adjustments to revenue andcost of revenue related to revenue reductions resulting from purchase accounting and the impact of therevenue standard; stock-based compensation expense; acquisition-related facilities adjustments; settlementexpense; certain litigation costs; cancelled debt offering costs; acquisition and integration related expense;restructuring expense; and other income, net. Unless otherwise determined by the Board or its delegate,‘‘Adjusted EBITDA’’ was calculated consistently with the Company’s existing public disclosure of adjustedEBITDA; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, ‘‘pre-bonusAdjusted EBITDA’’ was calculated by adjusting the publicly disclosed adjusted EBITDA for cash bonusexpense.

+ In February 2018, the Compensation Committee determined that to the extent the Company surpassed itstarget pre-bonus Adjusted EBITDA performance metric, then 50% of any dollar amount earned abovesuch target amount would be available for the Compensation Committee to pay eligible employees asadditional discretionary cash bonuses (the ‘‘Overachievement Fund’’), and the remaining 50% would bereturned for use by the Company; provided, however, that the Overachievement Fund would be capped at125% of the total pre-bonus cash bonus expense amount that was used in the calculation of the pre-bonusAdjusted EBITDA.

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The amounts paid under the SMCIP for 2018 were as follows:

Actual Amounts Paid Under SMCIPFull Year

Cash Company IndividualBonus Performance Performance

NEO and Principal Position Eligibility Component Component*,** Total

Franklin (Fritz) Hobbs $500,000 $500,000 Not Applicable $500,000President and Chief Executive Officer

Daryl E. Raiford $375,000 $275,000 $0 $275,000Executive Vice President and ChiefFinancial Officer

Steven Bruny $350,000 $245,000 $105,000 $350,000Executive Vice President, Global Salesand Services

Anthony Scarfo $350,000 $245,000 $105,000 $350,000Executive Vice President, Products,Research and Development, Support &Supply Chain

Michael Swade $350,000 $245,000 $105,000 $350,000Former Executive Vice President, GlobalSales

* With the exception of Mr. Hobbs who did not have an individual performance component tohis 2018 cash bonus calculation, the individual performance metrics for each of the remainingNEOs were as follows:

Mr. Raiford’s individual performance metrics were as follows: integrate financial reportingsystems and processes; ensure accurate and timely close process and statutory financials;integrate forecasting cycle and improve accuracy; achieve revenue recognition readiness; andretain critical resources. Taking into account the above metrics as well as the results of theconvertible debt offering, Mr. Raiford achieved zero percent of his individual performancemetrics.

Mr. Bruny’s individual performance metrics were as follows: successfully integrate the globaloperations after the Merger, deliver 2018 revenue above the forecasted amount, meet synergyand budget goals, provide cross-training for new products, successfully manage executivecustomer escalations and supported sales, and retain critical resources. Mr. Bruny achieved100% of his individual performance metrics.

Mr. Swade’s individual performance metrics were as follows: retain critical resources,successfully integrate sales organization post Merger, integrate sales operation systems andoverachieve revenue target. Mr. Swade achieved 100% of his individual performance metrics.

Mr. Scarfo’s individual performance metrics were as follows: successfully integrate the researchand development teams after the Merger; achieve the products restructuring targets; reduceresearch and development costs; obtain Federal certification on certain products; focus onprocess improvement and retain critical resources. Mr. Scarfo achieved 100% of his individualperformance metrics.

** With the exception of Mr. Hobbs, the individual performance component for each NEO wasequal to 30% of such NEO’s total cash bonus eligibility. As a result, the following amountswere eligible to be earned under the individual performance component at target: $112,500 forMr. Raiford; and $105,000 for each of Messrs. Bruny, Swade and Scarfo.

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With the exception of Mr. Hobbs and Mr. Raiford, the aggregate percentage achievement foreach of the remaining NEOs would have resulted in a cash bonus payout of 105%, based on theperformance targets that were established by the Compensation Committee. The aggregate percentageachievement for Mr. Hobbs would have resulted in a cash bonus payout of 107%, based on theperformance target that was established by the Compensation Committee. Meanwhile, the aggregatepercentage achievement for Mr. Raiford would have resulted in a cash bonus payout of 75%, based onthe performance targets that were established by the Compensation Committee. However, theCompensation Committee retained discretion to reduce bonuses under the SMCIP and determined thateach NEO would be paid out under the SMCIP at the following aggregate percentage achievement:100% for each of Messrs. Hobbs, Bruny, Scarfo and Swade; and 73.33% for Mr. Raiford. In addition tosuch payout, the Compensation Committee determined that because the Company exceeded itsfinancial metrics, the senior leadership team would be awarded additional discretionary cash bonusespursuant to the SMCIP, as discussed later.

Stock-for-Cash Bonus Election Under the SMCIP. In connection with the Company’s annualcash bonus incentive program under the SMCIP, each of Messrs. Hobbs, Raiford, Bruny, Scarfo, andSwade was given the choice to receive a portion, ranging from 10% to 50% (the ‘‘Elected Percentage’’)of their fiscal year 2018 target bonuses (the ‘‘2018 Bonus’’), if any were earned, in the form of sharesof the Company’s common stock (the ‘‘2018 Bonus Shares’’ and such program, the ‘‘Stock BonusElection Program’’). Each such NEO could also elect not to participate in this program and to earn the2018 Bonus, if any, in the form of cash. Under the Stock Bonus Election Program, the number ofshares earned by each of the NEOs was calculated by dividing the applicable bonus amount (for eachNEO, calculated as his Elected Percentage times his 2018 Bonus) by $4.97, the closing price of ourcommon stock on March 8, 2019, the date of the company-wide cash bonus payments. The Companygranted the 2018 Bonus Shares on March 15, 2019, in accordance with our practice of granting shareson the 15th of each month, or the next immediate business day if the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday.The 2018 Bonus Shares were fully vested on the grant date; however, each such NEO is contractuallyrestricted from trading the 2018 Bonus Shares for five months after the date of grant. For more detailsregarding the Elected Percentage made by each NEO in the Stock Bonus Election Program, please seethe footnotes in the chart below.

Overachievement Bonuses. The Compensation Committee awarded additional discretionarycash bonuses to the senior leadership team in recognition of the Company exceeding the target of$103,639,000 pre-bonus Adjusted EBITDA goal. More specific details relating to the additionaldiscretionary cash bonus awarded to each NEO is included in the table below.

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The following table summarizes the actions taken with respect to the aggregate 2018 cashbonuses for our NEOs:

Actual Full Year Full Year BonusFull Year Cash Non- Additional with Additional

Named Executive Officer Bonus Eligibility Discretionary Discretionary Cash Discretionary Cashand Principal Position Under SMCIP Cash Bonus Bonus(1) Bonus(2)

Franklin (Fritz) Hobbs $500,000 $500,000 $325,000 $825,000President and ChiefExecutive Officer

Daryl E. Raiford $375,000 $275,000 $100,000 $375,000Executive Vice Presidentand Chief FinancialOfficer

Steven Bruny $350,000(3) $350,000 $200,000 $550,000Executive VicePresident, Global Salesand Services

Michael Swade $350,000 $350,000 — $350,000Former Executive VicePresident, Global Sales

Anthony Scarfo $350,000 $350,000 $200,000 $550,000Executive VicePresident, Products,Research andDevelopment,Support & Supply Chain

(1) With the exception of Mr. Hobbs and Mr. Raiford, the aggregate percentage achievement foreach of the NEOs would have resulted in a cash bonus payout of 105%, based on theperformance targets that were established by the Compensation Committee. The aggregatepercentage achievement of Mr. Hobbs’ metric would have resulted in a cash bonus payout of107%, based on the performance target that was established by the Compensation Committee.The aggregate percentage achievement of Mr. Raiford’s metrics would have resulted in a cashbonus payout of 75% based on the performance targets that were established by theCompensation Committee.

The Compensation Committee determined, however, to pay out each NEO at the followingpercentage achievement under the SMCIP for their respective 2018 cash bonuses: 100% foreach of Messrs. Hobbs, Bruny, Scarfo and Swade; and 73.33% for Mr. Raiford. In addition, theCompensation Committee determined that because the Company exceeded its financial metrics,the senior leadership team would be awarded additional discretionary cash bonuses.Mr. Hobbs’ aggregate percentage achievement of his Company metric resulted in a cash bonuspayout of 165%. Meanwhile, each of Messrs. Raiford, Bruny, Scarfo and Swade’s aggregatepercentage achievement of their respective Company and personal metrics resulted in a totalcash bonus payout of 100%, 157%, 157% and 100%, respectively.

(2) Pursuant to the Stock Bonus Election Program, Mr. Hobbs elected to receive 50% of his 2018Bonus in the form of 2018 Bonus Shares; each of Messrs. Raiford and Bruny elected to receive30% of his 2018 Bonus in the form of 2018 Bonus Shares; and each of Messrs. Scarfo and

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Swade elected to receive 20% of his 2018 Bonus in the form of 2018 Bonus Shares. Thenumber of shares earned by each of the NEOs was calculated by dividing the applicable bonusamount (for each NEO, calculated as his Elected Percentage times his 2018 Bonus) by $4.97,the closing price of our common stock on March 8, 2019, the date of the company-wide cashbonus payments. The 2018 Bonus Shares were granted on March 15, 2019.

Mr. Hobbs was granted 50,302 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid $250,000 in cash for his 2018Bonus; Mr. Raiford was granted 16,600 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid $192,500 in cash forhis 2018 Bonus; Mr. Bruny was granted 21,127 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid $245,000 incash for his 2018 Bonus; Mr. Swade was granted 14,085 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid$280,000 in cash for his 2018 Bonus; and Mr. Scarfo was granted 14,085 2018 Bonus Sharesand was paid $280,000 in cash for his 2018 Bonus.

(3) Mr. Bruny’s base salary and bonus eligibility under the SMCIP were revised on March 1, 2018because of his expanded role as Executive Vice President, Global Operation after the Merger.Mr. Bruny’s base salary was increased from $300,000 to $350,000 per year and his bonuseligibility changed from a target bonus of 50% of his then-current base salary to a fixedamount of $350,000.

Equity-Based Incentives. Equity-based incentives are provided to executives whose decisionsand actions have a direct impact upon our performance and success. Restricted stock and PSUs weregranted to our executive officers in 2018 in order to tie their compensation directly to our long-termsuccess. The Compensation Committee believes that a significant portion of each NEO’s target totaldirect compensation should be made in the form of equity compensation due to its strong long-termalignment with stockholder interests. In determining the size of the restricted stock and PSU awardsgranted to each executive officer in 2018, the Compensation Committee took into account the executiveofficer’s role, past performance, anticipated contribution to our long-term goals and market data forexecutive officers in similar roles at peer companies. Equity granted in prior years and existing levels ofstock ownership were also taken into consideration. While the Compensation Committee considers thecompensation of our peer group companies’ senior executives, it does not benchmark a particularpercentile for the total compensation of our NEOs or for any component thereof. The size of theawards is not determined by application of any formula, but rather reflects the CompensationCommittee’s subjective desire to encourage and reward high levels of performance.

2018 Equity Awards. In 2018, we made annual equity grants to our NEOs as shown below. Adescription of such equity awards that were granted in 2018 to our NEOs under the RibbonCommunications Inc. Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan follows:

Restricted stock Restricted Performance-basedNamed Executive Officer units (#) shares (#) stock units (#)

Franklin (Fritz) Hobbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345,000 — 195,000Daryl E Raiford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000 — —Anthony Scarfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000 75,000 —Steven Bruny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000 — —Michael Swade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 — —

Treatment of PSUs Awards Based on 2018 Performance.

2018 PSUs. In May 2018, the Company granted its President and Chief Executive Officer,Mr. Hobbs, 195,000 PSUs with both performance and service conditions (the ‘‘2018 PSUs’’). Of the195,000 2018 PSUs, one-half each would vest based on the achievement of two separate metrics relatedto the Company’s 2018 financial performance: pre-bonus Adjusted EBITDA and in-year synergies

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(together, the ‘‘2018 Performance Conditions’’). The Company’s achievement of the 2018 PerformanceConditions (and the shares of Company common stock to vest as a result thereof) were measured on alinear sliding scale in relation to specific threshold, target and maximum performance conditions. Thenumber of shares of common stock to be received upon vesting of the 2018 PSUs would in no eventexceed 150% of the 2018 PSUs. In February 2019, the Compensation Committee determined that theperformance metrics for one-half of the 2018 PSUs had been achieved at the 106.49% achievementlevel and one-half of the 2018 PSUs had been achieved at the 150% level. However, in April 2019, theCompensation Committee subsequently determined that the performance metrics for the entire 2018PSUs had been achieved at the 150% level, for a total of 292,500 shares earned, pending Mr. Hobbs’continued employment with the Company through December 31, 2020, the vesting date of the 2018PSUs (collectively, the ‘‘2018 Shares Earned’’). The details relating to the 2018 Performance Conditionsas well as the actual results of these financial measurements for 2018 (as determined in April 2019)were as follows:

TARGET 2018 PSU Metrics for Mr. HobbsAggregate Number of SharesEligible to be Received Under Pre-Bonus

Payout PSUs When Vested* Adjusted EBITDA In-Year Synergies

150% 292,500 $110,000,000 $95,000,000

100% 195,000 $107,264,000 $90,000,000

50% 97,500 $102,264,000 $85,000,000

ACTUAL Results for 2018 (in millions, except percentages and shares underlying PSUs)Bonus Payout Pre-Bonus Adjusted EBITDA In-Year Synergies

Actual Achievement $110,856,000 $95,000,000

% Weighting 50% 50%

Individual Metric % Achievement 150% 150%

Number of Shares to be Received UnderPSUs When Vested on December 31, 2020 146,250 146,250

Aggregate Number of Shares to be ReceivedUnder PSUs When Vested on December 31,

2020 292,500

* Half of the shares eligible to be received under the PSUs were allocated to the pre-bonus AdjustedEBITDA performance metric and the other half of the shares eligible to be received under the PSUswere allocated to the in-year synergies metric.

From 2015 through 2017, the Company granted PSUs with both market and service conditionsto Mr. Swade. The terms of each PSU grant were such that up to one-third of the shares subject to therespective PSU grant would vest, if at all, on each of the respective first, second and third anniversariesof the date of grant, depending on the relative comparison of the Company’s total shareholder return(‘‘TSR’’) to the TSR of the companies included in the Nasdaq Telecommunications Index for the samefiscal year, measured by the Compensation Committee after each of the fiscal years as defined by eachgrant (each, a ‘‘Performance Period’’). The Nasdaq Telecommunications Index is used as a metric forour industry performance. The shares determined to be earned would vest on the anniversary of thegrant date following each Performance Period and shares subject to the PSUs that fail to be earnedwould be forfeited.

For the companies included in the Nasdaq Telecommunications Index in 2018, a TSR ofapproximately (37.91)% would place a company at the 25th percentile, a TSR of approximately

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(10.68)% would place a company at the 51st percentile and a TSR of approximately 15.45% wouldplace a company at the 75th percentile. As a result, in February 2019, the Compensation Committeedetermined that the Company’s TSR in 2018 placed us at the 31st percentile and, accordingly, theperformance metrics for the PSUs granted on March 31, 2017 were achieved for the 2018 performanceperiod at the 61.40% achievement level. Therefore, 3,198 shares underlying the PSUs were issued inrespect of the 2018 performance period to Mr. Swade on March 31, 2019. The following chart providesa summary of the PSUs eligible for vesting as they relate to the 2018 performance period:

Michael Swade March 31, 2017 61.40% 5,208 3,198 2,010

Total — 5,208 3,198 2,010

* The eligible vesting date for the PSUs granted on March 31, 2017 relating to the 2018performance period was March 31, 2019.

Stock Ownership Requirements

The Board believes that it is important to link the interests of our NEOs, among others, tothose of our stockholders. Our stock ownership policy requires our CEO, other Section 16 reportingofficers, and non-employee directors to accumulate and hold a minimum number of shares of Companycommon stock within a certain number of years of joining the Board or the Company, respectively. Thedirectors, Chief Executive Officer and other Section 16 reporting officers as of the date of the Mergermust satisfy these ownership guidelines on or before October 27, 2022. Any other individual who issubject to our amended and restated stock ownership guidelines must satisfy these ownership guidelineswithin five years from the date they appointed as our director or other Section 16 reporting officer, asapplicable; provided, however, that the Chief Executive Officer must satisfy the ownership guidelineswithin six years from the date he or she is appointed as the Chief Executive Officer. As of the recorddate, each of our directors, Chief Executive Officer and the other Section 16 reporting officers of theCompany has either satisfied these ownership guidelines or had time remaining to do so. The specificstock ownership requirements for our directors, Chief Executive Officer and other Section 16 reportingofficers as a multiple of annual base salary are as follows:

Title Multiple of Annual Base Salary/Annual Retainer

Chief Executive Officer 6 times annual base salary

Section 16 Reporting Officers 2 times annual base salary

Non-Employee Directors 5 times annual cash retainer

Each individual who is subject to this policy must maintain the applicable minimum amount ofstock ownership throughout his or her employment or tenure as a director of the Company. The valueof each such individual’s stock ownership will be measured annually by the Compensation Committee.

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Performance MetricsNamed Achievement Level Aggregate NumberPSU Aggregate Number Aggregate NumberExecutive for 2018 of PSUs EligibleGrant Date of PSUs Vested* of PSUs Forfeited*Officer Performance for Vesting*

Period

Benefits and Other Compensation

We have various broad-based employee benefit plans. We do not typically offer perquisites oremployee benefits to executive officers that are not also made available to employees on a broad basis.However, pursuant to the terms of their respective employment agreements with the Company, in 2018,we provided Mr. Raiford with a monthly housing allowance aggregating $19,786 and $4,237 to use forfinancial planning services, and we provided Mr. Scarfo with a $25,000 annual cost-of-living adjustmentallowance. Our executive officers generally are eligible for the same benefits that are available to allemployees, which include group health, dental and vision insurance, life and disability insurance,discretionary 401(k) matching contributions and paid holidays. We offer a 401(k) plan, which allows ouremployees to invest in a wide array of funds. We also reinstated our Amended and Restated2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, effective December 1, 2018, for employees in certain countries.Except for certain post-termination benefits in connection with severance, we do not provide pensionarrangements or post-retirement health coverage for our NEOs. We have entered into indemnificationagreements with our executive officers and directors.

Severance and Separation Arrangements

We have entered into agreements with each of our NEOs, which generally provide that, upon atermination of the NEO’s employment by the Company without Cause (as defined in the applicableNEO’s employment agreement), due to a resignation by the NEO for Good Reason (as defined in theapplicable NEO’s employment agreement) or due to death or disability of the NEO (other thanMessrs. Raiford, Bruny and Scarfo), the NEO is entitled to certain severance payments and benefits.We believe the entry into such severance arrangements by Ribbon (or our predecessors) is generallyconsistent with market practice and allows our executives to remain focused on the Company’sobjectives in times of potential uncertainty.

Clawback Policy

All awards granted under our equity plans are subject to clawback pursuant to the Company’sClawback Policy and any other clawback policy that the Company may adopt in the future.

For further discussion regarding the severance and separation agreements and arrangements,see ‘‘Severance and Change in Control Benefits’’ below.

Transactions Involving Hedging, Monetization, Margin Accounts, Pledges, Puts, Calls and OtherDerivative Securities

The Company’s amended and restated insider trading policy contains stringent restrictions ontransactions in Company common stock by directors and officers. All trades by directors and officersmust be pre-approved by the Chief Financial Officer or the General Counsel. Our current insidertrading policy was amended and restated in 2019 to prohibit all executive officers and directors fromengaging in transactions involving hedging, monetization, margin accounts, pledges, puts, calls andother derivative securities.

Tax and Accounting Considerations

Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation. We account for stock-based compensation inaccordance with ASC 718.

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Policy on Deductibility of Executive Compensation. Section 162(m) of the Code generallydisallows a tax deduction for annual compensation in excess of $1.0 million paid to certain executiveofficers of the Company. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law on December 22, 2017 (‘‘TaxReform’’), repealed the ‘‘performance-based compensation’’ exception to such deduction limitation andexpanded the scope of the executive officers who are covered by Section 162(m) of the Code. As aresult, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, compensation previously intended to be‘‘performance-based’’ and not subject to Section 162(m) may not be deductible unless it qualifies forlimited transition relief applicable to certain remuneration payable pursuant to a written bindingcontract which was in effect on November 2, 2017. The Compensation Committee reviews the potentialeffect of Section 162(m) of the Code periodically and has reviewed the potential effects of Tax Reformon the Company’s compensation practices. However, the Compensation Committee has no obligation tolimit compensation to that which is deductible under Section 162(m) of the Code and may use itsjudgment to authorize compensation programs and payments (or the modification of existingcompensation programs or payments) that may not be deductible when it believes such programs andpayments are appropriate and in the Company’s and our stockholders’ best interests. Further, due touncertainties in the applications of Section 162(m) of the Code and Tax Reform, there is no guaranteethat deductions claimed under Section 162(m) of the Code will not be challenged or disallowed by theInternal Revenue Service and our ability to deduct compensation under Section 162(m) of the Codemay be restricted.

Risk Management and Our Executive Compensation Program

The Compensation Committee monitors and manages our executive compensation program tohelp ensure that it does not encourage excessive risk taking. The Compensation Committee reviewed,analyzed and considered whether the Company’s compensation policies and practices create risks thatare reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on us, and concluded that no such material risksexist.

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES

The following table sets forth, for the year ended December 31, 2018 and for the two yearsprior thereto, the compensation earned by our Chief Executive Officer, our Chief Financial Officer, theother three most highly compensated executive officers serving as executive officers at December 31,2018.

Summary Compensation Table

2018 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

Non-EquityIncentive

Stock Option Plan All OtherSalary Bonus Awards Awards Compensation Compensation Total

Name and Principal Position Year ($) ($)(1) ($)(2) ($) ($)(3) ($)(4) ($)

Franklin Hobbs(5) 2018 $500,000 $325,000 $2,967,000 $— $500,000 $1,909 $4,293,909President and Chief 2017 $30,094 $— $— $— $— $— $30,094Executive Officer

Daryl Raiford(6) 2018 $500,000 $100,000 $132,000 $— $275,000 $42,374 $1,049,374Executive Vice President and 2017 $123,077 $— $672,028 $— $— $6,891 $801,996Chief Financial Officer

Anthony Scarfo(7) 2018 $331,154 $225,000 $627,000 $— $350,000 $44,164 $1,577,318Executive Vice President,Products, R&D, Supportand Supply Chain

Steven Bruny(8) 2018 $341,667 $425,000 $264,000 $— $350,000 $23,028 $1,403,695Executive Vice President,Global Sales & Services

Michael Swade(9) 2018 $375,000 $— $330,000 $— $350,000 $24,744 $1,079,744Former Executive Vice 2017 $375,000 $200,000 $880,625 $— $320,650 $20,283 $1,796,558President, Global Sales 2016 $375,000 $— $615,250 $— $262,500 $18,549 $1,271,299

(1) The 2018 amount for Mr. Hobbs represents an additional discretionary cash bonus due to the Company’s overachievement ofits 2018 corporate goals (the ‘‘2018 Discretionary Bonus’’). The 2018 amount for Mr. Raiford represents his 2018 DiscretionaryBonus. The 2018 amount for Mr. Scarfo is comprised of $200,000 for his 2018 Discretionary Bonus and a sign-on bonus of$25,000 in connection with his employment by the Company, effective January 22, 2018. The 2018 amount for Mr. Bruny iscomprised of $225,000 for the second installment of a retention bonus paid to Mr. Bruny in connection with the Merger and$200,000 for his 2018 Discretionary Bonus. The 2017 amount for Mr. Swade represents three cash bonus payments (onepayment of $100,000 and two payments of $50,000 each) in connection with the Merger.

(2) The amounts shown in this column do not reflect compensation actually received by the NEO. Instead, the amounts primarilyreflect the grant date fair value of each stock award granted to each NEO. The grant date fair values of stock awards werecalculated in accordance with ASC 718. The methodology for calculating the grant date fair value of stock awards is discussedin Note 16 to our Annual Report on Form 10 K/A, Amendment No. 1, for the year ended December 31, 2018. The grant datefair value of restricted stock awards and units is equal to the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant. In 2018,we granted PSUs with both performance and service conditions to Mr. Hobbs. The grant date fair value of Mr. Hobbs’ PSUs isequal to the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant. In 2016 and 2017, we granted PSUs with both marketand service conditions to Mr. Swade. The inclusion of a market condition requires the use of a Monte Carlo simulationapproach to model future stock price movements based upon the risk-free rate of return, the volatility of each entity includedin the market index and the pair-wise covariance between each entity. These results are then used to calculate the grant datefair values of such PSUs.

(3) The amounts shown in this column represent the of amounts earned under our SMCIP. For 2018, each of Messrs. Hobbs,Raiford, Scarfo, Bruny and Swade was given the choice to receive a portion, ranging from 10% to 50% of their 2018 Bonus, ifany were earned, in 2018 Bonus Shares under the Stock Bonus Election Program. Each such NEO could also elect not toparticipate in this program and to earn his 2018 Bonus, if any, in the form of cash. Under the Stock Bonus Election Program,the number of shares earned by each of the NEOs was calculated by dividing the applicable bonus amount (for each NEO,calculated as his Elected Percentage times his 2018 Bonus) by $4.97, the closing price of our common stock on March 8, 2019,the date of the company-wide cash bonus payments. The Company granted the 2018 Bonus Shares on March 15, 2019, in

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accordance with our practice of granting shares on the 15th of each month, or the next immediate business day if the 15th fallson a weekend or holiday. The amount of each NEO’s 2018 Bonus attributable to the 2018 Bonus Shares included in theamount above was as follows: Mr. Hobbs: $250,000; Mr. Raiford: $82,500; Mr. Scarfo: $70,000; Mr. Bruny: $105,000; andMr. Swade: $70,000. The closing price of our common stock on March 15, 2019 was $5.22, and such closing price is the grantdate fair value of each 2018 Bonus Share. Accordingly, the grant date fair value of each NEO’s 2018 Bonus Shares was asfollows: Mr. Hobbs: $262,577; Mr. Raiford: $86,652; Mr. Scarfo: $73,524; Mr. Bruny: $110,283; and Mr. Swade: $73,524. The2018 Bonus Shares were fully vested on the grant date; however, each such NEO is contractually restricted from trading the2018 Bonus Shares for five months after the date of grant.

For 2017, the Compensation Committee elected to implement two half-year bonus periods such that 20% of the full year targetpayout was attributable to the first half of 2017 and 80% of the full year target payout was attributable to the second half of2017. The Compensation Committee determined the financial metrics upon which such bonus payments would be made on thesame half-year basis. Accordingly, Mr. Swade received his 2017 bonus payments in August 2017 (20% of the target based onachievement of the financial metrics for the first half of 2017) and in March 2018 (80% of target based on achievement of thefinancial metrics for the second half of 2017). In July 2017, our Compensation Committee determined that the achievementlevel under the SMCIP for the first half of 2017 was at 126%, and in February 2018, determined that the achievement levelunder the SMCIP for the second half of 2017 was at 131%. The Compensation Committee determined, however, to reduce theNEO’s bonuses in respect of the first half and second half of 2017 on a discretionary basis, with the first half payout equal to110% of target and the second half payout equal to 115% of target. The overall financial performance, after taking intoaccount the Compensation Committee’s discretionary reductions, resulted in an aggregate cash bonus payout to Mr. Swade of114%.

For 2016, the Compensation Committee elected to implement two half-year bonus periods such that 30% of the full year targetpayout was attributable to the first half of 2016 and 70% of the full year target payout was attributable to the second half of2016. The Compensation Committee determined the financial metrics upon which such bonus payments would be made on thesame half-year basis. Accordingly, Mr. Swade received his 2016 bonus payouts in August 2016 (30% of target based onachievement of the financial metrics for the first half of 2016) and in March 2017 (70% of target based on achievement of thefinancial metrics for the second half of 2016). Based on these fixed metrics, in July 2016, the Compensation Committeedetermined that the achievement level under the SMCIP was 164% of target. However, the Compensation Committeedetermined to decrease the payout of cash bonuses to 150% of target. In February 2017, the Compensation Committeedetermined that the achievement level under the SMCIP for the second half of 2016 was 69% of target. Based upon theseachievement levels, the overall financial performance resulted in an aggregate cash bonus payout for 2016 of 93%.

(4) The Company portions of health, disability and life insurance premiums and 401(k) matching contributions included in thiscolumn are also provided to all members of the Company, with the amounts dependent upon the level of health insurancecoverage selected by each individual. Accordingly, the Company portion of premiums paid and 401(k) matching contributionsare not considered perquisites but are reported as income earned for each NEO, if applicable.

(5) Mr. Hobbs’ ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ of $1,909 represents the Company’s portion of his life, disability and excess liabilityinsurance. Mr. Hobbs served as a non-employee member of the Board from October 27, 2017 through December 13, 2017, thedate he was appointed as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. As a result, the only compensation earned byMr. Hobbs with respect to 2017 was non-employee director fees through December 13, 2017, equal to $8,940, and base salarythrough December 31, 2017, equal to $21,154.

(6) Mr. Raiford’s 2018 ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ of $42,374 is comprised of $19,786 for his housing allowance, $15,773 for theCompany’s portion of his medical insurance, $4,237 for financial planning service costs, $1,809 for the Company portion of hislife, disability and excess liability insurance, and $769 for the Company’s contribution to his 401(k) account. In addition,Mr. Raiford will receive a true-up of the Company match to his 2018 401(k) contributions in 2019 upon completion ofCompany compliance testing. The Company currently does not know the amount of such true-up; however, the total maximumamount of the Company’s contribution to Mr. Raiford’s 401(k) account for 2018, including the true-up, will not exceed $5,500.Mr. Raiford’s 2017 ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ of $6,891 is comprised of $3,446 for the Company’s portion of his healthinsurance and $3,445 for his housing allowance for the period from the date of the Merger (or October 27, 2017) throughDecember 31, 2017.

(7) Mr. Scarfo’s 2018 ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ of $44,164 is comprised of his $25,000 annual cost-of-living adjustment allowance,$11,909 for the Company’s portion of his medical insurance, $5,500 for the Company’s matching contribution to his 401(k)account and $1,755 for the Company’s portion of his life, disability and excess liability insurance. Mr. Scarfo joined theCompany as our Executive Vice President, Products and Research & Development on January 22, 2018. Effective January 13,2019, he was named Executive Vice President, Products, R&D, Support and Supply Chain.

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(8) Mr. Bruny’s annual salary increased from $300,000 to $350,000, effective March 1, 2018, because of his expanded roleas Executive Vice President, Global Operation after the Merger. Mr. Bruny’s 2018 ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ of$23,028 is comprised of $15,773 for the Company’s portion of his health insurance, $5,500 for the Company’s matchingcontribution to his 401(k) account and $1,755 for the Company’s portion of his life, disability and excess liabilityinsurance. Throughout 2018, Mr. Bruny served as the Company’s Executive Vice President, Global Services. EffectiveJanuary 14, 2019, Mr. Bruny assumed Mr. Swade’s responsibilities and was named Executive Vice President, GlobalSales and Services.

(9) Mr. Swade’s 2018 ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ of $24,744 is comprised of $18,140 for the Company’s portion of hishealth insurance, $5,500 for the Company’s matching contribution to his 401(k) account and $1,103 for the Company’sportion of his life and disability insurance. Mr. Swade’s 2017 ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ of $20,283 is comprised of$18,283 for the Company’s portion of his health insurance and $2,000 for the Company’s matching contribution to his401(k) account. Mr. Swade’s 2016 ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ of $18,549 is comprised of $17,549 for the Company’sportion of his health insurance and $1,000 for the Company’s matching contribution to his 401(k) account. EffectiveJanuary 14, 2019, Mr. Swade stepped down from his position of Executive Vice President, Global Sales. Mr. Swaderemained with the Company through March 31, 2019 to assist with the transition of his responsibilities to Mr. Bruny.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2018

The following table sets forth information about incentive plan awards made to the NEOsduring the year ended December 31, 2018:

2018 GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS

Awards: Awards: Exercise Grant DateEstimated Future Payouts Estimated Future Payouts Number of Number of or Base Fair ValueDate of Under Non-Equity Incentive Under Equity Incentive Shares of Securities Price of of Stock

Compensation Plan Awards(2) Plan Awards(3) Stock or Underlying Option and OptionGrant Committee Threshold Target Maximum Threshold Target Maximum Units Options Awards Awards

Name Date Action(1) ($) ($) ($) (#) (#) (#) (#) (#) ($/Sh) ($)(4)

Franklin Hobbs 19-Apr-18 19-Apr-18 150,000 $ 802,50015-May-18 19-Apr-18 195,000 $1,082,25015-May-18 19-Apr-18 — 195,000 292,500 $1,082,250

22-Feb-18 $— $500,000

Daryl Raiford 15-Jun-18 13-Jun-18 20,000 $ 132,00022-Feb-18 $— $375,000

Anthony Scarfo 15-Feb-18 19-Jan-18 75,000 $ 528,00015-Jun-18 13-Jun-18 15,000 $ 99,000

22-Feb-18 $— $350,000

Steven Bruny 15-Jun-18 13-Jun-18 40,000 $ 264,00022-Feb-18 $— $350,000

Michael Swade 15-Jun-18 13-Jun-18 50,000 $ 330,00022-Feb-18 $— $350,000

(1) Represents the date on which the Compensation Committee took action to approve the equity-based award or the performance metrics for achievement of such award, as applicable.

(2) ‘‘Target’’ amount represent the potential bonus payment under the SMCIP at target level ofachievement. Overachievement Fund payments, if any, upon achievement of performance abovetarget under the SMCIP are discretionary and are not included herein.

For 2018, each of Messrs. Hobbs, Raiford, Scarfo, Bruny and Swade was given the choice toreceive a portion, ranging from 10% to 50% of their 2018 Bonus, if any were earned, in 2018Bonus Shares under the Stock Bonus Election Program. Each such NEO could also elect notto participate in this program and to earn his 2018 Bonus, if any, in the form of cash. Pursuantto the Stock Bonus Election Program, Mr. Hobbs elected to receive 50% of his 2018 Bonus inthe form of 2018 Bonus Shares; each of Messrs. Raiford and Bruny elected to receive 30% ofhis 2018 Bonus in the form of 2018 Bonus Shares; and each of Messrs. Scarfo and Swade eachelected to receive 20% of his 2018 Bonus in the form of 2018 Bonus Shares. The number ofshares earned by each of the NEOs was calculated by dividing the applicable bonus amount(for each NEO, calculated as his Elected Percentage times his 2018 Bonus) by $4.97, the

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closing price of our common stock on March 8, 2019, the date of the company-wide cash bonuspayments. The 2018 Bonus Shares were granted on March 15, 2019. Mr. Hobbs was granted50,302 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid $250,000 in cash for his 2018 Bonus; Mr. Raiford wasgranted 16,600 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid $192,500 in cash for his 2018 Bonus;Mr. Scarfo was granted 14,085 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid $280,000 in cash for his 2018Bonus; Mr. Bruny was granted 21,127 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid $245,000 in cash for his2018 Bonus; and Mr. Swade was granted 14,085 2018 Bonus Shares and was paid $280,000 incash for his 2018 Bonus. The Stock Bonus Election Program was implemented after the initialadoption of the SMCIP for 2018 and, as a result, we have included the amounts of potentialpayouts attributable to 2018 Bonus Shares in these columns.

(3) In May 2018, we granted Mr. Hobbs 195,000 PSUs with both performance and serviceconditions (the ‘‘2018 PSUs’’). Of the 195,000 2018 PSUs, one-half each would vest based onthe achievement of two separate metrics related to the Company’s 2018 financial performance(the ‘‘2018 Performance Conditions’’). The Company’s achievement of the 2018 PerformanceConditions (and the shares of Company common stock to vest as a result thereof) weremeasured on a linear sliding scale in relation to specific threshold, target and stretchperformance conditions. The number of shares of common stock to be received upon vesting ofthe 2018 PSUs would in no event exceed 150% of the 2018 PSUs. In February 2019, theCompensation Committee determined that the performance metrics for one-half of the 2018PSUs had been achieved at the 106.49% achievement level and one-half of the 2018 PSUs hadbeen achieved at the 150% level. However, in April 2019, the Compensation Committeesubsequently determined that the performance metrics for the entire 2018 PSUs had beenachieved at the 150% level, for a total of 292,500 shares earned, pending Mr. Hobbs’ continuedemployment with the Company through December 31, 2020, the vesting date of the 2018 PSUs.

(4) Amounts reflect the grant date fair values of the RSUs and PSUs estimated in accordance withASC 718 as of the respective grant dates. The methodology for calculating the grant date fairvalue of stock awards is discussed in Note 16 to our 2018 Annual Report. The grant date fairvalue of restricted stock awards and units is equal to the closing price of our common stock onthe date of grant.

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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

The following table sets forth information concerning stock options and unvested stock awardsheld by the NEOs as of December 31, 2018:

OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT 2018 FISCAL YEAR-END

Option Awards Stock Awards

EquityIncentive

Equity PlanEquity Incentive Awards:

Incentive Plan Awards: Market orPlan Awards: Market Number of Payout Value

Number of Number of Value of Unearned of UnearnedNumber of Number of Securities Shares or Shares or Shares, Shares,Securities Securities Underlying Units of Units of Units or Units or

Underlying Underlying Unexercised Option Stock Awards Stock That Other Rights Other RightsUnexercised Unexercised Unearned Exercise Option That Have Have Not That Have That HaveOptions (#) Options (#) Options Price Expiration Not Vested Vested Not Vested Not Vested

Name Exercisable Unexercisable (#) ($) Date (#) ($)(1) (#) ($)(1)

Franklin Hobbs 130,000(2) $626,000292,500 (3) $1,409,850

Daryl Raiford 64,555(4) $311,15520,000(4) $96,400

Anthony Scarfo 75,000(5) $361,50015,000(5) $72,300

Steven Bruny 50,555(6) $243,67540,000(6) $192,800

Michael Swade 50,000(7) $241,0003,198(8) $15,414

(1) In accordance with SEC rules, the market value of unvested shares of restricted stock wasdetermined by multiplying the number of such shares by $4.82, the closing market price of ourcommon stock on December 31, 2018.

(2) Of Mr. Hobbs’ 130,000 unvested restricted shares, 65,000 will vest on December 31, 2019 and65,000 will vest on December 31, 2020.

(3) Represents the number of shares underlying Mr. Hobbs’ unvested PSUs based on actual 2018performance. All 292,500 shares will vest on December 31, 2020.

(4) Of Mr. Raiford’s 64,555 unvested restricted shares, 16,139 will vest on May 15, 2019, 16,139will vest on November 15, 2019, 16,138 will vest on May 15, 2020 and 16,139 will vest onNovember 15, 2020. Of Mr. Raiford’s 20,000 unvested restricted shares, 6,667 shares will veston June 15, 2019, 3,333 shares will vest on December 15, 2019, 3,334 will vest on June 15,2020, 3,333 will vest on December 15, 2020 and 3,333 will vest on June 15, 2021.

(5) Of Mr. Scarfo’s 75,000 unvested restricted shares, 25,001 vested on February 15, 2019, 12,500will vest on August 15, 2019, 12,500 will vest on February 15, 2020, 12,499 will vest onAugust 15, 2020 and 12,500 will vest on February 15, 2021. Of Mr. Scarfo’s 15,000 unvestedrestricted shares, 5,001 will vest on June 15, 2019, 2,500 will vest on December 15, 2019, 2,500will vest on June 15, 2020, 2,499 will vest on December 15, 2020 and 2,500 will vest on June 15,2021.

(6) Of Mr. Bruny’s 50,555 unvested restricted shares, 12,639 will vest on May 15, 2019, 12,639 willvest on November 15, 2019, 12,638 will vest on May 15, 2020 and 12,639 will vest onNovember 15, 2020. Of Mr. Bruny’s 40,000 unvested restricted shares, 13,334 will vest onJune 15, 2019, 6,667 will vest on December 15, 2019, 6,666 will vest on June 15, 2020, 6,667will vest on December 15, 2020 and 6,666 will vest on June 15, 2021.

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(7) Of Mr. Swade’s 50,000 unvested restricted shares, all 50,000 vested in connection with hisseparation from the Company effective March 31, 2019.

(8) Represents the number of shares underlying Mr. Swade’s earned PSUs based on actual 2018performance. All 3,198 shares vested on March 31, 2019. Mr. Swade forfeited 2,010 unvestedPSUs as a result of the Company’s actual 2018 TSR performance percentage of 61.40%.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The following table summarizes for the NEOs in 2018 the number of shares acquired upon theexercise or vesting, as applicable, of stock options and stock awards and the value realized, beforepayout of any applicable withholding tax. None of our NEOs exercised stock options during 2018.

2018 OPTION EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED

Option Awards Stock AwardsNumber of Number of

Shares Acquired Value Realized Shares Acquired Value Realizedon Exercise On Vesting on Vesting on Vesting

Name (#) ($) (#)(1) ($)(2)

Franklin Hobbs — — 215,000 1,094,350Daryl Raiford — — 32,279 197,547Anthony Scarfo — — — —Steven Bruny — — 25,279 154,707Michael Swade — — 94,771 1,518,713

(1) Of Mr. Hobbs’ 215,000 shares that vested in 2018, 105,285 shares were returned to us to satisfythe tax withholding obligation associated with the vesting of the shares.

Of Mr. Raiford’s 32,279 shares that vested in 2018, 7,859 shares were returned to us to satisfythe tax withholding obligation associated with the vesting of the shares.

Of Mr. Bruny’s 25,279 shares that vested in 2018, 7,325 shares were returned to us to satisfythe tax withholding obligation associated with the vesting of the shares.

Of Mr. Swade’s 94,771 shares that vested in 2018, 28,469 shares were returned to us to satisfythe tax withholding obligation associated with the vesting of the shares.

(2) In accordance with SEC rules, the aggregate dollar amount realized upon vesting of shares ofrestricted stock was determined by multiplying the number of shares by the closing marketprice of our common stock on the day before vesting.

CEO Pay Ratio

As of November 1, 2018, the Company had a worldwide population of 2,301 employees(including full-time, part-time, seasonal and temporary employees). To determine the median annualcompensation for all employees other than the CEO, a median employee was identified from theworldwide population of employees on November 1, 2018, excluding its 96 employees from thefollowing jurisdictions: Mexico (75 employees) and Malaysia (21 employees), which in the aggregaterepresent 5% or less of the Company’s total employee population. No employees were excluded fromthe employee population due to data privacy issues.

To determine the median employee, we utilized the ‘‘regular earnings’’ of the applicableemployees for 2018, which represents cash compensation excluding bonus, commissions and other

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similar incentive compensation. The Company did not utilize any cost of living or other materialadjustments. In connection with our analysis, we utilized the foreign currency exchange rate used forour internal financial accounting purposes, as of November 1, 2018. Based on the foregoing, themedian employee was determined to be a Systems Integration Technical Specialist working on afull-time basis in the United States.

For 2018, the annual total compensation for the median employee was $110,338 and the annualtotal compensation for our CEO was $4,293,909, which reflects the aggregate of the compensation paidto Mr. Hobbs for 2018. Based on the calculation of the annual total compensation for both the CEOand the median employee (as described above), the ratio of CEO pay to the median employee pay isapproximately 39:1. The pay ratio provided is a reasonable estimate. Because the SEC rules foridentifying the median employee and calculating the pay ratio allow companies to use differentmethodologies, exemptions, estimates and assumptions, our pay ratio may not be comparable to the payratio reported by other companies or our pay ratio in any future year.

Severance and Change of Control Benefits

To attract and retain key executive officers, the Company has entered into executiveagreements that include severance and change of control benefits. In the event or threat of a change ofcontrol transaction, we believe that these agreements reduce uncertainty and provide compensation forthe significant levels of executive engagement and support required during an ownership transition thatmay result in the termination of their employment. The severance arrangements generally provide that,upon termination of the NEO’s employment by the Company without cause, by the NEO for goodreason or due to death or disability of the NEO (except Messrs. Raiford, Bruny and Scarfo), the NEOis entitled to certain severance payments and benefits as described below.

Franklin Hobbs

On April 19, 2018, we entered into a severance agreement with Mr. Hobbs. Pursuant to suchagreement, upon a termination of Mr. Hobbs’ employment by the Company without Cause (as definedin such agreement), or upon a resignation by Mr. Hobbs for Good Reason (as defined in suchagreement), Mr. Hobbs is entitled to severance payments equal to 100% of his base salary and targetannual bonus, and continued health plan premium payments for up to 12 months. Upon termination bythe Company without Cause or a resignation for Good Reason in connection with a change in control,in addition to the foregoing, and upon termination by the Company due to death or Disability (asdefined in such agreement), Mr. Hobbs is also entitled to accelerated vesting of all outstanding equityawards (with performance-based awards vesting as if target performance had been achieved). Upon achange of control of the Company, Mr. Hobbs’ PSUs would continue to vest through the initial vestdate, with the number of such shares that would continue to vest calculated as the shares equal toachievement of the performance metrics, pro-rated for the number of days of Mr. Hobbs’ serviceduring the vesting period.

The severance payments (other than target annual bonus) for Mr. Hobbs will be made inaccordance with the Company’s normal payroll practices for a period of 12 months following aqualifying termination of employment.

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Daryl Raiford

If the Company terminates Mr. Raiford’s employment (other than for Cause (as defined in hisamended and restated employment agreement, as amended) or as a result of his death or disability), orupon a resignation by Mr. Raiford for Good Reason (as defined in his amended and restatedemployment agreement, as amended), he will be entitled to the following compensation and benefits:100% of his base salary, a pro-rata amount of his target annual bonus, 100% of his target annualbonus, and continued health plan premium payments for up to 12 months. If Mr. Raiford’s terminationoccurs within 12 months of a Change in Control (as defined in his amended and restated employmentagreement, as amended), he will be entitled to the following compensation and benefits: 200% of hisbase salary, a pro-rata amount of his target annual bonus, 200% of his target annual bonus, continuedhealth plan premium payments for up to 12 months, an accelerated vesting of all of his outstandingequity. Upon a Change in Control of the Company, Mr. Raiford would receive an accelerated vestingof 50% of his outstanding equity. All compensation payments to which Mr. Raiford will be entitled willbe made in 12-monthly installments, except for the pro-rata amount of his target annual bonus, whichwill be paid in a lump sum.

Upon a ‘‘material transaction’’ (as defined in his retention bonus agreement), Mr. Raiford willbe entitled to a change in control bonus equal to $1,060,000, subject to his continued employmentthrough such material transaction or his termination without Cause.

Steven Bruny

Upon a termination of Mr. Bruny’s employment by the Company, other than for Cause (asdefined in his severance agreement), or upon his resignation for Good Reason (as defined in hisseverance agreement) or as a result of his death or Disability (as defined in his severance agreement),and within six months following the occurrence of a Change in Control (as defined in his severanceagreement), Mr. Bruny is entitled to severance payments equal to 50% of his base salary and continuedhealth plan premium payments for up to 6 months.

Anthony Scarfo

On January 19, 2018, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Scarfo. Pursuant tosuch agreement, upon a termination of Mr. Scarfo’s employment by the Company without Cause (asdefined in such agreement), or upon a resignation by Mr. Scarfo for Good Reason (as defined in suchagreement), Mr. Scarfo is currently entitled to severance payments equal to 12 months of his basesalary and continued health plan premium payments for up to 12 months. Additionally, the Companymay elect to pay Mr. Scarfo a pro-rated portion of his then applicable target bonus, less applicablestate and federal withholdings, calculated upon reference to his termination date.

The severance payments (other than target annual bonus) for Mr. Scarfo will be made inaccordance with the Company’s normal payroll practices for a period of 12 months following aqualifying termination of employment.

Michael Swade

Effective January 14, 2019 (the ‘‘Transition Date’’), Mr. Swade stepped down from his positionas the Company’s Executive Vice President, Global Sales. Mr. Swade entered into a letter agreement,dated January 13, 2018 (the ‘‘Swade Agreement’’), concerning his separation from the Company and itsaffiliates.

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Pursuant to the Swade Agreement, Mr. Swade remained employed by Ribbon CommunicationsOperating Company, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (‘‘RCOC’’), to provide transitionassistance to the Company’s sales organization between the Transition Date and March 31, 2019, and,among other things, remained eligible to receive his 2018 annual corporate bonus as determined by theCompensation Committee. Mr. Swade’s employment was terminated by the Company without Cause(as such term is defined in his employment agreement), effective on March 31, 2019, and Mr. Swadewas entitled to severance payments equal to 150% of his base salary and target cash bonus, continuedhealth plan premium payments for up to 18 months, and accelerated vesting of all unvested restrictedstock. The cash severance payment for Mr. Swade was made in a lump sum.

None of our severance arrangements provide for tax gross ups in connection with severancebenefits following a change in control or otherwise (except for Mr. Raiford, who may receive a taxgross up in connection with his continued health plan premium payments). All severance payments aresubject to the execution of a release of claims by the applicable NEO in favor of the Company andcontinued compliance with applicable restrictive covenants, which generally provide for non-competitionand non-solicitation restrictions for 12 months.

Equity Award Acceleration

In addition to the severance benefits and payments described above, in the event of anAcquisition (as defined in the 2007 Equity Plan and referred to herein as a ‘‘change in control’’), the2007 Equity Plan provides for certain accelerated vesting of awards thereunder. Except as otherwisenoted in the severance arrangements above, effective immediately prior to the occurrence of a changein control, (a) for equity grants prior to June 2016: an additional 25% of the number of shares coveredby the restricted stock award will become vested and the remaining unvested shares subject to therestricted stock award continuing to vest pursuant to the vesting schedule set forth in the award, exceptthat the vesting schedule will be shortened by 12 months, and (b) for equity grants since June 2016, anadditional one-third of the number of shares covered by the restricted stock award will become vestedand the remaining unvested shares subject to the restricted stock award continuing to vest pursuant tothe vesting schedule set forth in the award, except that the vesting schedule will be shortened by12 months.

POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION OR UPON CHANGE IN CONTROL

The table below shows potential payments to the NEOs (other than Mr. Swade, whosepayments upon termination of employment are described below) with severance or change in controlarrangements upon termination or upon a change in control of our Company. The amounts shownassume that termination and/or change in control was effective as of December 31, 2019, the last day ofour fiscal year, and are estimates of the amounts that would have been paid to or realized by theNEOs (other than Mr. Swade) upon such a termination or change in control on such date. The actual

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amounts to be paid or realized can only be determined at the time of an NEO’s termination orfollowing a change in control.

Terminationwithout Cause or

Termination for Good Reasonwithout Cause or Termination upon following Change

for Good Reason(1) Death or Disability Change in Control in Control

Franklin HobbsCash Severance . . . . . . . . $1,000,000 $— $— $1,000,000Stock Awards(2) . . . . . . . . 1,566,500 1,566,500 601,784 1,566,500Health Benefits . . . . . . . . —(3) — —(3) —(3)

$2,566,500 $1,566,500 $601,784 $2,566,500

Daryl RaifordChange in Control

Bonus(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . $— $— $1,060,000 $1,060,000Cash Severance . . . . . . . . 1,250,000 — — 2,500,000Stock Awards(2) . . . . . . . . — — 203,778 407,555Health Benefits . . . . . . . . 15,773 — — 15,773

$1,265,773 $— $1,263,778 $3,983,328

Anthony ScarfoCash Severance . . . . . . . . $700,000 $— $— $1,050,000Stock Awards(2) . . . . . . . . — — 216,910 433,800Health Benefits . . . . . . . . 14,291 — — 21,436

$714,291 $— $216,910 $1,505,236

Steven BrunyCash Severance . . . . . . . . $— $— $— $175,000Stock Awards(2) . . . . . . . . — — 218,245 218,245Health Benefits . . . . . . . . — — — 7,887

$— $— $218,245 $401,132

(1) Represents the severance benefits that the NEO would be eligible to receive absent a changein control.

(2) These amounts represent the gains that would be realized on the acceleration of unvestedrestricted shares and performance-based stock units in accordance with the NEOs’ respectiveemployment and/or grant agreements. The gains were calculated by multiplying our closingstock price of $4.82 on December 31, 2018 by the number of shares (or shares underlyingPSUs) that would accelerate.

(3) Although Mr. Hobbs was entitled to health benefits, he has elected not to obtain his currenthealth benefits from the Company and accordingly, we have not included any potential healthbenefit payments in the table

(4) Mr. Raiford is not entitled to a change in control bonus unless a material transaction isconsummated. If he becomes entitled to severance at any time prior to such a materialtransaction, he will not receive this change in control bonus. If he becomes entitled toseverance at any time after payment of the change in control bonus in connection with such amaterial transaction, he will not receive any additional change in control bonus upontermination.

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STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR INCLUSION IN 2020 PROXY STATEMENT

To be considered for inclusion in the proxy statement relating to our annual meeting ofstockholders to be held in 2020, stockholder proposals must be received at our principal executiveoffices no later than December 27, 2019, which is 120 calendar days before the date of our proxystatement released to our stockholders in connection with the prior year’s annual meeting ofstockholders, and must otherwise comply with the rules promulgated by the SEC. If the date of nextyear’s annual meeting is changed by more than 30 days from the anniversary date of this year’s annualmeeting on June 5, 2019, then the deadline is a reasonable time before we begin to print and mailproxy materials.

STOCKHOLDER NOMINATIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR PRESENTATIONAT 2020 ANNUAL MEETING

According to our by-laws, we must receive proposals of stockholders and director nominationsintended to be presented at the 2020 Annual Meeting but not included in the proxy statement by theclose of business on March 7, 2020, but not before February 6, 2020, which is not later than theninetieth (90th) day nor earlier than the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to the first anniversaryof the date of the 2019 Annual Meeting. Such proposals must be delivered to the Secretary of theCompany at our principal executive office. However, in the event the 2020 Annual Meeting isscheduled to be held on a date before May 6, 2020, or after August 14, 2020, which are dates 30 daysbefore or 70 days after the first anniversary of our 2019 Annual Meeting, then your notice must bereceived by us at our principal executive office not earlier than the close of business on the 120th dayprior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day beforethe scheduled date of such annual meeting or the 10th day after the day on which we first make apublic announcement of the date of such annual meeting. Any proposals that are not made inaccordance with the above standards may not be presented at the 2020 Annual Meeting. SEC rulespermit management to vote proxies in its discretion in certain cases if the stockholder does not complywith this deadline and, in certain other cases notwithstanding the stockholder’s compliance with thisdeadline.

STOCKHOLDERS SHARING THE SAME ADDRESS

We have adopted a procedure called ‘‘householding.’’ Under this procedure, we are deliveringonly one copy of the annual report and Proxy Statement to multiple stockholders who share the sameaddress, unless we have received contrary instructions from an affected stockholder. Stockholders whoparticipate in householding will continue to receive separate proxy cards.

We will deliver promptly upon written or oral request a separate copy of the annual report andthe Proxy Statement to any stockholder at a shared address to which a single copy of either of thosedocuments was delivered. To receive a separate copy of the annual report or Proxy Statement, pleasesubmit your request to Broadridge Financial Solutions by calling 1-800-579-1639 to request delivery ofpaper copies through the Internet or by e-mail, or in writing addressed to RibbonCommunications Inc., 4 Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA 01886 Attn: Investor Relations.

If you are a holder of record and would like to revoke your householding consent and receivea separate copy of the annual report or Proxy Statement in the future, please contact BroadridgeHouseholding Department, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by calling 1-800-542-1061. Youwill be removed from the householding program within 30 days of receipt of the revocation of yourconsent.

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26APR201818531418

Any stockholders of record who share the same address and currently receive multiple copiesof our annual report and Proxy Statement who wish to receive only one copy of these materials perhousehold in the future should contact Broadridge Householding Department at the contactinformation listed above to participate in the householding program.

A number of brokerage firms have instituted householding. If you hold your shares in ‘‘streetname,’’ please contact your bank, broker or other holder of record to request information abouthouseholding.

FORM 10-K

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2018, which was filedwith the SEC on March 5, 2019, is being delivered to stockholders in connection with this proxysolicitation. With the payment of an appropriate processing fee, we will provide copies of the exhibitsto our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A. Please address all such requests to the Investor Relationsdepartment at our principal executive offices at 4 Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA 01886.

OTHER MATTERS

Our Board knows of no other matters to be submitted at the meeting and the deadline underour by-laws for submission of matters by stockholders has passed. If any other matters properly comebefore the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the enclosed form of proxy to vote theshares they represent in their discretion.

The accompanying proxy is solicited by and on behalf of our Board. We will pay the costs ofsoliciting proxies from stockholders. In addition to soliciting proxies by mail, by telephone and via theInternet, our directors, executive officers and other employees may solicit proxies, either personally orby other electronic means, on our behalf, without special compensation. We will also request brokeragehouses, custodians, nominees and fiduciaries to forward copies of the proxy material to those personsfor whom they hold shares and request instructions for voting the proxies. We will reimburse suchbrokerage houses and other persons for their reasonable expenses in connection with this distribution.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

Westford, Massachusetts Justin K. FergusonApril 25, 2019 Executive Vice President, General Counsel and

Corporate Secretary

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APPENDIX A

RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Ribbon Communications management uses several different financial measures, both GAAPand non-GAAP, in analyzing and assessing the overall performance of the business, making operatingdecisions, planning and forecasting future periods, and determining payments under compensationprograms. Our annual financial plan is prepared both on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, and thenon-GAAP annual financial plan is approved by our board of directors. Continuous budgeting andforecasting for revenue and expenses are conducted on a non-GAAP basis (in addition to GAAP) andactual results on a non-GAAP basis are assessed against the annual financial plan. We consider the useof non-GAAP financial measures helpful in assessing the core performance of our continuingoperations and when planning and forecasting future periods. By continuing operations, we mean theongoing results of the business adjusted for acquisition-related revenue as a result of purchaseaccounting and the related cost of revenue, the impact of the new revenue standard, and excludingcertain expenses and credits, including, but not limited to stock-based compensation, amortization andimpairment of intangible assets, acquisition-related facilities adjustments, settlement expense, certainlitigation costs, cancelled debt offering costs, merger integration costs, acquisition- and integration-related expense, restructuring, the gains on the sales of intangible assets and tax benefits arising frompurchase accounting and tax reform. While our management uses non-GAAP financial measures as atool to enhance their understanding of certain aspects of our financial performance, our managementdoes not consider these measures to be a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP measures. In addition,our presentations of these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by othercompanies. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered alternatives for, or inisolation from, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.

Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use ofnon-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. In particular, many of the adjustments to Ribbon’sfinancial measures reflect the exclusion of items that are recurring and will be reflected in our financialresults for the foreseeable future.

Acquisition-Related Revenue and Cost of Revenue; Impact of New Revenue Standard

We provide the supplementary non-GAAP financial measures, non-GAAP Product revenue,non-GAAP Service revenue and non-GAAP Total revenue, which include revenue related to theacquisitions of GENBAND and Edgewater that we would have recognized but for the purchaseaccounting treatment of these transactions. We also include eliminated revenue resulting from ouradoption in 2018 of the new revenue recognition standard. Because GAAP accounting requires theelimination of this revenue, as well as the impact on future revenue of our adoption in 2018 of the newrevenue standard, GAAP results alone do not fully capture all of our economic activities. Thesenon-GAAP adjustments are intended to reflect the full amounts of such revenue and the related cost ofrevenue. We include these adjustments to allow for more complete comparisons to the financial resultsof our historical operations, forward-looking guidance and the financial results of peer companies. Webelieve these adjustments are useful to management and investors as a measure of the ongoingperformance of the business. These adjustments do not accelerate revenue, but instead include revenue(and the related cost of revenue) that would have been recognized in our 2017 and 2018 results, but forthe purchase accounting and new revenue standard adjustments required by GAAP.

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Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense is different from other forms of compensation, as it is anon-cash expense. For example, a cash salary generally has a fixed and unvarying cash cost. In contrast,the expense associated with an equity-based award is generally unrelated to the amount of cashultimately received by the employee, and the cost to us is based on a stock-based compensationvaluation methodology, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types, all of which may varyover time. We evaluate performance without these measures because stock-based compensation expenseis influenced by the Company’s stock price and other factors such as volatility and interest rates thatare beyond our control. The expense related to stock-based awards is generally not controllable in theshort-term and can vary significantly based on the timing, size and nature of awards granted. As such,we do not include such charges in our operating plans, and we believe that presenting non-GAAPoperating results that exclude stock-based compensation provides investors with visibility and insightinto our management’s method of analysis and the Company’s core operating performance. It isreasonable to expect that stock-based compensation will continue in future periods.

Amortization of Intangible Assets

We exclude the amortization of acquired intangible assets from non-GAAP expense andincome measures. These amortization amounts are inconsistent in frequency and amount and aresignificantly impacted by the timing and size of acquisitions. Although we exclude amortization ofacquired intangible assets from our non-GAAP expenses, we believe that it is important for investors tounderstand that intangible assets contribute to revenue generation. We believe that excluding thenon-cash amortization of intangible assets facilitates the comparison of our financial results to ourhistorical operating results and to other companies in our industry as if the acquired intangible assetshad been developed internally rather than acquired. Amortization of intangible assets that relate topast acquisitions will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized.

Impairment of Intangible Assets

In the fourth quarter of 2017, we discontinued our ongoing development of certain intangibleassets that we had previously acquired, as we had determined that there were no alternative uses of thetechnology within either our existing or future product lines. As a result, we recorded an impairmentcharge of $5.5 million to write down the carrying value of the assets to zero. Had we developed thoseintangible assets internally and made the decision to discontinue their ongoing development, we wouldhave ceased work on such development projects and eliminated the related future costs. Because we donot capitalize these costs, there would have been no asset to write off. As a result, we believe thatexcluding non-cash impairment charges from our non-GAAP operating results as if these impairedintangible assets had been developed internally rather than acquired facilitates a comparison to ourhistorical operating results and to other companies in our industry.

Acquisition-Related Facilities Adjustments

GAAP accounting requires that the deferred rent liability of an acquired company be writtenoff as part of purchase accounting and that the combined company’s rent expense on a straight-linebasis begin as of the acquisition date. As a result, we recorded more rent expense than would havebeen recognized but for the purchase accounting treatment of GENBAND’s assumed deferred rentliability. We include this adjustment, which relates to the acquisition of GENBAND, to allow for morecomplete comparisons to the financial results of our historical operations, forward-looking guidance andthe financial results of peer companies. We believe these adjustments provide an indication of the rentexpense that would have been recognized, but for the purchase accounting in connection with theacquisition of GENBAND.

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Settlement Expense

In the first quarter of 2018, we recorded $1.7 million of expense related to settlements,comprised of $1.4 million for the settlement of litigation in connection with our acquisition ofTaqua LLC and $0.3 million of patent litigation settlement expense. In the third quarter of 2017, werecorded $1.6 million of expense related to potential fines in connection with the then-ongoing SECinvestigation, which we paid to the SEC, along with an additional $0.3 million recorded in the fourthquarter of 2017, in the third quarter of 2018. These amounts are included as components of generaland administrative expense. We believe that such settlement costs are not part of our core business orongoing operations, are unplanned and generally not within our control. Accordingly, we believe thatexcluding costs such as the SEC potential fines and patent litigation settlement expense facilitates thecomparison of our financial results to our historical operating results and to other companies in ourindustry.

Litigation Costs

In connection with certain ongoing litigation between GENBAND, as plaintiff, and one of itscompetitors, we have incurred litigation costs beginning in the fourth quarter of 2017. In March 2018,we filed litigation on behalf of Sonus against the same competitor asserting additional intellectualproperty infringement. We expect to incur significant future litigation costs related to these matters.These costs are included as a component of general and administrative expense. We believe that suchcosts are not part of our core business or ongoing operations, are unplanned and generally not withinour control. Accordingly, we believe that excluding the litigation costs related to this specific legalmatter facilitates the comparison of our financial results to our historical operating results and to othercompanies in our industry.

Cancelled Debt Offering Costs

In November 2018, we announced that we intended to offer, subject to market conditions andother factors, $150 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2023 in a privateoffering to qualified institutional buyers. We expected to grant the initial purchasers a 30-day option topurchase up to an additional $25 million aggregate principal amount of such notes, solely to coverover-allotments, if any. On the same day as our announcement, we decided not to proceed with thisoffering, as we believed that then-current market conditions were not conducive for an offering onterms that would be in the best interests of our stockholders. In connection with this offering, weincurred $1.0 million of expense. We do not consider these debt offering costs to be related to thecontinuing operations of the Company. We believe that excluding these cancelled debt offering costsfacilitates the comparison of our financial results to our historical operating results and to othercompanies in our industry.

Acquisition- and Integration-Related Expense

We consider certain acquisition- and integration-related costs to be unrelated to the organiccontinuing operations of our acquired businesses and the Company and they are generally not relevantto assessing or estimating the long-term performance of the acquired assets. In addition, the size,complexity and/or volume of an acquisition, which often drives the magnitude of acquisition- andintegration-related costs, may not be indicative of future acquisition- and integration-related costs. Byexcluding these acquisition- and integration-related costs from our non-GAAP measures, managementis better able to evaluate our ability to utilize our existing assets and estimate the long-term value thatacquired assets will generate for us. We exclude certain acquisition- and integration-related costs toallow more accurate comparisons of our financial results to our historical operations, forward-lookingguidance and the financial results of less acquisitive peer companies. In addition, we believe that

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providing supplemental non-GAAP measures that exclude these items allows management and investorsto consider the ongoing operations of the business both with and without such expenses.

Restructuring

We have recorded restructuring expense to streamline operations and reduce operating costs byclosing and consolidating certain facilities and reducing our worldwide workforce. We review ourrestructuring accruals regularly and record adjustments (both expense and credits) to these estimates asrequired. We believe that excluding restructuring expense and credits facilitates the comparison of ourfinancial results to our historical operating results and to other companies in our industry, as there areno future revenue streams or other benefits associated with these costs.

Gain on the Sale of Intangible Asset

In the second quarter of 2017, we sold an intangible asset that we had acquired in connectionwith a previous acquisition. This amount is included as a component of other income, net. We believethat such gains are not part of our core business or ongoing operations, we had not used the intangibleasset in connection with revenue-producing activities and would not have used it as such in the future.Accordingly, we believe that excluding from our results the other income arising from this salefacilitates the comparison of our financial results to our historical results and to other companies in ourindustry.

Tax Benefits Arising from Purchase Accounting and Tax Reform

In the third quarter of 2018, we reduced our valuation allowance in connection with ouracquisition of Edgewater, resulting in an income tax benefit of $0.8 million. In the fourth quarter of2018, we recorded an adjustment to that amount, resulting in income tax expense of $0.1 million for anet tax benefit of $0.7 million related to this acquisition. In the fourth quarter of 2017, we reduced ourvaluation allowance in connection with the GENBAND transaction, resulting in an income tax benefitof $16.4 million. In addition, we recognized an income tax benefit of $4.8 million related to the Tax Cutand Jobs Act of 2017. We believe that such benefits are not part of our core business or ongoingoperations, as they are either the result of acquisitions or new tax legislation, neither of which relatesto our revenue-producing activities. Accordingly, we believe that excluding the net benefits arising fromthese adjustments to our income tax provision facilitates the comparison of our financial results to ourhistorical results and to other companies in our industry.

Adjusted EBITDA

We use Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure to review and assess our performance.We calculate Adjusted EBITDA by excluding from net income (loss): interest income (expense), net;income tax benefit (provision); depreciation; and amortization of intangible assets. In addition, weexclude from net income (loss): adjustments to revenue and cost of revenue related to revenuereductions resulting from purchase accounting and adoption of the new revenue standard; stock-basedcompensation expense; settlement expense; certain litigation costs; merger integration costs; acquisition-related facilities adjustments; acquisition- and integration-related expense; restructuring; and otherincome, net. In general, we add back the expenses that we consider to be non-cash and/or not part ofour ongoing operations. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that is used by ourinvesting community for comparative and valuation purposes. We disclose this metric to support andfacilitate our dialogue with research analysts and investors. Other companies may calculate AdjustedEBITDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

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We believe that providing non-GAAP information to investors, in addition to the GAAPpresentation, will allow investors to view the financial results in the way management views them. Wefurther believe that providing this information helps investors to better understand our core financialand operating performance and evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by ourmanagement to evaluate and measure such performance.

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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.(in thousands, except percentages)

(unaudited)

Year ended

December 31, December 31,2018 2017

GAAP Total revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $577,905 $329,942Acquisition-related revenue adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,082 23,280Adjustment for new revenue standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,045 —

Non-GAAP Total revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $612,032 $353,222

GAAP Net loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $(76,810) $(35,252)Acquisition-related revenue adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,082 23,280Acquisition-related cost of revenue adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1,977) (10,364)Adjustment for new revenue standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,045 —Adjustment to cost of revenue for new revenue standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (110) —Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,072 25,657Amortization of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,723 17,112Impairment of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — 5,471Acquisition-related facilities adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966 —Settlement expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,730 1,900Litigation costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,682 373Cancelled debt offering costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,003 —Acquisition- and integration-related expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,951 14,763Restructuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,015 9,436Gain on the sale of intangible asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — (576)Tax benefits arising from purchase accounting and tax reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (718) (21,155)

Non-GAAP net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $60,654 $30,645

Earnings (loss) per share:GAAP Loss per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $(0.74) $(0.60)Acquisition-related revenue adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.23 0.38Acquisition-related cost of revenue adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0.02) (0.17)Adjustment for new revenue standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.10 —Adjustment to cost of revenue for new revenue standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * —Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.11 0.43Amortization of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.48 0.29Impairment of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — 0.09Acquisition-related facilities adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.01 —Settlement expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02 0.03Litigation costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.07 0.01Cancelled debt offering costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.01 —Acquisition- and integration-related expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.16 0.25Restructuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.16 0.16Gain on the sale of intangible asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — (0.01)Tax benefits arising from purchase accounting and tax reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0.01) (0.35)

Non-GAAP Diluted earnings per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $0.58 $0.51

Shares used to compute diluted earnings per share or (loss) per shareGAAP Shares used to compute loss per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103,916 58,822Non-GAAP Shares used to compute diluted earnings per share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,438 59,639

Adjusted EBITDA:GAAP Net loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $(76,810) (35,252)Interest expense (income), net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,230 (263)Income tax provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,400 (18,440)Depreciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,200 8,486Amortization of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,723 17,112Impairment of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — 5,471Acquisition-related revenue adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,082 23,280Acquisition-related cost of revenue adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1,977) (10,364)Adjustment for new revenue standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,045 —Adjustment to cost of revenue for new revenue standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (110) —Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,072 25,657Acquisition-related facilities adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966 —Settlement expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,730 1,900Litigation costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,682 373Cancelled debt offering costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,003 —Acquisition- and integration-related expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,951 14,763Restructuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,015 9,436Other expense (income), net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,772 (1,274)

Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $83,974 $40,885

* Less than $0.01 impact on earnings (loss) per share

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APPENDIX B

RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.2019 INCENTIVE AWARD PLAN

1. Purpose.

The purpose of this Ribbon Communications Inc. 2019 Incentive Award Plan (as amendedfrom time to time, the ‘‘Plan’’) is to advance the interests of the stockholders of RibbonCommunications Inc., a Delaware corporation (the ‘‘Company’’), by enhancing the Company’s ability toattract, retain and motivate persons who are expected to make important contributions to the Companyand by providing such persons with equity ownership opportunities and performance-based incentivesthat are intended to align their interests with those of the Company’s stockholders. Except where thecontext otherwise requires, the term ‘‘Company’’ shall include any of the Company’s present or futureparent or subsidiary corporations as defined in Sections 424(e) or (f) of the Internal Revenue Code of1986, as amended, and any regulations promulgated thereunder (the ‘‘Code’’) (and any other parent orsubsidiary of the Company as defined and interpreted for purposes of Form S-8 under the SecuritiesAct of 1933, as amended (the ‘‘Securities Act’’) or any successor form). The Plan shall be effective asof the date of approval by the Company’s stockholders at its 2019 annual meeting of stockholders (the‘‘Effective Date’’) and no Awards shall be granted prior to the Effective Date. No awards may begranted under the Company’s Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan (the ‘‘Existing Plan’’) on orafter the Effective Date; provided that, to the extent the Plan is not approved by the Company’sstockholders at its 2019 annual meeting of stockholders, the Plan shall not become effective, theExisting Plan will remain in effect in accordance with its terms, and awards may be granted under theExisting Plan on and after the date of such annual meeting without regard for the terms herein.

2. Eligibility.

All of the Company’s employees, officers, and non-employee directors (each, a ‘‘Director’’), aswell as consultants and advisors to the Company (as the terms consultants and advisors are defined andinterpreted for purposes of Form S-8 under the Securities Act or any successor form) (each, an‘‘Eligible Individual’’) are eligible to receive options, stock appreciation rights (‘‘SARs’’), restrictedstock, restricted stock units (including, without limitation, performance stock units), and other stock- orcash-based awards (each, an ‘‘Award’’) under the Plan. Each Eligible Individual who receives an Awardunder the Plan is deemed a ‘‘Participant’’.

3. Administration and Delegation.

(a) Administration. Subject to any delegation pursuant to Sections 3(b) and (c), the Plan willbe administered by the Board. The Board shall have authority to grant Awards and to adopt, amendand repeal such administrative rules, guidelines and practices relating to the Plan as it shall deemadvisable. The Board may construe and interpret the terms of the Plan and any Award agreementsentered into under the Plan. The Board may correct any defect, supply any omission or reconcile anyinconsistency in the Plan or any Award in the manner and to the extent it shall deem expedient tocarry the Plan into effect and it shall be the sole and final judge of such expediency. All decisions bythe Board shall be made in the Board’s sole discretion and shall be final and binding on all personshaving or claiming any interest in the Plan or in any Award. No director or person acting pursuant tothe authority delegated by the Board shall be liable for any action or determination relating to orunder the Plan or any Award, to the extent such action or determination is made in good faith.

(b) Appointment of Committees. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Board maydelegate any or all of its powers under the Plan to one or more committees or subcommittees of the

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Board (each, a ‘‘Committee’’). All references in the Plan to the ‘‘Board’’ shall mean the Board or aCommittee or the officers referred to in Section 3(c) to the extent that the Board’s powers or authorityunder the Plan have been delegated to such Committee or officers.

(c) Delegation to Officers. Subject to any requirements of applicable law (including asapplicable Sections 152 and 157(c) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware), theBoard may delegate to one or more officers of the Company the power to grant Awards (subject to anylimitations under the Plan) to Eligible Individuals and to exercise such other powers under the Plan asthe Board may determine, provided that the Board shall fix the maximum number of shares subject toAwards that the officers may grant, and the time period in which the Awards may be granted; andprovided further, that no officer shall be authorized to grant Awards to any ‘‘executive officer’’ of theCompany (as defined by Rule 3b-7 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the‘‘Exchange Act’’)) or to any ‘‘officer’’ of the Company (as defined by Rule 16a-1(f) under the ExchangeAct).

4. Stock Available for Awards.

(a) Number of Shares. Subject to Section 4(b) and adjustment under Section 10, theaggregate number of shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, of the Company (the‘‘Common Stock’’) reserved for Awards under the Plan is equal to 7,000,000, plus the number of sharesof Common Stock previously reserved for issuance under the Existing Plan that remained available forgrant as of the Effective Date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no more than 7,000,000shares of Common Stock may be issued as Incentive Stock Options (as defined below) under the Plan.Shares issued under the Plan may consist in whole or in part of authorized but unissued shares ortreasury shares (if any).

(b) Share Count. Shares issued pursuant to Awards will count against the shares of CommonStock available for issuance under the Plan as one (1) share for every one (1) share issued inconnection with the Award. If any Award (or award under the Existing Plan, the Company’s 2008 StockIncentive Plan or the Company’s 2012 Amended Performance Technologies, Incorporated OmnibusIncentive Plan (collectively, the ‘‘Prior Plans’’)) expires or is terminated, surrendered or canceledwithout having been fully exercised, is cash-settled, is forfeited in whole or in part (including as theresult of shares of Common Stock subject to such Award (or award under a Prior Plan) beingrepurchased by the Company at the original issuance price pursuant to a contractual repurchase right),then shares of Common Stock covered by such Award (or award under a Prior Plan) shall, to theextent of such termination, surrender, cancellation, cash-settlement or forfeiture, again becomeavailable for the grant of Awards under the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) shares tendered bythe Participant or withheld by the Company in payment of the exercise price of an Option, (ii) sharestendered by the Participant or withheld by the Company to satisfy any tax withholding obligation withrespect to an Award, (iii) shares subject to a SAR that are not issued in connection with its sharesettlement on exercise thereof, and (iv) shares of Common Stock repurchased by the Company on theopen market using the proceeds from the exercise of an Award, shall not increase the number of sharesof Common Stock available for the future grant of Awards. In the case of Incentive Stock Options, theforegoing provisions shall be subject to any limitations under the Code. Additionally, in the event that acompany acquired by the Company or any subsidiary thereof or with which the Company or anysubsidiary thereof combines has shares available under a pre-existing plan approved by its stockholdersand not adopted in contemplation of such acquisition or combination, the shares available for grantpursuant to the terms of such pre-existing plan (as adjusted, to the extent appropriate, using theexchange ratio or other adjustment or valuation ratio or formula used in such acquisition orcombination to determine the consideration payable to the holders of common stock of the entitiesparty to such acquisition or combination) may be used for Awards under the Plan and shall not reducethe shares of Common Stock authorized for grant under the Plan (and shares of Common Stock

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subject to such Awards shall not be added to the shares available for Awards under the Plan asprovided in Section 4(a) above); provided that Awards using such available shares of Common Stockshall not be made after the date awards or grants could have been made under the terms of thepre-existing plan, absent the acquisition or combination, and shall only be made to individuals whowere not employed by or providing services to the Company or its subsidiaries immediately prior tosuch acquisition or combination.

(c) Limit on Awards to Directors. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Plan,during any calendar year, the sum of the grant date fair value (determined in accordance with FinancialAccounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, or any successor thereto) ofAwards and the amount of any cash fees granted or paid to a Director, in respect of such Director’sservices as a non-employee director for such year, shall not exceed $650,000. The Board may makeexceptions to this limit for individual Directors in extraordinary circumstances, as the Board maydetermine in its discretion, provided that the Director receiving such additional compensation may notparticipate in the decision to award such compensation or in other contemporaneous compensationdecisions involving Directors.

(d) Substitute Awards. In connection with a corporate transaction with another entity, suchas a merger or consolidation of an entity with the Company or the acquisition by the Company ofproperty or stock of an entity, the Board may grant Awards in substitution for any options or otherstock or stock-based awards granted by such entity or an affiliate thereof. Substitute Awards may begranted on such terms as the Board deems appropriate in the circumstances, notwithstanding anylimitations on Awards contained in the Plan (subject to compliance with the applicable requirements ofSection 424 of the Code and Section 409A of the Code (together with the Department of Treasuryregulations and other interpretive guidance issued thereunder, ‘‘Section 409A’’)). Substitute Awardsshall not count against the overall share limit set forth in Section 4(a), except as may be required byreason of Section 422 and related provisions of the Code.

5. Stock Options.

(a) General. The Board may grant options to purchase Common Stock (each, an ‘‘Option’’)and determine the number of shares of Common Stock to be covered by each Option, the exerciseprice of each Option and the conditions and limitations applicable to the exercise of each Option,including conditions relating to applicable federal or state securities laws, as it considers necessary oradvisable. An Option that is not an Incentive Stock Option shall be designated a ‘‘Nonstatutory StockOption.’’

(b) Incentive Stock Options. An Option that the Board intends to be an ‘‘incentive stockoption’’ as defined in Section 422 of the Code (an ‘‘Incentive Stock Option’’) shall only be granted toemployees of the Company, any of its present or future parent or subsidiary corporations as defined inSections 424(e) or (f) of the Code, and any other entities the employees of which are eligible to receiveIncentive Stock Options under the Code, and shall be subject to and shall be construed consistentlywith the requirements of Section 422 of the Code. The Company shall have no liability to a Participant,or any other party, if an Option (or any part thereof) that is intended to be an Incentive Stock Optionis not an Incentive Stock Option or for any action taken by the Board, including without limitation theconversion of an Incentive Stock Option to a Nonstatutory Stock Option.

(c) Exercise Price. The Board shall establish the exercise price of each Option and specifysuch exercise price in the applicable option agreement. Subject to Section 4(d), the exercise price shallbe not less than 100% of the fair market value (as defined below) on the date the Option is granted.

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(d) Duration of Options. Each Option shall be exercisable at such times and subject to suchterms and conditions as the Board may specify in the applicable option agreement; provided that,notwithstanding the foregoing and unless determined otherwise by the Company, in the event that onthe last business day of the term of an Option (other than an Incentive Stock Option) (i) the exerciseof the Option is prohibited by applicable law, as determined by the Company, or (ii) shares ofCommon Stock may not be purchased or sold by the applicable Participant due to any Company insidertrading policy (including blackout periods) or a ‘‘lock-up’’ agreement undertaken in connection with anissuance of securities by the Company, the term of the Option shall be extended until the date that isthirty (30) days after the end of the legal prohibition, black-out period or lock-up agreement, asdetermined by the Company; provided, however, in no event shall the extension last beyond the termof the applicable Option (which, in no event will exceed 10 years from the date of grant).

(e) Exercise of Option. Options may be exercised by delivery to the Company of a writtennotice of exercise signed by the proper person or by any other form of notice (including electronicnotice) approved by the Company, together with payment in full as specified in Section 5(f) for thenumber of shares for which the Option is exercised and any other documentation required by theBoard. The form of such notice of exercise shall be determined by the Company in its sole discretion.Shares of Common Stock subject to the Option will be delivered by the Company as soon as reasonablypracticable following exercise.

(f) Payment Upon Exercise. Common Stock purchased upon the exercise of an Optiongranted under the Plan shall be paid for as follows:

(i) in cash or by check, payable to the order of the Company (or, to the extentdetermined appropriate by the Company in lieu of cash or check, through electronic paymentthrough a stock plan administrator or other third party);

(ii) except as may otherwise be provided in the applicable option agreement, by(A) delivery of an irrevocable and unconditional undertaking by a creditworthy broker to deliverpromptly to the Company sufficient funds to pay the exercise price and any required taxwithholding, and (B) delivery by the Participant to the Company of a copy of irrevocable andunconditional instructions to a creditworthy broker to deliver promptly to the Company cash or acheck sufficient to pay the exercise price and any required tax withholding;

(iii) to the extent provided for in the applicable option agreement or approved by theBoard, in its sole discretion, (A) by the withholding of shares of Common Stock otherwise issuableunder an Award or (B) by delivery (either by actual delivery or attestation) of shares of CommonStock owned by the Participant valued in the manner determined by (or in a manner approved by)the Board, provided (x) such method of payment is then permitted under applicable law, (y) suchCommon Stock, if acquired directly from the Company, was owned by the Participant for suchminimum period of time, if any, as may be established by the Board in its sole discretion and(z) such Common Stock is not subject to any repurchase, forfeiture, unfulfilled vesting or othersimilar requirements;

(iv) to the extent permitted by applicable law and provided for in the applicable optionagreement or approved by the Board, in its sole discretion, by payment of such other lawfulconsideration as the Board may determine; or

(v) by any combination of the above permitted forms of payment.

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(g) Fair Market Value. Fair market value of a share of Common Stock for purposes ofestablishing the exercise price of each Option under Section 5(c) and the exercise price of each SARunder Section 6(c) will be determined as follows:

(i) if the Common Stock trades on a national securities exchange, the closing sale price(for the primary trading session) on the date of grant; or

(ii) if the Common Stock does not trade on any such exchange, the average of the closingbid and ask prices for the date of grant as reported by the principal market on which the CommonStock is then traded, or if there are no such closing bid and ask prices, the average of the bid andask prices as reported by any other commercial service for the date of grant; or

(iii) if the Common Stock does not trade on any such exchange and there are no bid andasked prices available for determination under Section 5(g)(ii), the fair market value as determinedby the Board in its discretion.

For any date that is not a trading day, the fair market value of a share of Common Stock forsuch date will be determined by using the closing sale price or average of the bid and asked prices, asappropriate, for the immediately following trading day and with the timing in the formulas aboveadjusted accordingly. The Board can substitute a particular time of day or other measure of ‘‘closingsale price’’ or ‘‘bid and asked prices’’ if appropriate because of exchange or market procedures or can,in its sole discretion, use weighted averages either on a daily basis or such longer period as complieswith Section 409A.

(h) Limitation on Repricing. Other than pursuant to Section 10, the Board shall not withoutthe approval of the Company’s stockholders: (i) lower the exercise price of an Option, (ii) cancel anOption when the exercise price per share exceeds the fair market value of one share in exchange forcash or another Award (other than in connection with a Change in Control), or (iii) take any otheraction with respect to an Option that would be treated as a repricing under the rules and regulations ofthe principal U.S. national securities exchange on which the shares of Common Stock are listed.

(i) No Reload Options. No Option granted under the Plan shall contain any provisionentitling the Participant to the automatic grant of additional Options in connection with the exercise ofthe original Option.

(j) No Dividend Equivalents. No Option shall provide for the payment or accrual of dividendequivalents.

6. Stock Appreciation Rights.

(a) General. The Board may grant Awards consisting of a SAR entitling the holder, uponexercise, to receive an amount in Common Stock or cash or a combination thereof (such form to bedetermined by the Board) determined in whole or in part by reference to appreciation, from and afterthe date of grant, in the fair market value of a share of Common Stock over the exercise priceestablished pursuant to Section 6(c). The date as of which such appreciation or other measure isdetermined shall be the exercise date.

(b) Grants. SARs may be granted in tandem with, or independently of, Options grantedunder the Plan.

(1) Tandem Awards. When SARs are expressly granted in tandem with Options, (i) theSAR will be exercisable only at such time or times, and to the extent, that the related Option isexercisable (except to the extent designated by the Board in connection with a Reorganization

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Event (as defined below)) and will be exercisable in accordance with the procedure required forexercise of the related Option; (ii) the SAR will terminate and no longer be exercisable upon thetermination or exercise of the related Option, except to the extent designated by the Board inconnection with a Reorganization Event and except that a SAR granted with respect to less thanthe full number of shares covered by an Option will not be reduced until the number of shares asto which the related Option has been exercised or has terminated exceeds the number of sharesnot covered by the SAR; (iii) the Option will terminate and no longer be exercisable upon theexercise of the related SAR; and (iv) the SAR will be transferable only with the related Option.

(2) Independent SARs. A SAR not expressly granted in tandem with an Option willbecome exercisable at such time or times, and on such conditions, as the Board may specify in theSAR Award.

(c) Exercise Price. The Board shall establish the exercise price of each SAR and specify it inthe applicable SAR agreement. Subject to Section 4(d) and Section 6(i), the exercise price shall not beless than 100% of the fair market value on the date the SAR is granted; provided that if the Boardapproves the grant of a SAR with an exercise price to be determined on a future date, the exerciseprice shall be not less than 100% of the fair market value on such future date.

(d) Term. Each SAR shall be exercisable at such times and subject to such terms andconditions as the Board may specify in the applicable SAR agreement; provided that, notwithstandingthe foregoing and unless determined otherwise by the Company, in the event that on the last businessday of the term of a SAR (i) the exercise of the SAR is prohibited by applicable law, as determined bythe Company or (ii) shares of Common Stock may not be purchased or sold by the applicableParticipant due to any Company insider trading policy (including blackout periods) or a ‘‘lock-up’’agreement undertaken in connection with an issuance of securities by the Company, the term of theSAR shall be extended until the date that is thirty (30) days after the end of the legal prohibition,black-out period or lock-up agreement, as determined by the Company; provided, however, in no eventshall the extension last beyond the term of the applicable SAR (which, in no event will exceedten (10) years from the date of grant).

(e) Exercise. SARs may be exercised by delivery to the Company of a written notice ofexercise signed by the proper person or by any other form of notice (including electronic notice)approved by the Company, together with any other documents required by the Board. The form ofsuch notice of exercise shall be determined by the Company in its sole discretion.

(f) Limitation on Repricing. Other than pursuant to Section 10, the Board shall not withoutthe approval of the Company’s stockholders: (i) lower the exercise price of a SAR, (ii) cancel a SARwhen the exercise price per share exceeds the fair market value of one share in exchange for cash oranother Award (other than in connection with a Change in Control), or (iii) take any other action withrespect to a SAR that would be treated as a repricing under the rules and regulations of the principalU.S. national securities exchange on which the shares of Common Stock are listed.

(g) No Reload Rights. No SAR granted under the Plan shall contain any provision entitlingthe grantee to the automatic grant of additional SARs in connection with the exercise of the originalSAR.

(h) No Dividend Equivalents. No SAR shall provide for the payment or accrual of dividendequivalents.

(i) Substitution of SARs. The Board may provide in the applicable option agreementevidencing the grant of an Option that the Board, in its sole discretion, shall have the right to

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substitute a SAR for such Option at any time prior to or upon exercise of such Option; provided, thatsuch SAR shall be exercisable with respect to the same number of shares of Common Stock for whichsuch substituted Option would have been exercisable, and shall also have the same exercise price andremaining term as the substituted Option.

7. Restricted Stock; Restricted Stock Units.

(a) General. The Board may grant Awards entitling Participants to acquire shares ofCommon Stock (‘‘Restricted Stock’’), subject to the right of the Company to repurchase all or part ofsuch shares at their issue price or other stated or formula price (or to require forfeiture of such sharesif issued at no cost) from the Participant in the event that conditions specified by the Board in theapplicable Award are not satisfied prior to the end of the applicable restriction period or periodsestablished by the Board for such Award. Instead of granting Awards for Restricted Stock, the Boardmay grant Awards entitling the recipient to receive shares of Common Stock or cash to be delivered atthe time of (or following) the vesting of such Award (‘‘Restricted Stock Units’’) (Restricted Stock andRestricted Stock Units are each referred to herein as a ‘‘Restricted Stock Award’’).

(b) Terms and Conditions for all Restricted Stock Awards. The Board shall determine theterms and conditions of a Restricted Stock Award, including the conditions for vesting, settlement andrepurchase (or forfeiture) and the issue price, if any.

(c) Additional Provisions Relating to Restricted Stock.

(1) Dividends. Any dividends (whether paid in cash, stock or property) declared andpaid by the Company with respect to shares of Restricted Stock (‘‘Unvested Dividends’’) shall bepaid to the Participant only if and when such shares become free from the restrictions ontransferability and forfeitability that apply to such shares. Each payment of Unvested Dividendswill be made no later than the end of the calendar year in which the dividends are paid tostockholders of that class of stock or, if later, the 15th day of the third month following the lapsingof the restrictions on transferability and the forfeitability provisions applicable to the underlyingshares of Restricted Stock. No interest will be paid on Unvested Dividends.

(2) Stock Certificates. The Company may require that any stock certificates issued inrespect of shares of Restricted Stock, as well as dividends or distributions paid on such RestrictedStock, shall be deposited in escrow by the Participant, together with a stock power endorsed inblank, with the Company (or its designee). At the expiration of the applicable restriction periods,the Company (or such designee) shall deliver the certificates no longer subject to such restrictionsto the Participant or if the Participant has died, to the beneficiary designated, in a mannerdetermined by the Board, by a Participant to receive amounts due or exercise rights of theParticipant in the event of the Participant’s death (the ‘‘Designated Beneficiary’’). In the absenceof an effective designation by a Participant, ‘‘Designated Beneficiary’’ shall mean the Participant’sestate.

(d) Additional Provisions Relating to Restricted Stock Units.

(1) Settlement. Upon the vesting of and/or lapsing of any other restrictions with respectto each Restricted Stock Unit, the Participant shall be entitled to receive from the Company insettlement of such Restricted Stock Unit such number of shares of Common Stock or an amountof cash equal to the value determined by (or in a manner approved by) the Board of such numberof shares of Common Stock, as provided in the applicable Award agreement. Subject toSection 409A, the Board may, in its sole discretion, provide that settlement of Restricted StockUnits shall be deferred, on a mandatory basis or at the election of the Participant.

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(2) Voting Rights. A Participant shall have no voting rights with respect to anyRestricted Stock Units.

(3) Dividend Equivalents. The Award agreement for Restricted Stock Units may provideParticipants with the right to receive an amount, in cash and/or shares of Common Stock, equal toany dividends or other distributions declared and paid on an equal number of outstanding sharesof Common Stock (‘‘Dividend Equivalents’’); except that any such Dividend Equivalents shall besubject to the same vesting conditions and restrictions on transfer and forfeitability applicable tothe underlying Restricted Stock Unit with respect to which they are paid. No interest will be paidon Dividend Equivalents.

8. Other Stock- or Cash-Based Awards.

Other Awards of shares of Common Stock, and other Awards that are valued in whole or inpart by reference to, or are otherwise based on, shares of Common Stock or other property (‘‘OtherStock-Based Awards’’), which may include, without limitation, deferred shares or deferred stock units,as well as cash payments and other cash bonus awards (‘‘Cash-Based Awards’’), may be grantedhereunder to Participants, including, without limitation, Dividend Equivalents and Awards entitlingrecipients to receive shares of Common Stock or cash to be delivered in the future. Such Other Stock-Based Awards and Cash-Based Awards shall also be available as a form of payment in the settlementof other Awards granted under the Plan or as payment in lieu of compensation to which a Participantis otherwise entitled (including, without limitation, annual or other cash bonuses). Subject to theprovisions of the Plan, the Board shall determine the terms and conditions of each Other Stock-BasedAward and Cash-Based Award, including, without limitation, any exercise or purchase price,performance goals, transfer restrictions, or vesting and forfeiture conditions applicable thereto.

Any dividends or distributions (whether paid in cash, stock or property) declared and paid bythe Company with respect to shares of Common Stock granted under an Other Stock-Based Awardshall be paid to the Participant only if and when such shares become free from the restrictions ontransferability and forfeitability that apply to such shares and will be paid no later than the end of thecalendar year in which the dividends are paid to stockholders of that class of stock or, if later, the15th day of the third month following the lapsing of the restrictions on transferability and theforfeitability provisions applicable to the underlying Other Stock-Based Award. Any DividendEquivalent provided in an Award agreement with respect to an Other Stock-Based Award shall besubject to the same vesting conditions and restrictions on transfer and forfeitability applicable to theOther Stock-Based Award with respect to which paid. No interest will be paid on any such dividends orDividend Equivalents.

9. Performance Awards.

(a) Performance-Based Grants. Any Award may be made subject to the achievement ofperformance goals consistent with this Section 9 (‘‘Performance Awards’’).

(b) Performance Measures. For any Performance Award, the Board may specify that thedegree of vesting, settlement and/or payout (or other term or condition of the Performance Award)shall be subject to the achievement of one or more performance measures established by the Board,which may include, without limitation, the relative or absolute attainment of specified levels of one orany combination of the following: (i) bookings, (ii) backlog, (iii) revenue, (iv) gross margin ($),(v) gross profit (%), (vi) operating expenses, (vii) operating income (loss), (viii) net income (loss),(ix) earnings (loss) per share, (x) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and/or amortization(‘‘EBITDA’’), (xi) adjusted EBITDA, (xii) earnings before interest and/or taxes (‘‘EBIT’’),(xiii) adjusted EBIT, (xiv) cost reduction or savings, (xv) productivity ratios or other similar metrics,

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(xvi) performance against budget, (xvii) cash flow from operations, (xviii) stock price, (xix) financialratings, (xx) financial metrics and ratios, (xxi) exit rate operating metrics, (xxii) total stockholder return(whether in the absolute or measured against or in relationship to other companies comparably,similarly or otherwise situated), (xxiii) regulatory achievements or compliance (including, withoutlimitation, regulatory body approval for commercialization of a product), (xxiv) implementation orcompletion of critical projects, (xxv) economic value or economic value added, (xxvi) customersatisfaction, (xxvii) working capital targets, (xxviii) organization/transformation metrics, (xxix) returnmeasures (including but not limited to, return on assets, capital, invested capital, equity, sales orrevenue), (xxx) market share, and (xxxi) any other objective or subjective measure determined by theBoard.

The Board may specify that such performance measures shall be adjusted to take into account anyevents or circumstances determined appropriate by the Board, including, without limitation, any one ormore of the following: (A) extraordinary, nonrecurring or unusual items, (B) gains or losses onacquisitions or dispositions of assets or operations, (C) the cumulative effects of changes in tax laws oraccounting principles, (D) the write-down of any asset, and (E) charges for restructuring andrationalization programs. Such performance measures may vary by Participant and may be different fordifferent Awards and may be particular to a Participant or the department, branch, line of business,subsidiary or other unit in which the Participant works and may cover such period as may be specifiedby the Board. Such performance measures may be calculated on generally accepted accountingprinciples (‘‘GAAP’’) or non-GAAP basis or otherwise in accordance with applicable accountingprinciples or such other methodology as determined appropriate by the Board.

(3) Adjustments. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan, with respect to any PerformanceAward, the Board may adjust downwards or upwards, the cash or number of Shares payable pursuantto such Performance Award in its discretion, and the Board may waive the achievement of theapplicable performance measures. The Board shall have the power to impose such other restrictions onPerformance Awards as it may deem necessary or appropriate.

10. Adjustments for Changes in Common Stock and Certain Other Events.

(a) Changes in Capitalization. In the event of any stock split, reverse stock split, stockdividend, recapitalization, combination or exchange of shares, consolidation, reclassification of shares,spin-off or other similar change in capitalization or event, or any dividend or distribution to holders ofCommon Stock other than an ordinary cash dividend or any other change affecting the shares ofCommon Stock or the share price of the Common Stock (other than an Equity Restructuring), theBoard may make equitable adjustments to reflect such change with respect to: (i) the number and classof securities available under the Plan, (ii) the number and class of securities and exercise price pershare of each outstanding Option and SAR, (iii) the number of shares subject to and the repurchaseprice per share subject to each outstanding Restricted Stock Award, (iv) the number of shares subjectto and the share- and per-share-related provisions and the purchase price, if any, of each outstandingOther Stock-Based Award, and (v) any other applicable the terms and conditions of outstandingAwards (including, without limitation, any applicable performance targets and criteria). Notwithstandingthe foregoing, in the event of an Equity Restructuring, the Company shall equitably adjust in themanner determined by the Board the number and class of security subject to each outstanding Awardand the exercise or purchase price thereof, if applicable (and such adjustments shall benondiscretionary and final and binding on the affected Participants and the Company) and/or theaggregate number and class of security that may be issued under the Plan (including, without limitation,any share counting provisions related thereto). ‘‘Equity Restructuring’’ shall mean a nonreciprocaltransaction between the Company and its stockholders, such as a stock dividend, stock split, spin-off,rights offering or recapitalization through a large, nonrecurring cash dividend, that affects the numberor kind of shares of Common Stock (or other securities of the Company) or the share price of

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Common Stock (or other securities) and causes a change in the per-share value of the Common Stockunderlying outstanding Awards.

(b) Reorganization Events.

(1) Definition. A ‘‘Reorganization Event’’ shall mean: (a) any merger or consolidation ofthe Company with or into another entity as a result of which all of the Common Stock of theCompany is converted into or exchanged for the right to receive cash, securities or other propertyor is cancelled, (b) any exchange of all of the Common Stock of the Company for cash, securitiesor other property pursuant to a share exchange transaction, (c) any liquidation or dissolution ofthe Company, or (d) any event described in Section 10(a) or any other unusual or nonrecurringtransaction or event affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or their respective financialstatements).

(2) Consequences of a Reorganization Event on Awards. In connection with aReorganization Event, the Board may take any one or more of the following actions as to all orany (or any portion of) outstanding Awards on such terms as the Board determines: (i) providethat Awards shall be assumed, or substantially equivalent awards shall be substituted, by theacquiring or succeeding corporation (or an affiliate thereof), (ii) upon written notice to aParticipant, provide that the Participant’s unexercised Awards will terminate immediately prior tothe consummation of such Reorganization Event unless exercised by the Participant within aspecified period following the date of such notice, (iii) provide that outstanding Awards shallbecome exercisable, realizable, or deliverable, or restrictions applicable to an Award shall lapse, inwhole or in part prior to or upon such Reorganization Event, (iv) in the event of a ReorganizationEvent under the terms of which holders of Common Stock will receive upon consummationthereof a payment of cash and/or property for each share surrendered in the Reorganization Event(the value of such payment, the ‘‘Acquisition Price’’), make or provide for a payment of cashand/or property to a Participant with a value equal to the excess, if any, of (A) the AcquisitionPrice times the number of shares of Common Stock subject to the Participant’s Awards (to theextent the exercise price does not exceed the Acquisition Price) over (B) the aggregate exerciseprice of all such outstanding Awards and any applicable tax withholdings, in exchange for thetermination of such Awards (and, if as of the Reorganization Event, the Board determines in goodfaith that there is no such excess with respect to an Award, then such Award may be terminated bythe Company without payment), (v) provide that Awards will be replaced with other rights orproperty selected by the Board (including, in connection with a liquidation or dissolution of theCompany, conversion into the right to receive liquidation proceeds (if applicable, net of theexercise price thereof and any applicable tax withholdings)), (vi) provide that Awards cannot vest,be exercised or become payable after the Reorganization Event, and (vii) any combination of theforegoing. In taking any of the actions permitted under this Section 10(b), the Board shall not beobligated by the Plan to treat all Awards, all Awards held by a Participant, or all Awards of thesame type, identically.

For purposes of clause (i) above, an Option shall be considered assumed if, followingconsummation of the Reorganization Event, the Option confers the right to purchase, for eachshare of Common Stock subject to the Option immediately prior to the consummation of theReorganization Event, the consideration (whether cash, securities or other property) received as aresult of the Reorganization Event by holders of Common Stock for each share of Common Stockheld immediately prior to the consummation of the Reorganization Event (and if holders wereoffered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority ofthe outstanding shares of Common Stock); provided, however, that if the consideration received asa result of the Reorganization Event is not solely common stock of the acquiring or succeedingcorporation (or an affiliate thereof), the Company may, with the consent of the acquiring or

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succeeding corporation, provide for the consideration to be received upon the exercise of Optionsto consist solely of common stock of the acquiring or succeeding corporation (or an affiliatethereof) equivalent in value (as determined by the Board) to the per share consideration receivedby holders of outstanding shares of Common Stock as a result of the Reorganization Event.

(c) Change in Control. A ‘‘Change in Control’’ shall mean any of the following:

(i) a transaction or series of transactions (other than an offering of Common Stock to thegeneral public through a registration statement filed with the Securities and ExchangeCommission) whereby any ‘‘person’’ or related ‘‘group’’ of ‘‘persons’’ (as such terms areused in Sections 13(d) and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) directly or indirectly acquiresbeneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the ExchangeAct) of securities of the Company possessing more than 50% of the total combined votingpower of the Company’s securities outstanding immediately after such acquisition;provided, however, that the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change inControl under this subsection (i): (A) any acquisition by the Company; (B) anyacquisition by an employee benefit plan maintained by the Company, (C) any acquisitionwhich is not a Change in Control under Section 10(c)(iii) as a result of compliance withsubsections (A), (B) and (C) of Section 10(c)(iii); or (D) in respect of an Award held bya particular Participant, any acquisition by the Participant or any group of personsincluding the Participant (or any entity controlled by the Participant or any group ofpersons including the Participant);

(ii) the Incumbent Directors cease for any reason to constitute a majority of the Board;

(iii) the consummation by the Company (whether directly involving the Company or indirectlyinvolving the Company through one or more intermediaries) of (x) a merger,consolidation, reorganization, or business combination, (y) a sale or other disposition ofall or substantially all of the Company’s assets in any single transaction or series ofrelated transactions or (z) the acquisition of assets or stock of another entity, in each caseother than a transaction:

(A) which results in the Company’s voting securities outstanding immediately before thetransaction continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by beingconverted into voting securities of the Company or the person that, as a result of thetransaction, controls, directly or indirectly, the Company or owns, directly orindirectly, all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or otherwise succeeds to thebusiness of the Company (the Company or such person, the ‘‘Successor Entity’’))directly or indirectly, at least a majority of the combined voting power of theSuccessor Entity’s outstanding voting securities,

(B) after which no person or group beneficially owns voting securities representing 50%or more of the combined voting power of the Successor Entity; provided, however,that no person or group shall be treated for purposes of this subsection (B) asbeneficially owning 50% or more of the combined voting power of the SuccessorEntity solely as a result of the voting power held in the Company prior to theconsummation of the transaction; and

(C) immediately after which at least a majority of the members of the board of directors(or the analogous governing body) of the Successor Entity were Board members atthe time of the Board’s approval of the execution of the initial agreement providingfor such transaction; or

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(iv) the effective date of a liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

For purposes of the foregoing, ‘‘Incumbent Directors’’ shall mean for any period of 12 consecutivemonths, individuals who, at the beginning of such period, constitute the Board together with anynew Director(s) (other than a Director designated by a person who shall have entered into anagreement with the Company to effect a transaction described in Section 10(c)(i) or 10(c)(iii))whose election or nomination for election to the Board was approved by a vote of at least amajority (either by a specific vote or by approval of the proxy statement of the Company in whichsuch person is named as a nominee for Director without objection to such nomination) of theDirectors then still in office who either were Directors at the beginning of the 12-month period orwhose election or nomination for election was previously so approved. No individual initiallyelected or nominated as a director of the Company as a result of an actual or threatened electioncontest with respect to Directors or as a result of any other actual or threatened solicitation ofproxies by or on behalf of any person other than the Board shall be an Incumbent Director.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a Change in Control constitutes a payment event with respect toany Award (or any portion of an Award) that provides for the deferral of compensation that issubject to Section 409A , to the extent required to avoid the imposition of additional taxes underSection 409A, the transaction or event described in subsection (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) with respect tosuch Award (or portion thereof) shall only constitute a Change in Control for purposes of thepayment timing of such Award if such transaction also constitutes a ‘‘change in control event,’’ asdefined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5).

The Board shall have full and final authority, which shall be exercised in its sole discretion, todetermine conclusively whether a Change in Control has occurred pursuant to the above definition,the date of the occurrence of such Change in Control and any incidental matters relating thereto;provided that any exercise of authority in conjunction with a determination of whether a Change inControl is a ‘‘change in control event’’ as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5)shall be consistent with such regulation.

11. General Provisions Applicable to Awards.

(a) Transferability of Awards. Awards (other than vested shares of Restricted Stock) shall notbe sold, assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise encumbered by the person to whom they aregranted, either voluntarily or by operation of law, except by will or the laws of descent and distributionor, other than in the case of an Incentive Stock Option, pursuant to a qualified domestic relationsorder, and, during the life of the Participant, shall be exercisable only by the Participant; provided,however, that the Board may permit or provide in an Award for the gratuitous transfer of the Awardby the Participant to or for the benefit of any immediate family member, family trust or other entityestablished for the benefit of the Participant and/or an immediate family member thereof if, withrespect to such proposed transferee, the Company would be eligible to use a Form S-8 for theregistration of the sale of the Common Stock subject to such Award under the Securities Act; provided,further, that the Company shall not be required to recognize any such transfer until such time as theParticipant and such permitted transferee shall, as a condition to such transfer, deliver to the Companya written instrument in form and substance satisfactory to the Company confirming that such transfereeshall be bound by all of the terms and conditions of the Award. References to a Participant, to theextent relevant in the context, shall include references to authorized transferees. For the avoidance ofdoubt, nothing contained in this Section 11(a) shall be deemed to restrict a transfer to the Company.

(b) Documentation. Each Award shall be evidenced in such form (written, electronic orotherwise) as the Board shall determine. Each Award may contain terms and conditions in addition tothose set forth in the Plan.

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(c) Board Discretion. Except as otherwise provided by the Plan, each Award may be madealone or in addition or in relation to any other Award. The terms of each Award need not be identical,and the Board need not treat Participants uniformly.

(d) Termination of Status. The Board shall determine the effect on an Award of thedisability, death, termination of employment, authorized leave of absence or other change in theemployment or other status of a Participant and the extent to which, and the period during which, theParticipant, or the Participant’s legal representative, conservator, guardian or Designated Beneficiary,may exercise rights under the Award.

(e) Withholding. The Participant must satisfy all applicable federal, state, and local or otherincome and employment tax withholding obligations before the Company will deliver stock certificatesor otherwise recognize ownership of Common Stock under an Award. The Company may decide tosatisfy the withholding obligations through additional withholding on salary or wages. If the Companyelects not to or cannot withhold from other compensation, the Participant must pay the Company thefull amount, if any, required for withholding or have a broker tender to the Company cash equal to thewithholding obligations. Payment of withholding obligations is due before the Company will issue anyshares on exercise or release from forfeiture of an Award or, if the Company so requires, at the sametime as is payment of the exercise price unless the Company determines otherwise. If provided for inan Award or approved by the Board in its sole discretion, a Participant may satisfy such tax obligationsin whole or in part by delivery of shares of Common Stock, including shares retained from the Awardcreating the tax obligation, valued in the manner determined by (or in a manner approved by) theBoard; provided, however, except as otherwise provided by the Board, that the shares retained tosatisfy such tax obligations cannot exceed the aggregate amount of such tax obligation based on themaximum statutory withholding rates in the Participant’s applicable jurisdiction for federal, state, localand foreign tax purposes, including payroll taxes, that are applicable to such taxable income. Sharessurrendered to satisfy tax withholding requirements cannot be subject to any repurchase, forfeiture,unfulfilled vesting or other similar requirements.

(f) Amendment of Award. Subject to Sections 5(h) and 6(f), the Board may amend, modifyor terminate any outstanding Award, including but not limited to, substituting therefor another Awardof the same or a different type, changing the date of exercise or realization, and converting anIncentive Stock Option to a Nonstatutory Stock Option, provided either (i) that the Participant’sconsent to such action shall be required unless the Board determines that the action, taking intoaccount any related action, would not materially and adversely affect the Participant or (ii) that thechange is permitted under Section 10 hereof.

(g) Conditions on Delivery of Stock. The Company will not be obligated to deliver any sharesof Common Stock pursuant to the Plan or to remove restrictions from shares previously deliveredunder the Plan until (i) all conditions of the Award have been met or removed to the satisfaction ofthe Company, (ii) in the opinion of the Company’s counsel, all other legal matters in connection withthe issuance and delivery of such shares have been satisfied, including any applicable securities lawsand any applicable stock exchange or stock market rules and regulations, and (iii) the Participant hasexecuted and delivered to the Company such representations or agreements as the Company mayconsider appropriate to satisfy the requirements of any applicable laws, rules or regulations.

(h) Acceleration. The Board may, at any time, provide in an Award agreement or otherwisethat any Award shall become immediately exercisable in full or in part, free from some or all of therestrictions or conditions applicable to such Award or otherwise realizable in full or in part, as the casemay be, including, without limitation, (A) upon the death or disability of the Participant, (B) inconnection with retirement, termination of employment or other separation from service, or (C) inconnection with a Change in Control.

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Page 57: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

(i) Limitations on Vesting. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan, no Award(other than Cash-Based Awards) or any portion thereof shall vest earlier than the first anniversary ofits date of grant; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, such minimum vestingrequirement shall not apply to (i) any substitute award described in Section 4(d), (ii) shares ofCommon Stock delivered in lieu of full-vested Cash-Based Award (or other cash awards or payments),(iii) Awards to non-employee directors of the Company that vest on the earlier of the one-yearanniversary of the date of grant and the next annual meeting of stockholders which is at least 50 weeksafter the immediately preceding year’s annual meeting, and (iv) any additional Awards the Board maygrant, up to a maximum of five percent (5%) of the available share reserve authorized for issuanceunder the Plan pursuant to Section 4 (subject to adjustment under Section 10); and, provided, further,that the foregoing restriction does not apply to the Board’s discretion to provide for acceleratedexercisability or vesting of any Awards pursuant to Section 11(h).

(j) Treatment of Dividends and Dividend Equivalents on Unvested Awards. Notwithstandingany other provision of the Plan to the contrary, with respect to any Award that provides for or includesa right to dividends or dividend equivalents, if dividends are declared during the period that an equityAward is outstanding, such dividends (or dividend equivalents) shall either (i) not be paid or creditedwith respect to such Award or (ii) be accumulated but remain subject to vesting requirement(s) to thesame extent as the applicable Award and shall only be paid at the time or times such vestingrequirement(s) are satisfied.

12. Miscellaneous.

(a) No Right To Employment or Other Status. No person shall have any claim or right to begranted an Award by virtue of adoption or amendment of the Plan, and the grant of an Award shallnot be construed as giving a Participant the right to continued employment or any other relationshipwith the Company. The Company expressly reserves the right at any time to dismiss or otherwiseterminate its relationship with a Participant free from any liability or claim under the Plan, except asexpressly provided in the applicable Award.

(b) No Rights As Stockholder; Clawback. Subject to the provisions of the applicable Award,no Participant or Designated Beneficiary shall have any rights as a stockholder with respect to anyshares of Common Stock to be issued with respect to an Award until becoming the record holder ofsuch shares. In accepting an Award under the Plan, the Participant agrees to be bound by any clawbackpolicy that the Company has in effect or may adopt in the future.

(c) Effective Date and Term of Plan. The Plan shall become effective on the Effective Date,subject to the approval by the Company’s stockholders. No Awards shall be granted under the Planafter the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date, but Awards previously granted may extend beyondthat date.

(d) Amendment of Plan. The Board may amend, suspend or terminate the Plan or anyportion thereof at any time provided that (i) no amendment that would require stockholder approvalunder the rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market (‘‘NASDAQ’’) (or other applicable exchange on whichthe Common Stock is traded) may be made effective unless and until such amendment shall have beenapproved by the Company’s stockholders; and (ii) if the NASDAQ (or other applicable exchange onwhich the Common Stock is traded) amends its corporate governance rules so that such rules no longerrequire stockholder approval of ‘‘material amendments’’ to equity compensation plans, then, from andafter the effective date of such amendment, no amendment to the Plan (A) materially increasing thenumber of shares authorized under the Plan (other than pursuant to Section 10), (B) expanding thetypes of Awards that may be granted under the Plan, or (C) materially expanding the class ofparticipants eligible to participate in the Plan shall be effective unless stockholder approval is obtained.

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In addition, if at any time the approval of the Company’s stockholders is required as to any othermodification or amendment under Section 422 of the Code or any successor provision with respect toIncentive Stock Options, the Board may not effect such modification or amendment without suchapproval. Unless otherwise specified in the amendment, any amendment to the Plan adopted inaccordance with this Section 12(d) shall apply to, and be binding on the holders of, all Awardsoutstanding under the Plan at the time the amendment is adopted, provided the Board determines thatsuch amendment does not materially and adversely affect the rights of Participants under the Plan.

(e) Provisions for Foreign Participants. The Board may modify Awards or Options granted toParticipants who are foreign nationals or employed outside the United States or establish subplans orprocedures under the Plan to recognize differences in laws, rules, regulations or customs of suchforeign jurisdictions with respect to tax, securities, currency, employee benefit or other matters.

(f) Compliance With Code Section 409A. To the extent applicable, the Plan and all Awardsshall be interpreted in accordance with Section 409A. Except as provided in individual Awardagreements initially or by amendment, if and to the extent (i) any portion of any payment,compensation or other benefit provided to a Participant pursuant to the Plan in connection with his orher employment termination constitutes ‘‘nonqualified deferred compensation’’ within the meaning ofSection 409A and (ii) the Participant is a specified employee as defined in Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) ofthe Code, in each case as determined by the Company in accordance with its procedures, by whichdeterminations the Participant (through accepting the Award) agrees that he or she is bound, suchportion of the payment, compensation or other benefit shall not be paid before the day that is sixmonths plus one day after the date of ‘‘separation from service’’ (as determined under Section 409A)(the ‘‘New Payment Date’’), except as Section 409A may then permit. The aggregate of any paymentsthat otherwise would have been paid to the Participant during the period between the date ofseparation from service and the New Payment Date shall be paid to the Participant in a lump sum onsuch New Payment Date, and any remaining payments will be paid on their original schedule.

The Company and its employees, agents and representatives make no representations orwarranty and shall have no liability to the Participant or any other person if any provisions of orpayments, compensation or other benefits under the Plan are determined to constitute nonqualifieddeferred compensation subject to Section 409A but do not to satisfy the conditions of that section.Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in the event that following the EffectiveDate the Board determines that any Award may be subject to Section 409A, the Board may (but is notobligated to), without a Participant’s consent, adopt such amendments to the Plan and the applicableAward or adopt other policies and procedures (including amendments, policies and procedures withretroactive effect), or take any other actions, that the Board determines are necessary or appropriate to(A) exempt the Award from Section 409A and/or preserve the intended tax treatment of the benefitsprovided with respect to the Award, or (B) comply with the requirements of Section 409A and therebyavoid the application of any penalty taxes under Section 409A.

(g) Compliance with the Exchange Act. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan tothe contrary, no Participant who is a Director or an ‘‘executive officer’’ of the Company within themeaning of Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act shall be permitted to make payment with respect to anyAwards granted under the Plan, or continue any extension of credit with respect to such payment, witha loan from the Company or a loan arranged by the Company in violation of Section 13(k) of theExchange Act.

(h) Data Privacy. As a condition of receipt of any Award, each Participant explicitly andunambiguously consents to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of personal dataas described in this Section 12(h) by and among, as applicable, the Company and its subsidiaries for theexclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Participant’s participation in the

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Page 58: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

Plan. The Company and its subsidiaries may hold certain personal information about a Participant,including but not limited to, the Participant’s name, home address and telephone number, date of birth,social security or insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title(s), anyshares of stock held in the Company or any of its subsidiaries, details of all Awards, in each case, forthe purpose of implementing, managing and administering the Plan and Awards (the ‘‘Data’’). TheCompany and its subsidiaries may transfer the Data amongst themselves as necessary for the purposeof implementation, administration and management of a Participant’s participation in the Plan, and theCompany and its subsidiaries may each further transfer the Data to any third parties assisting theCompany and its subsidiaries in the implementation, administration and management of the Plan.These recipients may be located in the Participant’s country, or elsewhere, and the Participant’s countrymay have different data privacy laws and protections than the recipients’ country. Through acceptanceof an Award, each Participant authorizes such recipients to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer theData, in electronic or other form, for the purposes of implementing, administering and managing theParticipant’s participation in the Plan, including any requisite transfer of such Data as may be requiredto a broker or other third party with whom the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the Participantmay elect to deposit any shares of Common Stock. The Data related to a Participant will be held onlyas long as is necessary to implement, administer, and manage the Participant’s participation in the Plan.A Participant may, at any time, view the Data held by the Company with respect to such Participant,request additional information about the storage and processing of the Data with respect to suchParticipant, recommend any necessary corrections to the Data with respect to the Participant or refuseor withdraw the consents herein in writing, in any case without cost, by contacting his or her localhuman resources representative. The Company may cancel the Participant’s ability to participate in thePlan and, in the Board’s discretion, the Participant may forfeit any outstanding Awards if theParticipant refuses or withdraws his or her consents as described herein. For more information on theconsequences of refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, Participants may contact their localhuman resources representative.

(i) Governing Law. The provisions of the Plan and all Awards made hereunder shall begoverned by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, excludingchoice-of-law principles of the law of such state that would require the application of the laws of ajurisdiction other than such state.

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Page 59: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 64: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 66: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 67: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 68: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 71: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 72: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 73: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 74: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 75: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 76: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 77: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 78: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 79: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 84: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 85: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 86: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 89: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 91: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 92: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 93: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 99: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 100: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 101: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 119: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Page 125: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications

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Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report and Proxy Statement contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the

U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to a number of risks and

uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this Annual Report and

Proxy Statement are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words

“anticipates”, “believes”, “could”, “estimates”, “expects”, “intends”, “may”, “plans”, “seeks”, “projects”,

“will” and other similar language, whether in the negative or affirmative, are intended to identify

forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying

words. The forward-looking statements in this Annual Report and Proxy Statement include statements

regarding management's goals, plans, and intentions, driving shareholder value, investments in and

opportunities for our business, product offerings and our position in the market, and are based on our

current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions.

Although we believe that our current expectations and assumptions are reasonable, readers are

cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to inherent

uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict, and our actual results may

differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of various

factors, including those discussed in the “Managementʼs Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition

and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of the copy of our Form 10-K included as part of

this Annual Report. Any forward-looking statement represents our views only as of the date such

statement was made and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent

date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements in the future, we specifically disclaim

any obligation to do so.

Page 126: Dear Stockholders, - Ribbon Communications