DiviCom selected by Australia's Optus Communications for full suite of systems,
integration and training solutions
BusinessWire, Wednesday, March 26, 1997 at 08:13
MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 1997--DiviCom Inc.
(NASDAQ:CUBE), one of the world's leading providers of digital video
networking solutions, announced today that it has been selected by
Australian telecommunications giant Optus Communications to provide
the MPEG-2/DVB systems for Optus' domestic satellite service.
The service, which will go live between June and August of this
year, will include ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) transmission to
remote uplinks, and DiviCom's ability to provide ATM-compatible
systems played a significant role in securing the multi-million
dollar contract with Optus.
Optus has also chosen DiviCom to design and build its head-end
facilities, including integration with Irdeto's conditional access
system, and for the training of Optus personnel responsible for
maintaining the service. DiviCom's Australian distributor, Techtel,
will provide ongoing first line technical service and support for
this joint DiviCom/Techtel project.
Today's announcement affirms DiviCom's growing presence in the
Asia-Pacific region, and its unique ability to provide complete
end-to-end, ATM and DVB-compatible solutions for a variety of digital
broadcast applications. "DiviCom's ability to provide both the
equipment and integration together with the training expertise
required to set-up and operate a head-end facility was absolutely key
to winning the Optus account," said Chris Patten, Transmission
Products Manager for Techtel. "DiviCom gave us the ability to offer
Optus what they needed for rapid implementation of their satellite
service -- a 'one-stop shopping' experience."
Essential to winning the Optus business was DiviCom's focus on
ATM and the ability of its products to plug-and-play into almost any
type of wireline or wireless network. Optus is investing more than
US $25 million to build a world-class digital satellite
infrastructure for improved communications to the four million
Australians living in remote areas. That cost jumps to US $50
million when the company's investment in ATM is taken into account;
Optus will rely on an ATM network to transmit from remote head-end
facilities much of the programming that it will send over satellite.
DiviCom's products are designed for ATM output, so its MPEG-2
encoders, for example, can compress digital video, audio and data and
send the digital streams out over an ATM network to its final
destination.
The satellite service offered by Optus, called Optus Aurora, will
enable residential consumers in remote areas to use a single dish to
simultaneously receive television, audio music channels and data.
The service is also aimed at corporations, government offices and
educational institutions for applications such as training, staff
announcements or company broadcasts, and information dissemination.
"Optus is an exciting new customer for us because they truly
represent the future," said Nolan Daines, president and CEO of
DiviCom. "This system illustrates the merger of data communications
technologies like ATM with MPEG-2/DVB technology, the foundation for
media communications in the next century. This is exactly the area
that DiviCom's expertise is ideally suited to -- the melding of
networking and broadcasting. It's a privilege to be involved with
Optus in the development of an innovative digital satellite system
that will bring the rest of the world even to the most remote regions
of Australia."
The majority of DiviCom equipment will be installed at the
primary satellite ground station at Belrose, near Sydney, Australia.
In order to extend Optus' reach to its more remote customers, DiviCom
will also be installing encoders and multiplexers (which remultiplex
and groom MPEG-2 transport streams generated by DiviCom and other
system components into the desired MPEG-2 transport stream rate) at
other Optus sites around Australia.
DiviCom is currently providing training to Optus Communications'
personnel in how to use and maintain the complex products and systems
that are being integrated into the head-end facilities that will form
the heart of the Optus Aurora digital satellite service. "DiviCom's
customized approach to training was also a big plus for us with
Optus," added Patten. "No other encoding systems provider or
integrator can offer such comprehensive support in the way of
training. A well-trained staff is really the key to a well-run
service."
DiviCom Inc.
DiviCom develops and integrates products and systems that make
digital video networking possible. Products include audio/video
encoding and decoding systems, and integration consulting and
implementation services. Based on the MPEG-2 and DVB international
standards, DiviCom's products enable digital video broadcasting over
a variety of networks including satellite, wireless, fiber and cable.
DiviCom is a wholly-owned subsidiary of C-Cube Microsystems Inc.
(NASDAQ:CUBE), and both companies are based in Milpitas. C-Cube is
the leading provider of digital video semiconductor solutions, which
implement international standards for digital video, including MPEG-1
and MPEG-2.
DiviCom can be reached by phone at 1-408/944-6700, by fax at
1-408/944-6705, or via the World Wide Web at divi.com .
CONTACT: DiviCom Inc., Milpitas
Lisa Croel, 408/944-6530
lcroel@divi.com
Anne Hohenberger, 408/953-6688
anneh@divi.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
URL: divi.com |
