Tuesday December 5, 8:41 am Eastern Time
Press Release
Goodyear Selects Gilat's Spacenet
Subsidiary to Provide VSAT
Satellite Communications Network
to 1,000 Tire Outlets in the U.S. and Canada
Goodyear will use high-performance Skystar Advantage® platform for
IP-based multicasting, video and POS applications
PETAH TIKVA, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2000-- Gilat Satellite Networks
Ltd. (NASDAQ: GILTF - news) today announced its Spacenet Inc. subsidiary has been
selected by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to provide a high-speed satellite
communications network to a minimum of 1,000 Goodyear tire outlets in the United States
and Canada. Goodyear expects the network to eventually include over 2,000 tire outlets, as
well as other company sites.
Stephen Murphy, Goodyear's Manager, Corporate Telecommunications, said, ``The
embedded suite of Internet Protocol (IP) and bandwidth-management features of Gilat's
Skystar Advantage Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) network make it an attractive
networking platform. After exhaustive review of our options, we determined VSAT
technology offered us the solution for providing single-source, ubiquitous, high-bandwidth,
online connectivity. Our testing showed that the Skystar Advantage network offered the
performance, security, and support required for our IP and web-based applications.''
David R. Shiff, Spacenet's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said, ``The Goodyear
team conducted a very thorough investigation and analysis of the various alternatives, and
Spacenet is extremely pleased and proud to have been selected by Goodyear to provide this
network. We have invested tremendous energy toward establishing a leadership position in
support of emerging IP and web-based applications and we believe Goodyear's selection of
Spacenet is directly attributable to our efforts in this area.''
Under the terms of the agreement, Spacenet will provide Goodyear with a comprehensive
VSAT network solution that includes turnkey installation of all remote site equipment, as well
as network operations and field maintenance. Network implementation will begin within the
next six months and is expected to be completed in late 2001.
About Goodyear
Goodyear (NYSE: GT - news), based in Akron, Ohio, manufactures tires, engineered rubber
products and chemicals in more than 90 facilities in 27 countries. It has marketing operations
in almost every country around the world. Goodyear, with the addition of its Dunlop tire joint
ventures, employs more than 105,000 persons worldwide.
About Spacenet
With headquarters in McLean, Virginia, Spacenet Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilat
Satellite Networks Ltd. of Petah Tikva, Israel. Spacenet provides a wide range of satellite
communications networks and services throughout North America, including access to
satellite transponder capacity, installation of network equipment, network monitoring and
control, as well as maintenance and repair. Visit Spacenet at www.spacenet.com.
About Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., with its global subsidiaries Spacenet Inc., Gilat Europe and
Gilat Florida Inc., is a leading provider of telecommunications solutions based on VSAT
satellite network technology. The Company provides satellite-based, end-to-end enterprise
networking and rural telephony solutions to customers across six continents, and markets
interactive broadband data services. The Company is a joint venture partner, with Microsoft
Corp., EchoStar Communications Corp. and ING Furman Selz Investments, in StarBand
Communications Inc., America's first consumer, always-on, nationwide, two-way, high-speed
satellite Internet service provider. StarBand is based in McLean, Va. SkyBlaster(TM),
Skystar Advantage®, DialAw@y IP(TM) and FaraWay(TM) are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. or its subsidiaries. Visit Gilat at www.gilat.com
and StarBand at www.starband.com. |
