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UUNET Announces Multicast Service for Mass Internet Broadcasting; New UUCast Service Slashes Costs
Business Wire - September 24, 1997 11:47
UUNET WORLDCOM WCOMP WCOM %VIRGINIA %COMPUTERS %ELECTRONICS %COMED V%BW P%BW
FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 1997--
First Customers Include CNN Inter@ctive, The Microsoft Network and AudioNet
UUNET Technologies, Inc., the world's largest Internet service provider and a subsidiary of WorldCom, Inc., announced today a new IP Multicast service that brings dramatic cost reductions and expanded market opportunities to broadcasters, Internet content providers and corporations. The new service, UUCastsm, allows these content providers to simultaneously reach hundreds of thousands of users-far more than ever before-all via a single transmitted stream of information. And unlike other announced "multicast" services, UUCast uses standard Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) multicast protocols, allowing UUCast to work with any content provider using a wide variety of streaming technologies.
UUCast achieves significant cost reductions-compared to the cost of current unicast services -by reducing the amount of bandwidth required to reach large numbers of Internet users. Instead of sending 100 streams of information to reach 100 users, a content provider sends only one stream-audio, video, or text-which UUNET then delivers to thousands of users via numerous Cisco multicast routers dispersed throughout its network. Currently, UUNET can send information to up to 250,000 users simultaneously. That figure will more than double next year, after the company completes its previously announced network expansion.
"UUCast is a next-generation Internet service that dramatically changes the broadcasting capabilities of the Internet," said Alan Taffel, UUNET's vice president of marketing and business development. "Content providers now have the capability to greatly expand the reach of their businesses for a fraction of current costs. This creates enormous new market opportunities."
First Use of Standard IETF Multicast Protocols
UUCast is the first deployment of true multicast technology. Other announced multicast-like services do not incorporate standard Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) multicast protocols, but use proprietary multimedia streaming technologies. By implementing IETF protocols, including IP Multicast IGMP and PIM, UUNET is undertaking the necessary investment to ensure its IP Multicast service is a long- term solution that works with any content provider.
"We are opening up our doors to anyone using any type of streaming content technology, be it that of Progressive Networks, Microsoft or others," Taffel said. "We do not require a vendor-specific technology."
UUCast Creates New Internet Broadcast Opportunities
UUNET first debuted UUCast in an October 1996 technology demonstration that broadcast Bill Gates' keynote speech at the Comdex trade show live to several thousand viewers. The company has since refined UUCast into the robust service it is today, capable of reaching hundreds of thousands of users.
UUCast is designed for any content provider that needs to send live audio, video, and real-time text information to large numbers of Internet users. Breaking news, live concerts and sporting events, stock quotes and financial information are just some of the applications that will benefit from this new service. Businesses can also take advantage of UUCast to deliver important information to employees. No matter what the application, the UUCast technology remains completely transparent to the end user, who simply clicks on an icon on a web page to view or hear a broadcast.
Significant Cost Reductions
UUCast provides significant cost reductions over the unicast technology currently deployed over the Internet. Because unicast requires a separate stream of information for every recipient, content providers have been forced to either suffer with congested servers or purchase large, expensive access lines.
For example, in order to support 500 users who are simultaneously listening to the same radio broadcast, a content provider using unicast needs to purchase and use a full T-3 connection. In addition, the provider must pay local loop charges. The cost for such a connection would be approximately $60,000 per month. On top of these charges, the provider must spend some $50,000 to install the required equipment.
"All of these costs conspire to limit the number of users that can simultaneously be supported at any cost-effective price and therefore severely limit the reach of content providers," Taffel said. "UUCast eliminates those barriers. Providers no longer have to be victims of their own success."
"There is no longer a relationship between the number of users and the amount of bandwidth a provider needs to buy," he added. "Now providers can select bandwidth based exclusively on the type of information they deliver."
UUNET will provide multicast service in a variety of different stream sizes, ranging from 5 Kbps to 128 Kbps. Low-end streams work well for applications such as ticker information or "datacasting," while audio and video applications will use streams of 25 Kbps and above.
UUCast Customers
UUCast is currently being used by a number of companies, including CNN Inter@ctive, Microsoft, and AudioNet.
"We are happy to be among those on board with the new UUCast service," said Monty Mulligan, vice president of Internet CNN. "CNN receives more than 200 hours of video each day and we are increasingly using CNN.com as a means to distribute this video both live and on-demand. UUCast allows us to deliver our Internet audience far more economically than ever before."
"UUNET's UUCast service will allow us to expand our audience exponentially," said Kevin Smith, director of network service for AudioNet, a leading provider of Internet broadcasting. "This service is turning the Internet into a real broadcast medium by using true multicast technology."
Joint Development with MSN, The Microsoft Network
UUNET collaborated closely with Microsoft's MSN online service in the development of UUCast. Microsoft currently uses UUCast as an embedded base technology of MSN. With UUCast, MSN can more efficiently deliver valuable information to its users, who in turn receive the benefits of a faster, less congested network.
"UUCast is a key technology of the future that will improve broadband communication over the Internet," said Larry Mieldezis, MSN Access Services Program Manager for North America. "With UUCast, Internet broadcasts can reach hundreds of thousands of users at once, enabling us to efficiently deliver programming to huge audiences while maintaining the high production values we are known for."
Cisco Technology is Key Component of UUCast
To deliver efficient multicast service, UUNET has incorporated important multicast technology from Cisco Systems, Inc. into its network. UUNET uses 52 dedicated multicast-enabled Cisco 4700 modular routers throughout its network. The Cisco 4700 increases performance for high-bandwidth applications through a 133-MHz Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) CPU and a fast, secondary memory cache. This combination of the (RISC) CPU and the secondary cache makes the Cisco 4700 one of the most powerful modular access routers in the industry. UUNET also makes use of the multicast functions that are now standard in the Cisco IOS?. These capabilities include Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP), Protocol- Independent Multicast (PIM) and resource management techniques, such as custom queuing and priority queuing.
UUNET's Web Hosting Division to Feature Live Broadcasts
In conjunction with the introduction of UUCast, UUNET's Web Hosting division announced it plans to host live multicast events. The multicast hosting service will provide a complete server solution for real-time multicast broadcasts. UUNET will provide a multicast enabled server (using Microsoft NetShow software) that allows customers to easily invoke the UUNET multicast infrastructure.
Pricing and Availability
UUCast will be commercially available immediately in the United States. Instead of requiring a T-1 or T-3 connection, the service requires only a low-priced 56 Kbps or 128 Kbps dedicated connection. Stream prices are $2,200 per month for a 5 Kbps stream and $10,000 per month for a 25Kbps stream.
About UUNET Technologies
Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., UUNET Technologies, Inc., is the world's largest provider of Internet services, offering a comprehensive range of access options, World Wide Web hosting services, security products and consulting services to businesses, professionals, and on-line service providers. The company's network is comprised of nearly 1,000 Points of Presence (POPs) throughout the United States and in Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as connections to Internet service providers around the world. Founded in 1987, UUNET is recognized as the first commercial Internet service provider and is a subsidiary of WorldCom, Inc. UUNET's World Wide Web address is uu.net .
About WorldCom
WorldCom is a global business telecommunications company. Operating in more than 50 countries, the company is a premier provider of facilities-based and fully integrated local, long distance, international and Internet services. WorldCom's World Wide Web address is wcom.com . The common and depositary shares of WorldCom trade on the Nasdaq National Market (U.S.) under the symbol WCOM and WCOMP, respectively.
CONTACT: UUNET
Mara G. Radis, 703/206-5441
marar@uu.net
pgr.888-662-5773
or
WorldCom
Josh Howell, 601/360-8750
Investor Relations
Gary Brandt, 601/360-8544
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