WavePhore Networks Announces WavePhore Internet News Delivery Service -- WINDS: Revolutionary Internet Delivery for
Streaming News and Information Feeds
January 28, 1998 08:04 AM
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 1998--WavePhore Networks, Inc. a division of WavePhore, Inc., WAVO today
announced the newest enhancement to its data broadcasting technology, which uses the Internet to enable virtually simultaneous real-time
delivery of streaming news and other information feeds to thousands of end users. The system, which leverages WavePhore's years of
experience in building and operating data broadcast networks for the world's largest information providers, is expected to be commercially
available at the end of the first quarter. "Currently in beta testing, WINDS (WavePhore Internet News Delivery Service) represents the next
stage in the evolution of data broadcasting", said Scott E. Calder, President of WavePhore Networks. "We can now take advantage of the
Internet's rapid penetration of North American business to provide truly reliable, secure, timely, low-cost, and ubiquitous data broadcast
services via this exciting new medium." WINDS enables information providers (any company which distributes or publishes information)
with a convenient, automated and simultaneous means of delivering their information products to end users using the Internet. It is a perfect
complement and enhancement to WavePhore Networks' existing data broadcast systems, and is expected to become a primary distribution
medium for new information services. "We view WINDS as a fundamental breakthrough in data broadcasting technology. WINDS will
enable WavePhore Newscast to push real-time news and information to our customer's intranets, while providing our corporate end users
with simultaneous access to the Newscast DataCenter that currently houses tens of millions of mission-critical business documents," said
Peter White, President of WavePhore Newscast. "WINDS is another example of the world-class technology assets within the WavePhore
family."
How WINDS works
WINDS leverages the existing Internet communications infrastructure to force deliver ("push") streams of data or files from one central
location to thousands of geographically dispersed end users. Many of the currently available Internet news services utilize an "automated
pull" or polling method triggered by the client location requesting an update. WINDS truly "pushes" the information directly to the client sites
as soon as it is published by the information provider. The service uses a classic "star" architecture, in which remote sites attach to and then
maintain concurrent point-to-point communications sessions with a central hub located at WavePhore's Salt Lake City Network Control
Center. The central hub is based upon multiple WINDS servers which run proprietary WavePhore software, each capable of supporting
numerous sessions with remote end user computers. The server executes a set of proprietary software applications that provide parsing of
incoming data feeds, session management, encryption, and authentication. End user computers are provided with an application which
establishes a connection (via the Internet) with WavePhore's WINDS server, authenticates itself, and then begins receiving information. The
remote application also performs decryption and session management functions, automatically reconnects when a session is dropped, and
presents transmitted data to the local client.
Customer Benefits
WINDS is the ideal complement to WavePhore Networks' FM and satellite data broadcasting systems because it provides wide reach, low
cost, compatibility with WavePhore's existing networks, information aggregation, robust security, excellent timeliness, and extremely high
reliability. Furthermore, it allows information providers to take advantage of the fact that many of their end users have already invested in
Internet capacity. By using the Internet for distribution, WavePhore Networks provides worldwide reach for information providers.
WINDS means that end users no longer have to be located within a satellite or FM footprint in order to receive data. "WavePhore
Networks' customers can now install end users as easily in Sydney as in San Francisco", said Calder. WavePhore Networks' WINDS
protocols ensure that data delivered via the remote application is 100 percent compatible with the broadcast streams sent over
WavePhore's FM and satellite connections. WINDS provides the same "information aggregation" value as the company's FM and satellite
networks, allowing multiple complementary information streams to be processed and displayed on the same computer. Moreover, the
product's protocol compatibility assures that software platforms written to WavePhore Networks' existing protocols will continue to work
with WINDS. Because WINDS is based upon a two-way communications medium, it can deliver an advantage long needed but unavailable
from traditional data broadcast systems: assured delivery. The WINDS server supports optional buffering of data undeliverable during
periods in which the connection to the end user client has been dropped.
About WavePhore
WavePhore, Inc., WAVO the industry leader in data broadcasting, is comprised of three divisions: WavePhore Networks, WavePhore
Newscast and WavePhore WaveTop. WavePhore Networks provides flexible, high-speed data delivery to more than 80,000 sites
worldwide. WavePhore Newscast delivers real-time custom-filtered business news to more than 200,000 subscription-based business
users across the United States, Canada and Europe. WaveTop will utilize push technology to deliver information and entertainment to
broadcast-ready home PC's over the VBI portion of TV signals. Additional information on WavePhore is available via the Internet at
wavephore.com, wavetop.net, wavo.com and newscast.com. Certain of the above
statements regarding WavePhore constitute forward-looking statements, which may involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could
differ materially from such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, technology changes,
competitive developments, industry and market acceptance of new products and services, risk factors listed from time to time in
WavePhore's SEC filings.
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