Maybe there is a VSAT solution. Here's a solution that has started in Puerto Rico. Call Harmonic and ask them if they know a service provider? harmonicinc.com
Regards, Mark
HARMONIC DATA SYSTEMS' CYBERSTREAM SELECTED FOR DISTANCE LEARNING IN NEW YORK AND PUERTO RICO
– Satellite Delivered Education to Students' Desktops with CyberStream™ –
ORLANDO, Fla – May 25, 1999 – Today at Cable-Tec Expo '99 Harmonic Data Systems Ltd. (HDS), a subsidiary of Harmonic Inc. (Nasdaq: HLIT) announced that it is partnering with Miralite Communications to equip satellite-delivered distance learning services for K-12 and high school students in both New York State and Puerto Rico. In separate projects with service providers, The State University of New York (SUNY) and the Hispanic Internet and Telecommunications Networks (HITN), Miralite will be installing download terminals that are pre-installed with HDS's CyberStreamTM PC/PCI satellite receiver cards. This enables the high speed of downloads necessary for video and multimedia content delivery to the desktop.
Miralite Communications of Newport Beach, Calif, is one of the nation's largest broadcast systems integrators, providing complete satellite networks for delivering MPEG-2 compressed video and Internet data to corporations as well as educational establishments. For the SUNY project Miralite is developing a network to give students and educators fast and easy access to video material which is currently distributed on VHS to schools on an individual basis. The HITN project requires Miralite to build a high-speed Internet service for elementary and secondary schools in Puerto Rico, enabling teachers and pupils to browse the Internet and download content for educational purposes at a rate of 2Mbps.
"Our market leadership in the supply of distance learning solutions has been maintained because of our partnerships with vendor products that deliver the superior performance, reliability and flexibility we require," said Kevin Knickerbocker, vice president of sales at Miralite Communications. "The CyberStream receiver card has tested well during the beta phase and has proved to be an excellent component to integrate into distance learning via satellite networks."
The New York State network is driven by a video archive server, owned and operated by SUNY, which manages the content as MPEG-2 compressed video. This is linked to the uplink facility at the public service broadcaster The New York Network. The video server can be queried from a workstation at a school, which is equipped with a CyberStreamTM satellite receiver card, using standard Internet protocols, or from an end-user PC networked to this computer. The central workstation is also supplied with a 36-inch screen so it can act as a kiosk device for group learning, and comes configured as a local server to store the downloaded content.
For the HITN project, Miralite is integrating a data-over-satellite system that links to a Cube computer with a CyberStream™ PCI card, at each school. This computer then acts as a proxy server to cache frequently browsed information, and as a Microsoft NTTM local area network (LAN) router. This LAN runs over 10/100 Base T Ethernet and allows up to 50 students to simultaneously access the Internet at high speed.
"Distance learning is a market sector undergoing high growth as the technology to deliver bandwidth intensive content such as video to a user's PC develops. We are very pleased to be working with the market leader, Miralite, to make the future of education happen," said David Price, Harmonic Data Systems vice president of business development. "The CyberStream system is a perfect fit for these types of application as it's open standards design means it integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructures."
In addition to this deployment, CyberStreamTM is being used worldwide in a variety of data-over-satellite applications. CyberStreamTM users include Tele-2 in Sweden, Infoline in South Africa, and Europe Online's "Internet in the Sky". (See www.harmonicdata.com for further information).
About CyberStreamTM
The CyberStreamTM system enables satellite, cable and wireless cable network operators to provide fast Internet access and other data distribution services. CyberStreamTM is a fully DVB/MPE and MPEG-2 compliant end-to-end solution, from the data gateway at the headend to the CyberStream™ receiver cards in users' PCs or Enterprise1TM router/receivers in corporate LANs. The system supports speeds of up to 48 Mbps over satellite and 52 Mbps over cable.
About Miralite Communications
Miralite Communications provides total solutions for satellite broadcasting. Miralite Communications consults, designs, implements and installs complete systems for the production, reception and delivery of video, voice and data. Miralite has a worldwide network of installers providing site surveys, consultation, engineering and installation services. The company's customer base includes CBS, State of New York, Raytheon, SERC, Nebsat, American Independent Network, and AT&T BIS plus many more. More information is available on the World Wide Web at: miralite.com.
About Harmonic Data Systems
Harmonic Data Systems Ltd. is a leading provider of fast Internet and Push systems for satellite, cable and wireless cable networks. Formerly known as New Media Communication, the company was founded in 1995 to offer high-speed data-over-broadband solutions, originally developed in alliance with IBM. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Harmonic Inc., the company operates from its headquarters in Tel-Aviv and offices in the United States. For more information, please call (619) 675-7797 (in the U.S.) or 972-3-623-6222 (internationally) or check the company's website at www.harmonicdata.com.
About Harmonic Inc.
Harmonic designs, manufactures and markets digital and fiber optic systems that deliver video, voice and data over cable, satellite and wireless networks. These advanced solutions enable cable television and other network operators to provide a range of interactive broadband services that include high-speed Internet access, telephony and video-on-demand.
Harmonic is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., where it also operates an R&D center and a manufacturing facility. The company also operates its Harmonic Data Systems subsidiary and an R&D center in Israel. In addition, the company maintains several sales and support centers worldwide. Harmonic is ISO 9001-certified and its stock is traded on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol "HLIT."
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to the installation of download terminals, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors set forth in documents that Harmonic files with the SEC, specifically reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q.
###
Editors Note: Product and company names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
|
