RNWK--PanAmSat Unveils Net/36 Broadcast Network as Core of Global Internet Initiative, Strikes Alliances With U S West and RealNetworks
BUSINESS WIRE - March 29, 2000 07:11
GREENWICH, Conn., Mar 29, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
NET/36 Will Provide Overlay to Congested Terrestrial Network With
Fast, Reliable Satellite Broadcast of Internet Content to Last-Mile Internet Providers Worldwide; PanAmSat Will Also Provide Satellite Services for DirecPC Consumer Service
PanAmSat Corp. (NASDAQ: SPOT), the world's leading provider of satellite-based video and data broadcast services, today unveiled NET/36(TM), a high-speed, bandwidth-intensive network that will be capable of broadcasting IP video, audio and data simultaneously to thousands of digital subscriber line (DSL) providers, cable headends, Internet service providers (ISPs) and broadband wireless providers worldwide. Through the use of PanAmSat's global in-orbit satellite fleet, which consists of 20 spacecraft stationed approximately 36,000 kilometers above earth, NET/36 will provide an overlay to the slow, congested terrestrial Internet network.
PanAmSat has entered into separate strategic alliances with U S WEST(R) and RealNetworks as part of the rollout of NET/36. U S WEST, one of the largest DSL service providers in the United States, will use NET/36 for IP content delivery to U S WEST's DSL and Internet subscribers. RealNetworks, the recognized leader in streaming media delivery on the Internet, will provide RealSystem G2, which offers a scalable distribution architecture for the delivery of video and audio programming to large audiences worldwide.
PanAmSat has initially allocated up to 24 Ku-band satellite transponders for NET/36 worldwide. Following trial transmissions to a U S WEST DSL site during the second quarter of 2000, PanAmSat plans to roll out NET/36 in the United States and internationally during the third quarter of 2000. As part of the U.S. rollout, PanAmSat plans to purchase approximately 1,000 satellite-enabled servers for deployment to last-mile Internet providers over the next 12 months.
Concurrent with today's NET/36 announcement, PanAmSat also announced its expanded role as a satellite service provider for DirecPC. Under this latest agreement, PanAmSat will provide Hughes Network Systems with up to 10 Ku-band transponders for the launch of the new AOL Plus via DirecPC service later this year in the United States. Both initiatives reflect PanAmSat's integral role in the overall Internet strategy of Hughes Electronics Corp., which owns 81 percent of PanAmSat.
"The name PanAmSat is now synonymous with IP broadcasting," said R. Douglas Kahn, PanAmSat's president and chief executive officer. "NET/36 is a natural extension of PanAmSat's core satellite service, which enables the world's leading programmers and broadcasters to deliver hundreds of television channels to viewers around the world. NET/36 will empower these content providers to deliver their streaming video and data to servers across the globe while offering millions of Internet, cable modem, DSL and broadband wireless subscribers high-speed access to rich multimedia content. PanAmSat has a unique opportunity to offer end-to-end services so that our customers can seamlessly roll out their IP distribution strategies in conjunction with their existing and evolving video distribution activities.
"PanAmSat will vigorously pursue strategic relationships with additional last-mile service providers as well as other hardware, software and network providers to enhance NET/36's market penetration and service capabilities," Mr. Kahn concluded.
NET/36 UNLEASHES POWER OF SATELLITE-BASED IP BROADCASTING
NET/36 will deliver popular video and data content with high clarity and fidelity at high speeds. It will enable content providers to broadcast their IP content over PanAmSat's wholly owned and controlled global satellite system, which covers 98 percent of the world's population, to last-mile providers in conceptually the same way that cable television is currently broadcast to cable headends. As a result, NET/36 will circumvent thousands of miles of wires and multiple routers clogging the terrestrial Internet network.
NET/36 will utilize PanAmSat's global resources and expertise, which include 20 satellites, seven technical facilities in the United States and ongoing relationships with broadcast and cable programmers worldwide. Network rollout will begin during the third quarter of 2000 in the U.S. and international markets. The company expects that NET/36 will have the capability of supporting approximately 3 million simultaneous broadband video end users by late 2002.
PanAmSat will invest up to $250 million in capital and operating expenses over the next two years to deploy NET/36. Since PanAmSat already operates the world's largest commercial geostationary satellite fleet - and is expanding capacity with five new satellite launches over the next 18 months - NET/36 does not require significant new investment to build additional orbital assets. The largest portion of the investment by PanAmSat will be used for the rapid development of network software and the deployment of PanAmSat-owned antennas and servers at DSL provider sites, cable headends, ISPs and broadband wireless provider sites.
NET/36 will offer comprehensive end-to-end services for worldwide IP broadcasting. PanAmSat has initially allocated up to 24 Ku-band transponders on PanAmSat spacecraft already in orbit, a dedicated transmission hub at PanAmSat's global operations center in Atlanta, servers located at the last-mile sites throughout the United States and internationally and a complete roster of content management services.
PanAmSat currently operates leading satellite platforms for the distribution of digital and analog television channels to cable systems in the United States, Latin America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The company delivers television programming that can reach more than 125 million cable television households worldwide. In addition, PanAmSat links ISPs in approximately 50 countries to the U.S. Internet backbone.
PANAMSAT CREATES ALLIANCES WITH U S WEST AND REALNETWORKS
U S WEST and PanAmSat have entered into an alliance to deliver streaming video and other Internet content over NET/36 to U S WEST's MegaBit Services(SM) and U S WEST.net(R) subscriber base. This agreement will provide the capability for U S WEST customers to maximize their high-speed connections and download the leading video and audio programmers through PanAmSat's NET/36.
"PanAmSat's NET/36 gives us the ability to deliver services to our customers that go far beyond fast access to the usual static Web pages," said Joe Zell, president of U S WEST !NTERPRISE Networking, the new product development and data networking arm of U S WEST. "The content over NET/36 will enrich the online experience for our customers and can enable them to maximize the power of their high-speed connections."
RealNetworks has collaborated with PanAmSat to provide video and audio streaming technology and software for NET/36. Using the RealSystem's industry-leading multi-tiered splitting architecture and satellite multicast reception capabilities, NET/36 will be able to provide compelling broadband content to last mile providers. RealNetworks RealSystem G2 will enable content delivered over NET/36 to be viewed by the more than 95 million unique registered users of the RealPlayer.
"NET/36 will extend PanAmSat's established leadership in global TV broadcasting into the Internet," said Martin Plaehn, senior vice president, Media Systems, RealNetworks, Inc. "The combination of RealNetworks' streaming technology and NET/36's global satellite-based network will enable a truly rich Internet experience for the tens of millions of RealPlayer users around the world."
PANAMSAT WILL ALSO BROADCAST AOL PLUS OVER DIRECPC
Under a new service agreement separate from NET/36, Hughes Network Systems will use up to 10 Ku-band transponders on PanAmSat satellites located in orbit at 99 degrees west longitude. These satellites will serve as the platform for the delivery of AOL Plus via DirecPC, providing a national footprint for the high-speed delivery of AOL's broadband content directly to consumer households throughout the United States later this year. The service is a result of the 1999 strategic alliance between Hughes Electronics Corporation and America Online, Inc., in which the two companies agreed to jointly market a number of services, including AOL Plus via DirecPC.
Using a small antenna and satellite modem, DirecPC allows information to be beamed over the satellite directly to homes and offices. Hughes Network Systems already uses various PanAmSat satellites for DirecPC and other satellite-based communications services in the United States.
"DirecPC is the leading satellite Internet access solution that delivers broadband content to consumers at speeds over vast geographical areas," said Paul Gaske, executive vice president and general manager of Hughes Network Systems' Consumer Division. "Using the PanAmSat Galaxy satellites, we can offer our customers the most reliable and comprehensive broadband Internet access available."
About NET/36
NET/36, owned by PanAmSat, will become a comprehensive satellite-based IP broadcast network. PanAmSat will utilize its comprehensive global resources and expertise, including its 20-satellite global network (located approximately 36,000 kilometers above earth in geostationary orbit), U.S. teleport facilities and 16-year heritage offering video broadcast services, to create a dynamic network that is fast, reliable, scalable and secure as well as cost-effective. NET/36 will enable video and data content providers to broadcast digital video, data and audio to DSL providers, cable headends, ISPs and broadband wireless providers. Service applications over NET/36 will include streaming video, file transfer and caching. For more information on PanAmSat and NET/36, visit the PanAmSat web site at panamsat.com.
About U S WEST
U S WEST (NYSE: USW) is a leading broadband and communications service provider, with more than $13 billion in annual revenues. U S WEST leads the industry in deploying next-generation broadband ADSL and VDSL Internet access and data/video services; offers the nation's first and only 'one-number' advanced wireless service that integrates customers' home or business phones with their wireless PCS; and provides multimedia advertising services, including Internet & print directories. The company has more than 2 million miles of deployed fiber in the U.S., provides local exchange services to more than 25 million customers in 14 states, and provides wireless services to more than 500,000 customers and data services to more than 800,000 customers nationally.
U S WEST is merging with Qwest Communications International Inc. The combination, to be named Qwest Communications International Inc., will create a communications powerhouse with a market capitalization of more than $70 billion, headquartered in Denver and employing about 64,000 people worldwide. U S WEST and Qwest will unite the nation's most innovative local, wireless and broadband communications firm with one of the world's most advanced fiber-optic networks and broadband Internet providers. Together, the two firms will have more than 3 million miles of deployed fiber in the U.S. and worldwide, 29 million customers and a local network that is 99.2 percent digitally switched. For more information about U S WEST, go to uswest.com.
About RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK), based in Seattle, is the recognized leader in streaming media delivery on the Internet. It develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks consumer software on the Internet at real.com. All RealNetworks systems and corporate information is located on the Internet at realnetworks.com.
About Hughes
Hughes Network Systems is a leading provider of high-speed Internet access to the home with DirecPC, the very first satellite-based broadband service. In addition to the award-winning DirecPC service, HNS is a market leader in satellite and wireless communications, enterprise networking solutions, broadband products and services, and DIRECTV(R) digital satellite systems. Headquartered in Germantown, Md., with international sales and support offices worldwide, HNS is a unit of Hughes Electronic Corporation. For more information visit HNS at hns.com.
Hughes Electronics is an integrated entertainment and business-to-business communications services company dedicated to identifying new opportunities at the convergence of television, digital and broadcast communications, the computer and other communications platforms. Recent advances by Hughes include offering online services on the television through satellite Internet delivery, and the launch, later this year, of two-way broadband Internet satellite communication through DirecPC. Hughes Electronics is a unit of General Motors Corporation. The earnings of Hughes Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE: GMH).
About PanAmSat
PanAmSat, based in Greenwich, Conn., is a leading provider of global video and data broadcasting services via satellite. The company builds, owns and operates networks that deliver entertainment and information to cable television systems, TV broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home TV operators, Internet service providers, telecommunications companies and corporations. With 20 spacecraft in orbit today, PanAmSat has the world's largest commercial geostationary satellite network. The company will expand its global fleet to 24 spacecraft by mid-2001. For more information on PanAmSat and NET/36, visit the PanAmSat web site at panamsat.com.
NOTE: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements so long as such information is identified as forward-looking and is accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the information. When used in this press release, the words "estimate," "plan," "project," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "outlook," "believe," and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, which are more specifically set forth on the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to (i) risks associated with technology (including without limitation, delayed launches, launch failures and in-orbit failures), (ii) regulatory risks, including the ability to obtain export licenses, (iii) risks associated with the Company's new Internet initiatives, including, without limitation, typical risks associated with entering a new and untested business segment, and (iv) litigation. PanAmSat cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Further, PanAmSat operates in an industry sector where securities values may be volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond the Company's control. |
