elmg contrat 52 m u.s:EMS Technologies First to Market With Open-Standard Satellite
Interactive Terminals Volume Order Ushers in a New Era in High-Speed
Internet Communications Based on DVB-RCS Open Standard
ATLANTA, Jun 19, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ELMG) today announced that it has received an order through its Space &
Technology Group in Montreal valued at US$52 million for more than 15,000
broadband Satellite Interactive Terminals (SITs) from Kokua Communications, Inc.
(formerly PC-Sat Europe). Kokua Communications plans to offer high-speed,
two-way Internet access and value added solutions to small to medium-sized
businesses (SMB), remote sites of large corporations (RSLC) and small office
home users (SOHO) across Europe.
These two-way broadband Internet access terminals enable a user to not only
receive high speed Internet content by satellite, but also communicate back to
the Internet by satellite, eliminating the need for a terrestrial connection.
This will enable users with limited access to broadband connectivity through
cable modem, DSL or leased-line an alternative high- speed, ubiquitous and
cost-effective solution. The terminals are scheduled for delivery beginning in
November 2000 and continuing for approximately two years.
Al Hansen, president and chief operating officer - EMS Technologies, stated, "We
view this order as a major step forward in EMS's strategy of securing a
significant position in the space and terrestrial broadband markets." Hansen
also noted that the Kokua contract will be particularly challenging, as EMS will
need to drive down production costs to achieve its long range financial
objectives. "However, this contract places EMS firmly at the forefront of this
promising market, following several years of research and development investment
in broadband satellite ground-station technologies. It also puts EMS in a strong
position to reduce costs to levels that will open up consumer and business
demand for two-way satellite Internet service, and to assure that well-designed,
cost-effective user terminals are available for the coming generation of
high-capacity Ka-band satellites."
The terminals are part of a family of terminals that use satellite technology to
offer download speeds of up to 40 Mbps and upload (from the user to the
Internet) speeds of up to 2 Mbps, each several times faster than current
terrestrial technologies. The use of satellites offers several other advantages,
including allowing traffic to bypass Internet bottlenecks, particularly in
suburban or rural areas. Service can be offered through existing high-frequency
satellites, and no new space infrastructure is needed.
"EMS is clearly an emerging leader in terminal products, and the first to market
with a terminal that meets our long-term needs," Philippe Bodart, president
Kokua Communications, Europe.
Gerry Bush, president, EMS Space & Technologies Group, added, "We expect the
introduction of services made possible by these terminals to mark the beginning
of a new era in high-speed Internet access, which has to date been hampered by
existing older and slower infrastructure. Satellite broadband- access systems
have been widely anticipated as unique and powerful complements to existing
Internet infrastructures, and this order represents a major milestone in
bringing them to market."
The terminals have been developed to support the DVB-RCS (Digital Video
Broadcast - Return Channel via Satellite) standard currently being promoted by a
number of satellite operators. These operators see the open-standard approach as
lowering the cost of acquiring ground terminals.
"EMS continues to be a strong proponent of the global standard for two-way
satellite broadband access, and we believe this first volume order using an open
standard will greatly accelerate commercialization of the technology," noted Don
Osborne, vice president and general manager - EMS Space & Technology Group,
Canada. "We are committed to the responsibility of promoting this standard, and
believe this technology will have a variety of applications in both
satellite-based and terrestrial wireless settings. We can foresee combining our
technology with direct-to-home, local wireless networks, and other technologies,
and are in discussions with various consumer manufacturers concerning the use of
our technology, under license, to develop equipment that will enable service
providers to offer these additional services to their customers. The Kokua
contract, and the broad potential uses of our open- standard ground technology,
clearly demonstrate that EMS's space-based expertise is now being applied well
beyond our traditional focus on satellite equipment."
The SIT's being deployed consist of an outdoor unit that combines transmission
and reception functions and resembles a direct-to-home satellite dish. An indoor
unit provides the signal modulation and demodulation (modem) as well as
satellite access, control and traffic multiplexing and demultiplexing functions.
The terminal also includes software to optimize the response of the terminal
within the Internet environment.
About Kokua Communications, Ltd.
Kokua Communications, Inc. provides two-way, ubiquitous broadband Internet
connectivity via satellite to businesses, as a cost-effective alternative to
terrestrial broadband access. Headquartered in London, and with offices in the
US, Kokua will offer services in the UK in 2000, and Europe-wide in 2001. For
more information, visit the company on the World Wide Web at www.kokuacom.com .
About EMS Technologies, Inc.
EMS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of wireless and satellite
communications solutions, and focuses its unique range of technologies on the
needs of broadband and mobile information users. The company is headquartered in
Atlanta, employs 1,600 people worldwide, and has major manufacturing facilities
in Atlanta, Ottawa and Montreal. For more information, visit the company on the
World Wide Web at www.ems-t.com .
Statements contained in this press release with respect to market potential and
anticipated technological improvements are forward-looking statements. Actual
results could differ from those statements as a result of a wide variety of
factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to, technological
developments by both the Company and its competitors; the growth rate for
various wireless communications services worldwide; the availability of funding
for investments in major new satellite programs; the nature and effects of U.S.
governmental controls on foreign sales of, and U.S.-Canadian cooperation on,
space products; and the strength and timing of end-user acceptance of new
high-data-rate Internet services. The potential future benefits to the Company
will also be affected by whether the Company can design and implement measures
to reduce production costs to levels consistent with contract pricing; by
whether the Company can obtain future contracts for additional SIT's and thereby
generate higher-scale manufacturing and further spread the costs of
cost-reduction efforts; and by whether the Company is successful in developing
effective relationships with suppliers and possible contract manufacturers for
significant terminal elements.
SOURCE EMS Technologies, Inc. |
