Off the Optical Access website:
Wednesday April 18, 11:02 am Eastern Time
Press Release
Broadband Highway Guarantees Fast Delivery of High-Speed Internet
Customers Tout Fast Installation, Low Cost of Uninterrupted Service
ENCINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2001--High-bandwidth Internet service is crucial to operations at Woodland Hills-based Youbet.com.
The company wanted to move quickly to activate its high-bandwidth service at its new location, but did not want to wait many months for service activation, which is typical of the large telecommunications providers. Therefore, officials at Youbet.com Inc. (Nasdaq:UBET - news) -- the leading online live event and wagering company for the horse racing industry -- contacted the small Encino-based company Broadband Highway to get the high-bandwidth service needed to efficiently operate its site.
Broadband Highway was able to give Youbet.com 100MB of bandwidth capacity in five days.
''Broadband Highway allowed us to meet our move schedule, and we are also using them during peak times to stream audio and video of live horse races from all over the country,'' Joe Hasson, Youbet.com's vice president, said. "The service has been great and extremely reliable."
Six-month-old Broadband Highway Inc. combines proven fiber, microwave and laser technologies to efficiently deliver high-speed Internet to hundreds of customers in the San Fernando Valley.
The company has secured more than 60 buildings in Southern California -- in an area from the San Fernando Valley to Westlake Village. Woodland Hills-based Youbet.com is Broadband Highway's largest customer bandwidth-wise, with its 100MB connection.
''Our goal is to provide low-cost, high-capacity bandwidth to the masses,'' Broadband Highway co-founder Jim Delany said. ''We are implementers. We are providing service to customers who need large bandwidths and who, until now, have not been able to receive the service that they want.''
Greg Mycio, director of broadband analysis at New Paradigm Resources Group, noted that the medical community is the fastest growing group in the business sector demanding high-capacity, high-speed bandwidth. Many medical offices located within Broadband Highway's ''cluster'' of buildings are choosing Broadband Highway to deliver their high-speed Internet because of the fast installation, reliable delivery and reasonable prices.
Many commercial buildings do not have access to broadband connections due to their distance from telephone central office facilities or a fiber optic connection. Broadband Highway can provide service to these buildings in as few as five business days. Wired customers typically receive their high-speed Internet on the same day that they order service.
Traditionally, businesses needing access to high-speed Internet were forced to rely on DSL -- and its limited availability and frustratingly slow installation time -- or purchase very expensive T-1 lines. By using ''wireless fiber,'' Broadband Highway can guarantee cost-effective, reliable, ultra-fast access to high-speed Internet to the desktop in days, instead of months.
Broadband Highway has deployed the optical wireless solution from Optical Access Inc., that consists of 28 high-power laser transmitters with optical receivers and a radio frequency backup system. These lasers enable Broadband Highway to offer high-quality, broadband connectivity between buildings. The Optical Access solution also includes its advanced switching and network management products that allow Broadband Highway to direct data traffic, as well as remotely provision, manage and monitor services for its customers.
''We are not developing technology. We are just implementing technology, using probably the oldest networking infrastructure around, and doing it faster,'' Delany said.
Broadband Highway currently serves approximately 300 customers in its cluster of buildings. The company has a 30 percent penetration rate in these buildings, which Cahner's Instat Group analyst Amy Helland said is ''very good compared to the current market.''
Additionally, Broadband Highway expects to expand its service area to include commercial building tenants in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas by the end of the year.
About Broadband Highway
Broadband Highway was formed to provide high-quality and low-cost broadband access to the last mile of the Information Superhighway, delivered over the company's private optical network to small- and medium-sized commercial customers.
Broadband Highway is a telecommunications company specializing in the implementation and marketing of high-speed Internet access, networking and program content for businesses and the commercial applications marketplace. The company's founders are implementation experts, marketing specialists, telecommunications contractors and content providers for the Internet, fixed wireless, PCS and mobile wireless industries.
For commercial properties, Broadband Highway provides a turnkey building-centric telecommunications solution via consulting and riser management. For (commercial building) tenant subscribers, the company provides a complete menu of high-speed multimedia access and customized content. For private networks, the company provides a secure vehicle for access to application service providers, content consolidators and advertisers. By combining these entities, Broadband Highway can create a large subscriber base, a user-friendly pipeline, a higher standard of customer service and expanded content offerings that exceed those currently available.
About Youbet.com
In the United States, Youbet.com currently provides network members the ability to watch and, in most states, the ability to wager on a wide selection of coast-to-coast thoroughbred and harness horse races via its exclusive closed-loop network. Youbet.com does not actually accept or place any bets. Wagers are accepted and placed only by a state-licensed wagering entity, currently the Ladbroke, Pa. facility.
Youbet.com's role in the wagering process is limited to transmitting information-related wagers to the licensed wagering facility. Members have 24-hour access to the network's features, including live racing from a choice of 61 racetracks in the United States and Canada, commingled track pools, live audio/video, up-to-the-minute track information, real-time wagering information and value-added handicapping products. For further information, visit www.youbet.com.
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Contact:
Broadband Highway Inc.
Jim Delany, 818/932-0087
or
Access Millennium3 Strategic Communications
Gregory Harris, 562/597-8086 |
