Big Contract Award!!
Telesat Selects Satellite Communications Network From Gilat's
Spacenet Subsidiary to Power Its New High-Speed Internet
Service Across the United States and Canada New Telesat
service is first to reach all of the United States and Canada
PETAH TIKVA, Israel, Apr 15, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Gilat Satellite
Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILTF) today announced its U.S. subsidiary,
Spacenet Inc., has been selected to provide VSAT satellite
communications equipment to power Telesat's new High Speed Internet
Service.
With its new service, Telesat becomes the first company to provide
high-speed Internet access to users across all 13 Canadian provinces and
territories, as well as the United States.
Under its agreement with Telesat, Spacenet will provide Gilat's 360E VSAT
technology, comprised of a central hub system and thousands of remote
terminals. The Telesat High Speed Internet Service will also be supported
by Spacenet's McLean, Va. headquarters.
Typical customers for Telesat's new service will be businesses that require
Internet access at ADSL-type speeds at locations that do not have access
to wireline or cable-based broadband connectivity solutions. This market,
comprised of many tens of thousands of locations across Canada alone,
includes small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs), large corporations,
franchise businesses and government institutions.
Dennis Billard, Telesat's Vice President of Business Development, said,
"Because it is designed expressly for commercial broadband Internet
connectivity, the Gilat 360E platform is ideally suited for our new service. In
particular, we feel the platform's performance in supporting
response-time-sensitive web applications - as well as its ability to efficiently
and reliably handle unpredictable traffic characteristics - is extremely
important to meeting the demands of businesses that depend on
connectivity for mission-critical applications."
David Shiff, Spacenet's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said, "As a
long-time provider of business-grade satellite communications services,
Telesat understands extremely well the importance of performance,
reliability and manageability of the technology in meeting the needs of
business customers. In light of Telesat's expertise in the industry and with
the technology, it is an honor to have been selected as the infrastructure
provider for this new service offering - and to have the opportunity to help
bring broadband Internet connectivity to the Canadian market."
The 360E VSAT provides an always-on connection for instant access to the
Internet and corporate intranet. With outbound data rates of up to 52.5
Mbps (on a shared basis) and inbound rates of up to 307.2 kbps, users can
enjoy high-speed connectivity. Embedded TCP/IP implementation coupled
with Gilat's industry-leading Internet browsing acceleration technologies
provides high performance and an enhanced user experience. The 360E
offers superb capability and performance for supporting two-way,
satellite-based Internet connectivity. It is ideally suited to any type of
IP-based application that requires rapid response time, high levels of
interaction or high throughput.
About Telesat
Telesat (www.telesat.ca) is the world's most experienced commercial
satellite operator. The company made history in 1972 with the launch of the
first domestic commercial communications satellite in geostationary orbit.
Today, Telesat competes with the world's leading satellite fleets in providing
telecommunications and broadcast distribution services throughout the
Americas. Telesat is a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc., one of the
world's leading communications companies.
About Spacenet
With headquarters in McLean, Virginia, Spacenet Inc. is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. of Petah Tikva, Israel. Spacenet
and Gilat are leading providers of satellite-based, broadband Internet
communications technology. Spacenet provides two-way, satellite-based,
broadband networking solutions for a wide range of organizations
throughout North America. These solutions include provision of all
equipment, bandwidth, implementation and ongoing network and field
support on a full turnkey, outsource basis. Visit Spacenet at
www.spacenet.com.
About Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., with its global subsidiaries Spacenet Inc.,
Gilat Europe and Gilat Latin America, is a leading provider of
telecommunications solutions based on Very Small Aperture Terminal
(VSAT) satellite network technology - with nearly 400,000 VSATs shipped
worldwide. The Company provides satellite-based, end-to-end enterprise
networking and rural telephony solutions to customers across six
continents, and markets interactive broadband data services. The Company
is a joint venture partner, with EchoStar Communications Corp., Microsoft
Corp. and ING Furman Selz Investments, in StarBand Communications
Inc., America's first consumer, nationwide, two-way, high-speed satellite
broadband Internet service provider. StarBand is based in McLean, Va.
Skystar Advantage(R), DialAw@y IP(TM) and FaraWay(TM) are trademarks
or registered trademarks of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
Visit Gilat at www.gilat.com. |
