This could be the protype for hundreds of future cable company upgrades:
ZENITH NEWS RELEASE: Zenith and 21st Century Partner to Provide Advanced Internet Access Via Cable Modems
Zenith and 21st Century Cable TV, Inc. will make the promise of high-speed Internet access a reality for Chicago's residential and commercial customers.
The companies announced today that 21st Century plans to purchase up to 40,000 Zenith HomeWorks(TM) modems and other electronic components to provide lightning-fast broadband Internet access to 21st Century's customers on its state-of-the-art SONET fiber network. 21st Century's franchise service area extends along the lakefront from Evanston to Hyde Park, including the Gold Coast, Streeterville and Lincoln Park
residential areas and the Michigan Avenue, Near North, River North and
Loop business districts.
This high-technology relationship maximizes the innovative attributes of 21st Century's $200 million distributed ring-star (DRS) network, and Zenith's proven cable modem technology to allow 21st Century to dramatically differentiate itself from traditional cable and telecommunications providers.
"The Zenith HomeWorks(TM) cable modem is a powerful device that will
link our customers' personal computers to our world-class network,"
stated Glenn W. Milligan, 21st Century's president and CEO. "21st
Century's customers will finally experience the Internet in the
time-efficient, utilitarian and convenient manner originally conceived, but heretofore seldom delivered. Our users can watch cable television, interactive data channels, and listen to specialty audio services over the same cable that allows them to simultaneously surf the World Wide Web. Soon, those same 21st Century customers will be receiving a host of other unique services from that single connection to our exclusive network."
Milligan added, ''21st Century is providing Zenith access to its leading edge network and laboratory test facilities as, together, we bring new cable modem services to market in a timely, seamless manner."
21st Century will utilize Zenith's cable modem technology to connect
users to the Internet at symmetrical speeds of up to 4 Mbps. Additionally, 21st Century's customers will enjoy free e-mail, access to newsgroups, chat sessions and instant access to as many as 1,000 of the most popular Web sites, cached in 21st Century's secure, state-of-the-art data operating center (DOC).
William G. Luehrs, president of Zenith Network Systems added that 21st
Century's innovative DRS system architecture is ''ideally suited'' to
Zenith's cost-effective cable modem and head end technology. ''The
system's very high- speed 'fiber to the node' design will unleash the
power of the Internet for business and residential users alike,'' he
stated.
21st Century's high-speed Internet access service is priced at $49.95
per month for unlimited access, including the HomeWorks(TM) cable modem. Significant discounts are available to customers if this Internet service is purchased in combination with 21st Century's cable television or other telecommunications products.
In preparation for this month's service launch, 21st Century has
activated its advanced Network Operating Center (NOC) at its corporate
headquarters on the sixth floor of the World Trade Center - Chicago. By combining its entrepreneurial company philosophy with its unique ''clean sheet'' network, 21st Century has emerged to carve out its own niche as the industry's first competitive communications provider (CCP). |
