Spacenet Introduces Frame Recovery™ and Frame Assist™, Satellite-Based Frame Relay Backup and Network Bandwidth Augmentation Services

Frame Recovery service is now being implemented at nearly 7,000 sites nationwide

McLean, VA, September 16, 1999 - Spacenet Inc. today introduced its Frame Recovery network backup and Frame Assist bandwidth augmentation services. Spacenet officials said they expect to implement the Frame Recovery service at nearly 7,000 sites nationwide this year.

Frame Recovery is a communications backup solution designed expressly to enable extremely high availability for mission-critical applications deployed over frame relay networks. Frame Assist provides incremental bandwidth for broadcast applications and other interactive traffic which would otherwise require increases to Committed Information Rate (CIR). Frame Assist also provides a cost-effective, last-mile solution for connecting hard-to-reach remote sites in the United States and for extending domestic networks to supplemental sites in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Frame Recovery and Frame Assist are new services based on Gilat's Skystar Advantage® Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite network. Skystar Advantage is a proven VSAT product in use at more than 100,000 sites worldwide for interactive data, video, and audio communications.

As with any terrestrial link, frame relay circuits are susceptible to outages due to accidentally severed cables or problems at a local switching office. Likewise, ISDN and other terrestrial backup alternatives can also fail concurrent with the frame outage due to points of common failure. The applications running over most frame relay networks are typically considered "mission critical" and therefore any type of network outage can have significant financial or operational impact.

For frame relay data network users with as few as 100 remote sites, Spacenet's Frame Recovery service offers a flexible, cost-effective, route-diverse solution which enables prompt recovery under any terrestrial failure scenario. Frame Recovery provides reliable, high-bandwidth connection for all of a company's remote sites, regardless of their location in the United States. Spacenet offers Frame Recovery for a monthly service fee as low as $75 per site, depending upon network size and other factors. No capital expenditure is required.

With Spacenet's Frame Assist service, organizations can leverage the Frame Assist VSAT infrastructure to accommodate other traffic outside of recovery applications. The Frame Assist service can be used as a supplement to customers' frame relay networks to support data and video broadcast applications as well as accommodate data overflow conditions. Frame Assist can help customers avoid costly increases to their CIR simply to accommodate transient or infrequent peak or burst traffic requirements.

Examples of broadcast applications best transmitted via VSAT include video for interactive business TV and distance learning, audio for in-store music, and data broadcast for price file and software updates.

"For companies whose business depends upon real-time data applications, Frame Recovery provides an unprecedented level of security and reliability. Companies now have a single-source, truly route-diverse solution for backup of all their remote sites," said Shelly Revkin, Spacenet President and Chief Operating Officer.

About Spacenet
With headquarters in McLean, Virginia, Spacenet Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. of Petah Tikva, Israel. Spacenet provides a wide range of satellite communications networks and services to companies throughout North America. With the acquisition of Spacenet from GE Americom in December 1998, Gilat now offers a complete range of network services, including access to satellite transponder capacity, installation of network equipment, network monitoring and control, as well as maintenance and repair.
 
Spacenet Media Contact:
David Myers
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development
(703) 848-1200
david.myers@spacenet.com