Spacenet adds hybrid VSAT/DSL services to its Connexstar family of broadband networking solutions

Spacenet also introduces Prysm application-enhancement services, a complete suite of broadband network improvements for multi-site enterprises

McLean, VA, November 8, 2004 — Spacenet Inc. today announced it has added commercial-grade, hybrid VSAT/DSL services to its Connexstar family of broadband connectivity solutions.

Spacenet's expansion of its Connexstar offering allows the Company to provision DSL, VSAT and hybrid network solutions, depending on the needs of its customers. All Connexstar sites will continue to be managed centrally by Spacenet, whether they are Connexstar VSAT or DSL locations.

Spacenet President and CEO Bill Gerety said, "Historically, Spacenet has catered to extremely large enterprises - companies like Dollar General, Sears, Goodyear and the U.S. Postal Service - that demand the highest possible levels of service, network design, management and integration. In the past, commercial-grade DSL services did not meet our high quality and coverage standards. Now, however, we believe DSL can be successfully integrated into the superior VSAT-based WAN solutions that we provide to our customers."

Gerety added, "Spacenet has enjoyed growth over the past five years as a result of our tight focus on meeting the needs of large multi-site enterprises, primarily in the retail, hospitality and government sectors. We remain convinced that for most of these businesses, VSAT-based networks are the most effective way to maximize value and network-wide efficiency. For some customer locations, however, DSL may provide a better fit. For those sites, we now offer DSL services. Since Connexstar DSL utilizes much of the network infrastructure used by our enterprise-grade Connexstar VSAT service, our customers are assured of extremely high levels of security, performance and manageability."

Today, Spacenet also introduced a new suite of application-enhancing services ˆ to be marketed under the brand "Prysm" as a complement to its satellite and hybrid network solutions. Prysm services will improve the performance of a wide range of enterprise applications, including advanced routing, data acceleration, retail application/POS hardware interfaces, multimedia content delivery/playback and advanced network management.

Prysm services utilize an affordable custom hardware/software platform designed for easy deployment in a LAN environment attached to a Spacenet Connexstar broadband network. Prysm services cover a broad range from VPN-over-VSAT acceleration and serial/async protocol support for DSL users to custom-tailored network enhancements designed to match individual customer requirements.

Prysm meets growing demand among large, multi-site businesses for a low-cost service that can enhance a wide range of application functionalities. With Prysm, Spacenet clients pay only for the application enhancements they need - but they can easily add new applications as their requirements expand, without having to alter any of their in-store hardware or software requirements.

The Prysm service offers customizable application enhancements, including IP application acceleration, serial port expansion, async-to-IP protocol encapsulation, secure VPN connectivity and network management capabilities. Future updates to Prysm will also enable advanced video storage/playback and content-caching applications.

Background on Spacenet's Connexstar Service
Connexstar is a true commercial-grade service, providing the bandwidth and performance levels demanded by businesses that depend on connectivity for mission-critical applications. Further, Connexstar features expanded applications support, enabling businesses to consolidate all of their Internet Protocol (IP)-based business applications over a single infrastructure. Multi-site enterprises can now utilize any combination of these Connexstar networking solutions:

  • Connexstar VSAT, featuring satellite-based service packages for commercial networking, custom networks, or satellite back-up services.
  • Connexstar Basic DSL services, which utilize ADSL technology to provide a low-cost terrestrial network solution that works over the customer‚s existing voice phone line.
  • Connexstar Commercial DSL services, which will utilize SDSL and IDSL technologies to provide a business-critical networking platform that offers strong Service Level Agreements for uptime, installation and repair.
  • The Prysm service, with monthly pricing that will vary by the customized list of services the customer selects.

About Spacenet
Spacenet is the worldwide services group of Gilat Satellite Networks. Spacenet Inc., based in McLean, Virginia, provides connectivity, value-added applications and managed networks to customers in North America and worldwide, including its Connexstar satellite and hybrid terrestrial broadband networking solutions for enterprise and government customers, and StarBand residential and small-office VSAT services. Spacenet has more than 20 years of experience providing wide area networks, application support, customer care and network management for some of the largest satellite-based networks in the world. Visit Spacenet at www.spacenet.com.

Spacenet Media Contact:
David Myers
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development
(703) 848-1200
david.myers@spacenet.com