Spacenet signs contract extension with AMP-Ohio
to provide network for critical electrical monitoring
McLean, VA, July 31, 2007— Spacenet Inc.
today announced it has signed a contract extension with American
Municipal Power Ohio (AMP-Ohio) to provide a high-speed VSAT data
network. AMP-Ohio is a non-profit association representing member
municipal electric communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia,
West Virginia and Michigan, and it supplies wholesale power and
provides technical services to its members. The Spacenet Connexstar
service provides remote control for more than 150 transmission
substations and carries vital data to AMP-Ohio’s SCADA network.
With its initial VSAT deployment in 2004, AMP-Ohio replaced its
aging SCADA system based on leased lines with Spacenet’s
Connexstar satellite network. Benefits of the upgraded satellite
network include: faster data transmission times between the substation
and the AMP-Ohio Energy Control Center; increased network uptime;
reduced telecommunications costs; fast installation and deployment;
better load tracking and more accurate forecasting; and more accurate
billing with real-time meter data collection.
AMP-Ohio Chief Information Officer Phil Meier said, “Over
the past few years, we have been highly satisfied with the quality
of our Spacenet satellite network, and AMP-Ohio and its members
have seen significant benefits. When compared to other technologies,
VSAT provides us with the most reliable and economical solution
to meet our requirements. Extending our contract with Spacenet
enables us to leverage the existing network infrastructure, and
we look forward to exploring new VSAT applications in the future
to gain even more efficiencies from our network investment.“
Spacenet President and Chief Operating Officer Glenn Katz said,
“Spacenet is committed to providing reliable communications
solutions to the energy market, and this recent contract extension
demonstrates our focus and experience serving the critical network
requirements for this industry. Spacenet’s familiarity with
utility industry networks and our advanced satellite services
enables us to successfully provide the network services and support
that AMP-Ohio’s SCADA infrastructure requires over the next
few years.”
About AMP-Ohio
AMP-Ohio is the Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit wholesale power
supplier and services provider for 121 member municipal electric
systems in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Michigan.
The organization provides a diverse mix in its wholesale generation
resources, which in addition to fossil fuel, includes wind, hydroelectric,
landfill gas and distributed generation. In addition, AMP Ohio
serves as the project manager for groups of member municipal electric
communities participating in joint ventures to share ownership
of generation and related facilities.
About Spacenet®
Founded in 1981, Spacenet Inc. is a leading provider of high-performance
satellite and hybrid terrestrial networking solutions for business,
government and home/small office customers in the United States
and worldwide. Spacenet has a longstanding tradition of industry
leadership and innovation, and today serves more than 100,000
network endpoints for customers including many Fortune 500 companies
and major government agencies. Spacenet's services include its
custom satellite/hybrid network solutions for enterprise and government;
Connexstar TM VSAT services for primary, backup and disaster recovery
networks; and StarBand® broadband Internet by satellite. Spacenet
is based in McLean, Virginia, and operates its own end-to-end
services infrastructure including network management, field services
and teleport facilities in McLean; Atlanta, Georgia; and Chicago,
Illinois. Spacenet is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilat Satellite
Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT). 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 |
