ViaSat and Loral Skynet Unveil Broadband-on-Demand Service

r

r

August 13, 2001 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — ViaSat Inc. (viasat.com) and Loral Skynet (loralskynet.com) have formed a joint venture, Immeon Networks LLC (immeon.com), to develop and market the Immeon satellite bandwidth-on-demand service.
r

r

Immeon is targeted at enterprises that can benefit from broadband-on-demand,
r

have peer-to-peer connectivity needs for remote locations, or need redundant
r

connections to restore service during wide area network outages.
r

r

Through monthly service plans similar to cellular telephone service, Immeon
r

subscribers have access to bandwidth for point-to-point and multicasting IP
r

services based on their monthly usage and data rate requirements. Immeon
r

says its turnkey service provides its subscribers with a cost-effective
r

alternative to underused fixed circuits.
r

r

ABC News and Haverty’s Furniture are among Immeon’s first customers. A
r

number of others including StorageTek are in the trial phase with Immeon
r

network connections. ABC News is using Immeon to improve its voice and data
r

communications for on-location satellite newsgathering. Haverty’s will back
r

up terrestrial Frame Relay and ISDN lines with Immeon services to insure
r

reliability for its retailing network.
r

r

StorageTek, is evaluating the Immeon system for implementing possible backup
r

services for their terrestrial network from Puerto Rico to its headquarters
r

in Louisville, Colo.
r

r

“Loral Skynet’s strategic joint venture with ViaSat allows us to go beyond
r

providing capacity to offering value-added products and services to our
r

customers,” said Terry Hart, president, Loral Skynet.
r

r

Immeon uses Loral Skynet’s Telstar 4 satellite and ViaSat’s StarWire
r

satellite networking terminals to connect users to any location within the
r

satellite’s coverage area. The initial service area includes the United
r

States plus portions of Canada and the Caribbean.
r

r

ViaSat’s Paired Carrier Multiple Access (PCMA) technology is expected to
r

enable Immeon to provide efficient bandwidth use in a mesh network
r

configuration, and enables competitive service pricing to its customers.
r

The Immeon service allows customers to extend terrestrial network services
r

and establish broadband connections to hard-to-reach or temporary sites for
r

applications such as oil and gas exploration, newsgathering, emergency
r

operations or construction.
r

r

Immeon also serves as a backup to other high-speed networks in areas where
r

redundant, geographically-diverse terrestrial coverage is not practical or
r

cost-effective. Loral Skynet is providing capacity, planning, and support
r

for space segment to Immeon, while ViaSat provides service and equipment,
r

network operations and maintenance, installation, integration services, and
r

field support. Ground service and support is provided from ViaSat’s
r

Atlanta- based network operations center.
r

r

Loral Skynet of Bedminster, N.J., a subsidiary of Loral Space &
r

Communications, is a leading satellite communications services provider that
r

operates the Telstar satellite fleet. The fleet provides C-band and Ku-band
r

coverage over the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico,
r

and the Caribbean, as well as Europe, Asia, South America, northern Africa
r

and South Africa. Loral also provides technical consulting, as well as
r

tracking, telemetry, and control of satellite fleets for a wide variety of
r

customers.