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WorldSpace, Inc. Satellite Radio is First U.S. Customer for Intraplex NetXpress Audio over IP Platform from Harris Corporation
CINCINNATI, September 19, 2006 — Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) today announced its first U.S. sale of Intraplex® NetXpress™ to WorldSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ: WRSP), of Silver Spring, Maryland. Intraplex® NetXpress™ is the industry's first managed platform for the transport of audio over Internet Protocol (IP). WorldSpace, a direct-to-consumer satellite radio provider serving Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, will install six NetXpress audio over IP platforms at four of its uplink locations: Silver Spring, London, Singapore, and Bangalore, India. The system, which will consolidate audio transport and data communications over a single Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, is scheduled to launch by late 2006. The Walisko Group, based in the Washington, D.C. area, will assist with systems integration. The four WorldSpace sites are connected using a terrestrial, fiber-based WAN (wide area network), which is used to stream WorldSpace® Satellite Radio channels and special events such as live concerts. WorldSpace also downlinks audio services from other U.S. networks for broadcast to its customers. The company has opted to launch an MPLS network alongside its existing E1 infrastructure due to recent increases in data and availability requirements. Integration of the Intraplex NetXpress audio over IP platform will coincide with the MPLS network launch, allowing WorldSpace to migrate to a packet switched network as opposed to solely relying on a static network without point-to-point switching. Randall Scott, vice president of production engineering and operations for WorldSpace® Satellite Radio, points to cost advantage, system reliability and IP migration flexibility as the reasons for choosing NetXpress™ over competitive audio over IP platforms. "The cost advantage is especially clear for special concerts and events we would typically backhaul over ISDN or satellite. That could add up to half a month's entire network costs for a 12-hour backhaul period. With NetXpress™, we have the ability to consolidate our audio and data transport needs on one network, while also having spare capacity for on-demand audio transfers. We are also familiar with Harris from our use of the IntraLink IP platform for our E1 networks." Intraplex NetXpress offers a scalable, upgradeable design that allows broadcasters to migrate from T1/E1 networks to IP at a comfortable pace rather than an all-at-once switchover. Scott expects to keep the E1 network in place and use it with similar frequency to the MPLS network with NetXpress™, then gradually move the E1 network into a backup role. "The advantage for WorldSpace is that we can run both networks independently until we are ready to move our MPLS network and NetXpress audio over IP platform into a primary role," said Scott. Vince Walisko, president of The Walisko Group, was instrumental in the decision to go with Harris for the WorldSpace service. "The self-healing philosophy of IP networks and the underlying infrastructure means that the system will re-route dropped packets resulting from a router outage or fiber cut through another node. This packet routing process means that reliable delivery is assured over the IP network. The NetXpress audio-over-IP platform is well-designed to take advantage of the characteristics of IP networks to compensate for dropped packets and other service issues, making it a far more reliable platform than other solutions on the market. Furthermore, Harris understands the immediacy and urgency of the broadcast business as a legacy broadcast equipment provider, while many carriers and IP vendors are not as attuned to this urgency." Intraplex® NetXpress™ can send multiple services, including audio, data and PBX phone communications, over a single IP connection. Echo cancellation, PBX phone system links, T1/E1 circuit emulation, and forward error correction are just some of the benefits offered through the platform. The NetXpress audio over IP platform also offers a far more cost- and bandwidth-efficient transport network than separate wired T1 circuits, microwave or fiber T1/E1 circuits, and individual codecs. The NetXpress platform also closes the gap between broadcast and telecommunications by allowing broadcasters to link existing PBX/PABX telephone systems to the IP transport system. "Harris is pleased to announce the sale of Intraplex® NetXpress™ to WorldSpace® Satellite Radio," said Ted Nahil, broadcast channel sales manager for Harris Broadcast Communications Division, Infrastructure and Networking Systems. "The NetXpress audio over IP platform can take greater advantage of an MPLS network by offering greater buffering resources for more reliable point-to-point connections. We believe that the combination of transport reliability, network flexibility and cost-effectiveness will help WorldSpace grow and improve its audio services as they migrate toward an IP/MPLS network." The Intraplex NetXpress platform will be on display at the NAB Radio show in Dallas (Booth #405, Hilton Anatole Hotel) from September 19-21. About WORLDSPACE® Satellite Radio About Harris Corporation # # # Contact Information: Laura Whitaker
Robin Hoffman
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