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ENRON COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCES DISTRIBUTION LAUNCH PARTNERS FOR INTERNET APPLICATION SERVICES ON THE ENRON INTELLIGENT NETWORK
Strategic Launch Partners Include GTE Internetworking, Verio, Epoch Internet, NorthPoint Communications, InterNAP Network Services, EasyStreet Online Services, Electric Lightwave, and TeleCommute Solutions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, April 19, 1999
PORTLAND, Ore. - Enron Communications, Inc., a leader in the delivery of high bandwidth application services, announced today eight pioneering distribution partners that will deploy Enron’s ePowered™ Application Services to users of the World Wide Web.
These launch distribution partners -- GTE Internetworking, Verio, Epoch Internet, NorthPoint Communications, InterNAP Network Services, EasyStreet Online Services, Electric Lightwave, and TeleCommute Solutions -- are connecting to the Enron Intelligent Network and will be capable of delivering Enron Communications’ first application service, ePowered Media Cast™, to users on the World Wide Web. ePowered Media Cast delivers streaming video to the desktop at an average bit-rate speed of 200 kbps – 10 times faster than what is currently available on the public Internet.
“Enron Communications has developed a unique business model that is very beneficial to ISPs, CLECs and other Network Service Providers with high-speed connections to their customers," said Joe Hirko, president and CEO of Enron Communications, Inc. “Not only do we offer our distribution partners end-to-end quality of service for streaming rich media over the Enron Intelligent Network, but we provide new revenue streams and a significantly differentiated product offering that Internet users want and need. Our distribution partners play a vital role in our vision of enhancing the end-user's experience of the Internet."
The Enron Intelligent Network is an application delivery platform enabled with InterAgent®, an intelligent messaging software that enables Enron Communications' existing pure Internet Protocol (IP) fiber-optic network to create next generation application services. IP is the optimal network protocol for digital communications. Using a distributed server architecture, developed in alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Enron Intelligent Network is designed to store information and application services just one hop away from end-users. By limiting the number of routers each transaction passes through, the network is reliable, fast and efficient.
Applications that have been optimized to take advantage of the Enron Intelligent Network are called "ePowered." By design, ePowered application services are delivered to Enron Communications’ point of presence (POP) in distribution partners’ cities. By connecting to the Enron Intelligent Network, distribution partners can offer ePowered application services to their business customers. This service model allows distribution partners to immediately differentiate their service by offering broadband optimized streaming multimedia content and applications to users of the World Wide Web. Enron Communications’ first ePowered application service -- ePowered Media Cast™ -- will dramatically improve the experience of the Internet by delivering up to broadcast quality streaming rich media to the desktop.
Network expansion will continue through December 2000. The Enron Intelligent Network currently covers Portland, San Francisco/San Jose, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Washington, DC and New York.
About Enron Communications, Inc.: Enron Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Enron Corp. (NYSE: ENE), is a leader in the delivery of high quality, high bandwidth business information and applications. Enron Communications is building a long-haul fiber-optic network on strategic routes throughout the United States to create a data-centric national Pure IP backbone known as the Enron Intelligent Network. It is extending the capabilities of that network through agreements with ISPs and carriers seeking to generate new revenue sources and improved services.
Enron Corp. is one of the world's leading integrated natural gas and electricity companies. The company, which owns approximately $30 billion in assets, produces electricity and natural gas, develops, constructs and operates energy and water facilities worldwide and delivers physical commodities and risk management and financial services to customers around the world. Enron's Internet address is www.enron.com. the stock is traded under the ticker symbol, "ENE."
About Enron Communications’ ePowered Distribution Partners
About GTE Internetworking: GTE Internetworking offers customers, from consumers to Fortune 500 companies, a full spectrum of Internet services and solutions including dial-up and dedicated Internet access, end-to-end network management, high-performance distributed hosting and applications solutions, managed security, and systems integration, for customers migrating their mission-critical business applications to the Internet. GTE Internetworking draws upon BBN’s expertise in funded research and development of advanced technologies, including satellites, digital radio, multi-gigabit routers, security, and speech, and GTE's strong existing telecommunications services, including local and long distance, wireless, paging, video, research and Internet. The address for the GTE Internetworking’s home page is http://www.bbn.com. Additional information can be found at http://www.gte.com.
"GTE Internetworking is committed to providing leading infrastructure and services to our business customers. This relationship reflects that commitment -- enabling high-speed media and content delivery for business-to-business and business-to-consumer applications. This is what we all want out of the World Wide Web," said Chuck Gibney, president, business services, GTE Internetworking.
About Verio: Verio Inc. (NASDAQ:VRIO) is the world's largest domain-based (e.g. yourcompany.com) Web-hosting company and a leading provider of comprehensive business Internet services, with an emphasis on serving the small and mid-sized business market. The company offers customers a broad range of Internet solutions, including high-speed access, Web hosting, e-commerce, virtual private networks and other enhanced services. Verio supports its operations with highly reliable and scalable national infrastructure and systems including a facilities-based Tier One national network. Verio delivers locally based sales and engineering support in 41 of the top 50 U.S. markets under the Verio brand name and provides Web-hosting services to customers in more than 170 countries.
"Our new relationship with Enron will provide yet another outstanding value-added service to our business customers," said Sean Brophy, vice president of corporate development for Verio. "Together, we will enable our high-bandwidth customers to access TV-quality streaming media applications over the Internet through DSL, T1 and T3 connections from Verio."
About Epoch Internet: Founded in 1994, Epoch Internet is one of the nation’s largest privately-held Internet services company, providing complete turnkey systems and total business solutions. As part of the Internet backbone, Epoch Internet is a premier first-tier provider with a powerful fully redundant network and connections at every Network Access Point (NAP) in the United States. Additionally, Epoch maintains over 40 hubs and more than 220 points of presence connecting the rest of the country.
“As one of Enron Communications’ initial ePowered applications partners, Epoch will offer their customers a richer set of media intensive applications and services, such as live streaming video, while making sure they get the optimal amount of bandwidth and quality of service for each transmission,” said Brian Scholte, director of product management, Epoch Internet.
About NorthPoint Communications: NorthPoint is a national, facilities-based provider of high speed, local data network services. NorthPoint's networks use digital subscriber line, or DSL, technology to transport data at guaranteed speeds up to 25 times faster than common dial-up modems. NorthPoint markets its network and data transport services to Internet service providers, broadband data service providers, and long-distance and local telephone companies. The company is currently providing services in 17 metropolitan areas in the United States and intends to offer service in a total of 28 metropolitan areas by the end of this year. The company has obtained required regulatory approvals to offer services in each of those markets.
About InterNAP Network Services: Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Seattle, InterNAP is a privately held company that supplies the world's fastest, most secure and most reliable Internet connectivity to businesses and Internet service providers nationwide. InterNAP has developed the industry's first routing and route management technology specifically designed to deliver data directly to and from destinations across the Internet, eliminating the packet loss and latency caused by increased over-capacity.
"Recent attempts to stream major events on the Internet have demonstrated a need for both better streaming technology and more advanced connectivity," said Tony Naughtin, CEO of Seattle-based InterNAP. "Our partnership with Enron will bring both to our current and future customers."
About EasyStreet Online Services: EasyStreet Online Services is Oregon's largest independent Internet service provider focused on meeting the needs of business. With state-of-the-art facilities delivering high reliability and high performance, the company offers a range of services from individual Web access to powerful Web hosting. Founded in 1995 by a team of seasoned industry professionals, EasyStreet has more than 20 employees and is one of the top ten fastest growing technology companies in the region. For additional information visit www.EasyStreet.com
"A lot of organizations rely on information they receive through costly subscription services and television to quickly react to market conditions and competitive news," said Rich Bader, president of EasyStreet. "Now businesses can get the same information on their desktop, right over the Internet, for a fraction of the cost. The Enron Intelligent Network is a great addition to our high-speed Internet services; we're proud to be the first to bring it to Portland.”
About Electric Lightwave: Electric Lightwave Inc. is a leading integrated communications provider of enhanced data services, frame relay, ATM and Internet access solutions to bandwidth intensive businesses and the growing e-commerce market. The company offers long distance, data and prepaid services nationwide, with points of presence in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Washington, D.C. As a full-service provider, the company offers local, long distance, videoconferencing and high-speed broadband transport via an expanding fiber optic network that interconnects major markets in the West. Headquartered in Vancouver, Wash., the company employs 1,200 and earned revenue of $101 million in 1998, up 65 percent from 1997. Electric Lightwave Inc. is on the World Wide Web at www.eli.net and http://data.eli.net.
"As a distribution partner of Enron Communications, we are excited to be able to offer ePowered™ application services to our business customers," said Jim Berthot, vice president of marketing and new product development at Electric Lightwave, Inc. "The addition of these unique services allows us to continue our leading role as an integrated communications provider and to offer total system solutions to our customers."
About TeleCommute Solutions: TeleCommute Solutions provides turnkey solutions to allow large companies to profit from telecommuting programs. Their TeleWorX family of solutions delivers everything a company needs to deploy, connect, manage and support a telecommuting workforce. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, TCS has regional service centers throughout the United States and is currently supporting telecommuting programs in over 20 states. Company and product information can be found by visiting TeleCommute Solutions’ Website at www.telecommuter.com.
“Enron Communications Intelligent Network (EIN) adds the applications and rich media content that we designed our telecommuting NetWorX private IP network to deliver,” said Stephen L. Schilling, president of TeleCommute Solutions, Inc. “The Enron Intelligent Network fulfills the next step of our vision to enhance our network offering by imbedding applications and communication tools into our network and making them available to our customers’ office workers and telecommuters alike. By enhancing our network with these tools we now can deliver capabilities to our enterprise clients that were never before available.”
Click here to download this press release in Microsoft Word format.
For additional information please contact:
Tracy Smith
(503) 464-7837
tracy_smith@enron.net
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