Rosneft will use the network to connect 10 of its companies located throughout Russia, from Moscow to Sakhalin Island. The offices will transmit Internet, video conferencing, and voice communications using the Linkway terminal's Asynchronous Transfer Mode (A), Frame Relay, and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) capabilities. Prior to this solution, Rosneft did not have a communications network that connected all 10 locations.

"COMSAT's Linkway 2000 offers Rosneft the most diverse range of capabilities available today," said Corey Chase, president of V-SAT Telecom. "From Linkway's popular protocols to its ability to work with a wide range of antenna sizes, Linkway is the best solution for Rosneft's networking needs."

"This marks a significant moment in the age of information as Russia implements its first broadband network via satellite," said Benjamin Pontano, President of COMSAT Laboratories. "COMSAT's Linkway 2000 will be an integral piece of the system, providing Rosneft with unparalleled performance and capabilities," added Chase.

The contract with V-SAT Telecom follows a major agreement between COMSAT and Telespazio, a Telecom Italia Group company. Telespazio is using COMSAT's Linkway technology in a solution to monitor traffic in Southern Italy.

The varied applications of Telespazio and V-SAT Telecom demonstrate Linkway's flexibility and broad functionality. The Linkway terminal differentiates itself in the marketplace in the following ways:

• Provides four popular networking protocols - Asynchronous Transfer Mode (A), Frame Relay, Internet Protocol (IP), and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) - in a low cost platform giving customers the flexibility to implement different protocols as their needs change.
• Allows a customer's sites to communicate directly with each other in a full-mesh manner, eliminating the expense and additional equipment required in a typical "hub-and-spoke" network configuration.
• Allows customers to instantly access the amount of satellite capacity needed through Linkway's Bandwidth-on-Demand feature. In traditional satellite networks, customers must allocate a preset amount of capacity.
• Can be configured with a variety of antenna sizes, including very small 1.2-meter antennas that fit on a building rooftop, allowing businesses in urban and remote locations to access satellite communications easily.
• Enables customers to stack multiple indoor units at one location to create a regional gateway. This provides transmission rates up to 32 Mbps (using a gateway-sized antenna).
• Offers asymmetric and multirate communications for applications such as Wireless Local Loop (WLL) and Internet Service Provider's Point-of-Presence connectivity.

Comsat

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