More Rural Telcos Sign on to IP-PRIME.

Innovative IPTV Solution Gains Wider Adoption

HERNDON, Va. -- Today, Bob Phillips, president and chief executive officer of the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), announced that more rural telcos are adopting the innovative and cost-effective, end-to-end IPTV service, IP-PRIME[R]. The announcement came during the first general session of the TelcoTV conference.

Through a partnership with NRTC and The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), rural telcos may bring IPTV to rural America through two business opportunities: 1) an end-to-end IPTV service using SES AMERICOM's IP-PRIME, a centralized, satellite-delivered IPTV distribution solution that includes content transport, headend, and set-top box solutions, and 2) a programming-only solution for telcos with existing headend facilities or other transport arrangements.

"I'm proud of the quality of service that NRTC and NTCA are bringing to rural telcos and their consumers," Phillips told TelcoTV attendees. "To compete effectively, telcos must deliver a video service that truly breaks new ground. IP-PRIME, combined with our programming, gives rural telcos an advantage and reduces their cost of entry. It's here. It's real--and it works."

During the general session, Phillips announced the names of telcos that will deliver IP-PRIME to consumers. They are:

* CenCom, Inc., in Jackson, NE. CenCom is a subsidiary of Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company (NNTC), and Emory Graffis is general manager of both the parent and subsidiary. Through CenCom, NNTC will deliver IP-PRIME to its entire service area, 26 communities in rural Nebraska.

* The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone Authority in Eagle Butte, SD, where J. D. Williams is general manager. The C.R.S.T. Telephone Authority currently delivers cable television to two communities on the Cheyenne River Reservation.

* Home Communications, Inc., in Galva, KS. Home Communications is an affiliate of Home Telephone Company, Inc., of which Carla Shearer is president. Chuck Fairchild is Central Manager of Operations. Home Communications will offer IP-PRIME to about 90 percent of its service area.

IP-PRIME originates from the SES AMERICOM IPTV Broadcast Center in Vernon Valley, New Jersey, where video and audio are received and processed for distribution via satellite to IP-PRIME-equipped telco video hubs nationwide. The solution is based on the MPEG-4 digital video standard that offers improved video quality together with greater bandwidth efficiency over the MPEG-2 standard. The MPEG-4 standard makes IP-PRIME particularly ideal for enabling networks to accommodate numerous applications and features, as well as accommodate the explosive growth in HDTV channels.

NRTC serves cooperative and independent telephone operators in a market of more than 10 million homes.

About NRTC

The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) represents the advanced telecommunications and information technology interests of more than 1,400 rural utilities and affiliates in 47 states. Founded in 1986, NRTC provides products and services developed specifically to meet the needs of rural utilities and their customers, such as high-speed Internet access via satellite, full service Internet access and support, wireless technologies, long distance programs, mobile phone service, IP broadband backbone services, and direct broadcast satellite service (DBS) with DIRECTV. For more information, visit www.nrtc.coop.

About NTCA

The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association is the premier association representing more than 560 locally owned and controlled telecommunications cooperatives and commercial companies throughout rural and small-town America. NTCA provides its members with legislative, regulatory and industry representation; meetings; publications and educational programs; and an array of employee benefit programs. For more information, visit www.ntca.org.