Orckit's FastInternet system enables fast access to Internet and on-line services using Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology and existing copper infrastructure; new Internet access product is 300 times faster than current analog access and 125 times faster than ISDN.

TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 1996--Downloading large files and browsing through the highly graphical World Wide Web can soon be done at unprecedented rates of 384 Kbps to 8 Mbps using the FastInternet(tm) (trademark pending) Broadband Access System introduced to the U.S. market Tuesday by Orckit Communications.

Telecommunications companies (telcos) can now apply Orckit-developed Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology through the FastInternet system, and for the first time provide subscribers with Internet access 300 times faster than current analog access and 125 times faster than ISDN.

"With the recent deregulation of the telecommunications industry, the competition between data access providers has never been as fierce as it is today," said Dan Arazi, Orckit's vice president of marketing.

"Using DSL technology, our FastInternet product gives telcos and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) a major competitive advantage over technologies such as cable modems, fiber optics or hybrid fiber coax because it is the only high-bandwidth data transmission system that works over existing copper telephone lines."

DSL Enables Lightning-Fast Access

Orckit's FastInternet system uses Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology -- a transmission technology that allows high-bandwidth data transfer over existing telephone lines. FastInternet supports all types of DSL transmissions including High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL), Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) and Very-high-speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL).

FastInternet's 384 Kbps to 8 Mbps data rates let telcos offer high-speed Internet access to their subscribers, giving telcos a competitive edge in the emerging race with cable modems. Currently, analog modems offer data transfer rates of 28.8 Kbps, and ISDN lines offer data transfer rates of 64 Kpbs.

For example, data that takes three minutes to download using a regular analog modem or one-and-a-half minutes with an ISDN modem takes only two seconds with Orckit's FastInternet.

Because FastInternet uses DSL technology, it is simple and inexpensive to install. DSL requires no line conditioning or repeaters which reduces costly technician-hours and avoids the necessity to purchase additional equipment.

Telcos wanting to offer their subscribers fast access services need only install a FastInternet line card at the Central Office and a stand-alone modem, similar in size and shape to current analog modems, at the subscribers' home or business.

FastInternet Features

Orckit-designed and engineered from the ground up, FastInternet was developed for telcos and ISPs with subscribers demanding faster access to data. Currently, telcos and ISPs are researching ways to increase the capacity of data transmission to customers connecting with the Internet. In a strategically timed move, Orckit is hitting the market in support of this effort with an easy-to-integrate, cost-effective solution: FastInternet.

The FastInternet system features a fully integrated POTS (Plain Old Telephony Service) splitter that allows subscribers to talk on the phone at the same time they are connected to the Internet. The splitter is completely passive, so it does not affect the voice service of the telephone.

Plus, the POTS splitter keeps the voice telephone line hooked up to the telco through an analog connection. Therefore, even during a power failure, the line will remain active.

Orckit's FastInternet system allows subscribers to opt for asymmetric or symmetric transmission at different data rates, depending on their needs and distance from the Central Office. Symmetric transmission allows the customer and Central Office to transmit at the same speed in both directions, at rates of 384 Kbps, 640 Kbps, 780 Kbps, 1 Mbps or 2 Mbps.

Symmetric transmission is designed for business customers that have heavy uploading requirements, since symmetric transmission permits up to 2 Mbps upstream access. Examples of professionals who need symmetric transmission include architects or graphic designers working from remote locations who must regularly upload heavy graphical information.

Orckit's FastInternet also provides asymmetric transmission, which provides data rates of 4 Mbps or 8 Mbps downstream from the Central Office toward the customer, and a 640 Kbps upstream. Home users who want to download large video clips or graphical information from the Internet or on-line services, but do not have have heavy uploading requirements, typically opt for FastInternet's asymmetric transmission features.

Pricing and Availability

Orckit's FastInternet system is available today in trial quantities at $2,500 per link. A link includes the customer premises equipment: remote modem, POTS splitter and bridge/router, and the Central Office equipment: modem, POTS splitter and line card. For cost efficiency, FastInternet also accommodates high proportional concentration pricing per line. Pricing is determined by quantities and should be less than $1,500 per link by early 1997.

Orckit Communications

Orckit Communications Ltd., is a privately held telecommunications company that develops and manufactures a wide range of high-speed local loop communications systems that take advantage of state-of-the-art digital signal processing and VLSI technologies. Orckit's product line includes HDSL, ADSL, SDSL and VDSL transmission systems that utilize existing copper telephone lines.

Orckit's leading-edge products are often first-to-market and the company supplies leading public telephone operators worldwide. ISO 9001 certified, Orckit's manufacturing, engineering and marketing activities are complemented by strategic alliances with leading international and national telecommunications companies.

Orckit was founded in 1990 and has headquarters at 38 Nahalat Yitzhak Street, Tel-Aviv, 67488 Israel, [phone]. Orckit's U.S. offices are located at 2 Enterprise Drive, Suite 303, Shelton, Conn. 06484, telephone [phone] or toll-free 888/9-ORCKIT. Orckit's Web site is http://www.orckit.com, and can be reached by e-mail at: [e-mail].

CONTACT: The Benjamin Group, Irvine, Calif.

Lisa Zwick or Kelly Odle, 714/753-0755

or

Orckit, Tel Aviv

Dan Arazi, [phone], ext. 209