SilkRoad Introduces Industry's First Convergent Optical Transport System For CATV/Telco Market.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 1999--

SRSC(TM)-based product provides extreme broadband solution

converging voice, video, and IP data bi-directionally on single

wavelength of light for transport on fiber optic networks

SilkRoad, Inc., an innovative optical networking technology company, today announced the introduction of its PathFinder 2000(TM) optical transceiver product line for CATV/Telco service providers using existing and future fiber and Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) networks.

The SilkRoad PathFinder 2000 product line is the industry's first and only solution designed to simultaneously transport multiple digital and analog, video, data, or voice signals, bi-directionally, on the same wavelength. This product line will provide significant capability for companies seeking to aggregate multiple broadband services, including telephone, Internet, and CATV transmissions on a single transmission line.

The greatest benefit of the Pathfinder 2000 product line is its cost-effective flexibility. PathFinder allows communications service providers to upgrade today's infrastructure while supporting a migration path for greater bandwidth, new interactive services, and the expansion of digital channels. PathFinder's extended span lengths, before amplification, make it possible to minimize capital expenditure by centralizing the expensive equipment of a headend operation and eliminate duplicate equipment at hub offices.

"PathFinder offers service operators a compelling price performance benefit over current technologies. Additionally, it offers the flexibility for expansion into new cable services, from telephone to IP to data," said Kevin C. Doria, SilkRoad President and CEO. "This SRSC(TM)-based product provides a unique approach for increasing bandwidth and performance on fiber optic networks used in the CATV/Telco markets."

The entry-level product in the PathFinder 2000 product line is the PathFinder 2200(TM) optical transceiver, providing up to 4 separate frequency bands of information on a single-wavelength. The PathFinder 2400(TM) provides up to 8 frequency bands of information, and the PathFinder 2600(TM) provides up to 16 frequency bands of information.

Each frequency band on the optical spectrum is capable of transporting and receiving either up to 1.5 GHz of RF signal, a standard or non-standard digital electrical spectrum of up to 650 MHz, or a SONET OC-3 or OC-12 signal. This gives the CATV network architect maximum flexibility as well as scalability to designs systems for today that will have the capacity to support new voice, video and data services as they come on stream in the future.

The PathFinder 2000 product line also provides maximum flexibility in the return path signal architecture, by employing bi-directional optical transmission on the same wavelength of light. The product line will include the PathFinder RPA 2020(TM), a return path aggregator that will allow as many as 20 return path signals to be placed onto one Frequency Band. The PathFinder Cross Connect 2040(TM) add-on module connects signals from multiple rings in one Network Element, creating a cost-effective way for multiple access and metropolitan loops to run concurrently.

One of the limitations of the currently available technology is the limited span lengths that can be achieved. Current analog systems have span lengths around 50 km. Digital systems achieve greater span length, but at a higher cost, and either signal type requires additional fiber strands or multiple wavelengths in the case of a DWDM system. PathFinder addresses these challenges by offering a longer span length, higher quality performance, and mixed signal broadcasting on a single wavelength.

"The exploding demand for Internet and other data services has created a traffic jam on the nation's telecommunication network. This has created a huge opportunity for CATV operators to use their inherently larger HFC 'pipe' to deliver these services to their customers," said Herb Stover, SilkRoad Director of Sales. "Most cable systems must be upgraded at significant cost in order to carry these high volume interactive signals. SilkRoad's Pathfinder products will speed up this process by offering a new solution, at much lower cost to install and maintain."

The PathFinder 2000 product line is currently in field testing with customers and is expected to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2000. Pricing is not yet established, but will be competitive and significantly less than current digital Supertrunk alternatives. The consolidation of complementary central office headend equipment makes Pathfinder-based systems very attractive in terms of overall system network costs.

The PathFinder(TM) 2000 has been developed using SilkRoad's Refractive Synchronization Communication (SRSC(TM)) technology, which was first introduced during the company's worldwide technology launch on Wall Street in New York City on November 3, 1998. SRSC(TM), based on new applications of well-established principles of optical physics, allows a properly modulated single-wavelength laser beam to carry multiple electronic signals in a bi-directional format. As a result, SRSC(TM) based systems provide significant benefits for network accessibility and the transport of high speed, high volume, voice, video and data communications beyond those achieved through conventional multiple-wavelength technologies. The economical pricing of a SRSC(TM)-based system makes true extreme broadband communications available to the converging communications market.

Founded in 1996, SilkRoad, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in San Diego, where sales and marketing, research and development, engineering and administration are located. The company's patented SilkRoad Refractive Synchronization Communication (SRSC(TM)) single-wavelength technology provides the basis for next-generation communications systems that dramatically increase bandwidth, accessibility to information, scalability and network simplicity. SRSC(TM) technology provides products for telecommunications, CATV and Enterprise markets for long haul, metro, access and local networks. SRSC(TM) recently received the SUPERQuest Award for the "Most Promising New Technology," in optical networking, at SUPERCOMM '99.

For more information, please visit the SilkRoad web site at www.silkroadcorp.com.

SRSC, PathFinder 2000, PathFinder 2200, PathFinder 2400, PathFinder 2600, PathFinder RPA 2020, and PathFinder Cross Connect 2040 are trademarks of SilkRoad, Inc.