Telephony via hybrid fiber-optic coaxial cable TV networks; first pilot project in Europe begins operation.

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 1995--In the Belgian town of Geel, the cable TV company IVEKA has put a pilot project into operation using Siemens technology for routing telephone calls via the existing cable TV network.

The first six subscribers have connected their telephones to the network and can now telephone using the same line that supplies them with TV pictures. The pilot project will involve the first ever use of CoAxiom(tm), a product developed jointly by the Siemens Public Communication Networks Group, represented in North America by Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, and Scientific-Atlanta Inc. CoAxiom enables existing cable TV networks to deliver telecommunications services. This offers new operators a fast and attractive means of connecting a large number of customers to their network.

IVEKA is one of 32 cable TV network operators currently supplying cable TV programs to around 3.56 million Belgians. The Belgian electrical company Electrabel holds an interest in IVEKA. Through the other interests it holds in cable TV companies, Electrabel supplies approximately 53% of all cable TV connections in Belgium. The fact that these initial telephone connections have now been put into operation in the pilot project represents an important step along the road to becoming an alternative supplier of telecommunications services.

The selection of line that has now been put into service comprises a 16 km long coaxial cable which incorporates a total of 32 repeaters to amplify the signals. The repeaters raise the signal levels in both directions, the voice signals arriving from the telephones being routed to the cable TV center in Geel. This center is currently equipped with a digital PABX system which allows the subscribers to communicate with each other. By spring 1996, 20 IVEKA customers should already have their telephones connected.

Every telephone connection occupies a bandwidth of 50 kHz in the cable TV network. This frequency band allows telephone calls to be transmitted in ISDN quality (64 kbit/s). The frequency band of 6-7 MHz usually used for a TV channel would allow 144 telephone calls to be conducted simultaneously.

The Siemens Public Communication Networks Group presented CoAxiom for the first time at Telecom '95 which was held in Geneva in October 1995. The CoAxiom products will allow operators to use the same hybrid fiber-optic coaxial cable network for transmitting cable TV programs, interactive multimedia applications, and telephone services (including ISDN). CoAxiom is a valuable addition to the product range of IMMXpress(tm), a worldwide multimedia cooperation between Siemens, Siemens Nixdorf, GPT, Scientific-Atlanta, Sun Microsystems and Access Systems, but can also be used independently as a stand-alone product.

The increasing liberalization of the world telecommunications market will allow cable TV operators to tap new sources of revenue by expanding their service spectrum. The provision of telephone services offers an excellent opportunity since it allows profitable operation within a short time.

To provide subscribers with the additional services, network operators utilize a channel of their TV cable network to transmit narrowband telephone services for up to 500 connections. By connecting to the appropriate CoAxiom Headend Interface Unit (HIU) on the operator side, and a Customer Interface Unit (CIU) on the subscriber side, subscribers can continue using their telephone sets with this CIU.

A further component of the CoAxiom product family is the CoAxiom Management System (CAMS) which allows the network operator to manage subscriber connections. The connection between the CoAxiom telephone connections and the public telephone network is achieved by means of the HIU which is equipped with standard interface (V5.1, V5.2, TR-303) to digital switching systems such as the EWSD(r) system from Siemens.

With revenues of DM 10.4 billion in the last fiscal year, the Public Communication Networks Group is the largest group of Siemens AG. Supplying switching and transmission technology, telecommunication cables and mobile radio networks, Siemens Public Communication Networks Group is a leading supplier of public telecommunications equipment worldwide, and plays a key role as system integrator in traditional markets as well as the growing multimedia market. -0-

Note to Editors: EWSD is a registered trademark of Siemens AG.

IMMXpress is a trademark of Siemens AG.

CoAxiom is a trademark of Scientific-Atlanta.

CONTACT: Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, Boca Raton

Jayne Scott, 407/942-5707

or Robert Bartolotta, 407/955-3140