UB Networks GeoRim E Ethernet Switch Gives Reuters Multimedia Service a Bandwidth Boost.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1996--UB Networks today announced Reuters, the leading news and financial information provider, has chosen the GeoRim/E Ethernet switch to provide greater network bandwidth to its East Asia headquarters in Hong Kong for the new Reuters Financial Television (RFTV) service.

RFTV, slated to be the financial information industry's first real-time multimedia service, will provide live commentary on market- moving events to trading floor displays across East Asia. The new service has created a significant increase in dataflow, and Reuters installed UB Networks' advanced GeoRim/E Ethernet switches which allow up to ten times as much data to be carried on the company's corporate backbone.

"RFTV offers a major breakthrough in terms of news delivery," said Phillip Melchior, managing director at Reuters East Asia. "For the first time Reuters customers will have access to real-time television commentary directly on their terminals. In fast moving financial markets traders, brokers, dealers and analysts rely on instant access to the latest information. Because Reuters is the market leader in providing real-time financial data, it was natural that we extend our news coverage to include television, which can provide important benefits to the trader over the standard text-based service."

RFTV will broadcast from studios in New York, London and Tokyo and be received by Reuters in Hong Kong via a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) uplink at its recently opened Taikoo Shing headquarters. The Taikoo Shing office is equipped with the latest Category 5 twisted pair cabling and interconnected over three floors with the UB Networks GeoStax(TM)/E stackable hubs. The network links more than 400 staff at Taikoo Shing headquarters to Reuters regional computer facility.

"While the network can easily accommodate normal data traffic volumes generated from the provision of real time text- and graphical-based information, the inclusion of a video channel results in a much heavier bandwidth requirement," said Angelo Tsang, network operations manager at Reuters. "Reuters anticipated this need and following a thorough evaluation of potential switching products, selected UB Networks GeoRim/E switches. We are very pleased with the performance of the UB Networks switches and the excellent support delivered by Pacific Datacomm, UB Networks authorized reseller."

"Bandwidth is becoming an increasingly rare commodity in today's networks and meeting bandwidth requirements can create problems," said Michael Szabados, vice president of product management at UB Networks. "Our GeoRim/E switch makes meeting those requirements easy. Simply plug it into an existing hub, and it works right away. Connectivity isn't a problem since the GeoRim/E accepts the widest range of LAN interface modules of any switch on the market."

UB Networks' award-winning GeoRim/E Ethernet switch is a modular 12-port Ethernet switch with a built-in expansion slot for either an FDDI or ATM uplink to corporate network backbones. Easy to install, the switch's advanced error checking software delivers the speed of cut-through switching with the integrity of a more conventional store-and-forward switch. Available today either directly or through reseller channels, the GeoRim/E starts at a competitive $500 (U.S.) per port price.

UB Networks is a leading global supplier of network hardware and software products and is a pioneer in the area of distributed network management solutions. The company offers a full line of enterprise wide networking products including the Geo family of enterprise, workgroup and ATM products as well as comprehensive integration services. UB Networks product and service information is available at World Wide Web site http://www.ub.com. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, UB Networks is a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Tandem Computers (NYSE: TDM). -0-

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UB Networks, the UB Networks logo, GeoStax and GeoRim are trademarks of Ungermann-Bass Networks, Inc. All other trademarks are owned by their respective companies.

CONTACT: UB Networks

Catherine Palmen, 408/562-7981

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