New FVC.COM Gateway Enables Widespread Adoption of IP Videoconferencing - V-Gate 4000 videoconferencing system - Product Announcement

Cambridge Telcom Report, July 12, 1999

FVC.COM (Nasdaq: FVCX) Wednesday announced its V-Gate 4000, the industry's most future-proof videoconferencing gateway. The V-Gate 4000 translates video calls between systems using the latest IP (H.323) videoconferencing standard and established ISDN (H.320) and ATM (H.321)-based equipment. The most scalable system on the market today, the V-Gate 4000 can be ordered in an entry-level configuration that handles four calls at 128Kbps and full configurations supporting up to six calls at 384Kbps. The V-Gate 4000 supports call rates from 128Kbps all the way up to 1920Kbps. Expansion options will allow up to 12 simultaneous translations at 384Kbps -- three times more capacity than any of its competitors.

The world of videoconferencing is expanding to H.323 because this standard enables mass deployment of lower cost desktop videoconferencing systems. Many enterprises have considerable investments in high-end H.320 and H.321 room system equipment and are beginning to extend videoconferencing to IP desktops throughout the enterprise. FVC.COM's V-Gate 4000 provides a scalable solution for converging high quality video room systems and affordable desktops. The V-Gate 4000 is the latest entry in FVC.COM's line of video networking products, which provides a complete videoconferencing solution over any network for enterprises and service providers alike.

"Customers are implementing all three standards -- IP, ATM and ISDN -- in today's enterprise environments," said Allwyn Sequeira, FVC.COM Chief Technical Officer and Executive Vice President, "and FVC.COM has the only gateway that allows seamless videoconferencing among all types of end points. This allows customers to extend networked videoconferencing to include both room systems and desktops."

On a per-translation basis, the V-Gate 4000 offers the best price on the market today. Built-in gatekeeper functions and an on-board IMUX eliminate the need for additional components required by most other solutions, ensuring the lowest total cost of ownership. By taking advantage of IP prioritization and ATM's QoS, the V-Gate 4000 delivers high quality video and audio on any type of network. In addition, the V-Gate 4000 has the widest support for LAN and WAN interfaces: 10Mbps Ethernet, 100Mbps Ethernet, 25Mbps ATM, 155Mbps ATM, PRI-T1 ISDN, PRI-E1 ISDN, and BRI ISDN.

For service providers building out the infrastructure for distributed video services, the V-Gate 4000 offers a uniquely scalable, cost-effective solution. Advanced networking features include load balancing, roll-over capabilities, and Web-based call set up, administration, and billing. These features enable service providers to achieve integration with multi-point bridges and exploit their broadband infrastructure. They can support hundreds of concurrent video calls while maximizing resiliency and efficiency with intelligent call routing across the backbone.

"The service provider market is growing quickly and is expected to explode into a $90 million market for gateways alone by the year 2003, according to Perey Research," said Sequeira. "The V-Gate 4000 is the most future-proof, scalable gateway on the market today, and it is tightly integrated with our other video networking solutions. This enables service providers to offer competitively priced interactive video services to their customers through video portals, which will fuel growth in the whole videoconferencing market."

The V-Gate 4000 will be available late July in a variety of configurations. Prices start at $12,000.

FVC.COM, founded in 1993 by technology pioneer Ralph Ungermann, is the world leader in enterprise video networking. FVC.COM manufactures and supports a broad family of interactive video, streaming video and multi-service access products designed for high-quality video delivery. Integrated with voice and data, these products enable applications such as distance learning, corporate communications, virtual meetings and telemedicine to be delivered over broadband IP and legacy networks.

FVC.COM's OEM, distribution, and system integration partners include Bell Atlantic Network Integration, British Telecommunications plc, EDS France Telecom, IBM, Lucent Technologies, NEC, Nortel Networks, Telstra and other leading companies worldwide. Further information about the company is available at http://www.fvc.com.