Enron Teams With Compaq to Provide Capacity for One Million Simultaneous Broadband Streams of Windows Media Player - Enron Broadband Services, Inc - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, April 17, 2000

Enron Broadband Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Enron Corp. (NYSE: ENE) and a leader in the delivery of high bandwidth applications, announced today an alliance with Compaq, the largest supplier of computer systems in the world, to enable Microsoft Windows Media solutions over Enron's fiber optic high-bandwidth network.

With this agreement, the Enron Intelligent Network and distributed Compaq ProLiant servers will provide unprecedented levels of performance and quality of service for Windows Media applications. The Enron Intelligent Network offers high quality of service, reliability and network control for the delivery of TV-quality streaming video to the fastest growing media customer base -- broadband Internet users.

Enron and Compaq have teamed to make this breakthrough in video quality easy for broadcasters and content providers to enhance the Internet experience for their customers. In live demonstrations this week at the National Association of Broadcasters' show in Las Vegas, NAB 2000, the companies will showcase how their combined technologies make this possible.

Enron's video streaming services and the Enron Intelligent Network optimize Media Player for broadband content, and Enron has selected Compaq as the preferred platform for Windows Media Server. As a part of Compaq's NonStop eBusiness solutions strategy, Compaq Professional Services is partnering with Enron to provide a wide range of systems integration services in conjunction with the newly formed alliance.

"We are pushing the technology envelope and setting new standards daily," said Joe Hirko, CEO of Enron Broadband Services. "To ensure a highly reliable, scalable, industrial-strength network on an ongoing basis, Enron's distributed infrastructure design is continually evolving. This requires a regimen of testing and benchmarking. Compaq has been an invaluable, trusted partner in helping us further extend Enron's multiplatform capabilities."

Compaq and Enron engineering teams worked together to simulate the high volume loads of a live streaming media web event with as many as 10,000 users streaming broadband Windows Media from a single ProLiant server farm. They then translated the results into the Compaq architecture and system design for Enron's network and collaborated on product testing, quality control and deployment.

"Broadband applications are here now and represent a rapidly growing requirement from Compaq's service provider and enterprise customers," said Ashok Shah, Vice President North America, Compaq Professional Services. "We are pleased to be working with Enron on next generation broadband application design and delivery in media and entertainment, as well as in areas such as distance learning, health care and multimedia customer centers. Enron is an important reference to our 27,000 Compaq services professionals as we provide technology leadership and expertise to our client engagements."

Enron and Compaq will work together to implement Microsoft Windows 2000 internally as well as in product development for future product iterations. The two organizations will collaborate on the development of strategy and best practices for large-scale, high-volume Windows Media applications and deployments for service providers and enterprise customers. Additionally, Enron will team with Compaq to provide high-bandwidth capability for Compaq customers.

Enron Broadband Services is a leading provider of high quality, broadband Internet content and applications. The company's business model combines the power of the Enron Intelligent Network, Enron's Broadband Operating System, bandwidth trading and intermediation services, and high-bandwidth applications, to fundamentally improve the experience and functionality of the Internet. Enron introduces its Broadband Operating System to allow application developers to dynamically provision bandwidth on demand for the end-to-end quality of service necessary to deliver broadband content. Enron has also created a market for bandwidth that will allow network providers to scale to meet the demands that are required by increasingly complex applications.

Enron is one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas and communications companies. The company, which owns approximately $33 billion in energy and communications assets, produces electricity and natural gas, develops, constructs and operates energy facilities worldwide, delivers physical commodities and financial and risk management services to customers around the world, and is developing an intelligent network platform to facilitate online business. Enron's Internet address is www.enron.com.