Sun Video Server Technology Selected for New Zealand's First Nationwide Cable TV Service; Pay-Per-View and Other Transactional Services To Be Supported By Sun MediaCenter Servers

Business Wire, Feb 18, 1997

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 1997--Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced its video server technology and services have been chosen by Saturn Communications, a New Zealand-based cable television company, as part of the company's multi-million dollar technology investment to provide never-before- available on-line video and related services to the New Zealand market.

Apart from two small cable television trials, which served about 2,000 homes in total, entertainment television in New Zealand previously has been available only through broadcast or satellite transmission.

The technology initially purchased by Saturn includes a series of the Sun(TM) MediaCenter(TM) digital video servers and the Sun(TM) Ultra(TM) Enterprise(TM) 4000 departmental servers, and in excess of 600 Gigabytes of on-line video storage. ATM communications hardware and software, MPEG-2 decoders/encoders and front-end Sun workstations for control and program scheduling complete the total technology infrastructure.

"We have invested in the latest, most advanced technology available," said Jack Matthews, chief executive of Saturn. "Sun's technology will enable us to deliver some very exciting services to our customers, including multiple channels of first run movies, a wide selection of International and New Zealand programming and, in the future, a range of interactive and transactional services such as pay-per-view and near video-on-demand."

SolNet Technologies, Sun's sales agent in New Zealand, will provide systems integration services for Saturn. As part of the integration contract, SolNet will provide customized operations management software using Sun's Java(TM) programming language.

"We chose Sun because they were able to demonstrate leadership in cost effective video delivery technology that will take Saturn forward for the next several years of our planned rollout of a broad range of network services," Matthews added.

Anne Schowe, vice president and general manager of Sun Microsystems Computer Company's Interactive Services Group (ISG), said, "Our powerful Sun MediaCenter and Ultra Enterprise servers provide Saturn with excellent scalability, cost-effective video streaming and online video storage capabilities - all at the right price point. Sun's state-of-the-art technology will place Saturn at the leading edge in the cable industry and offer tremendous flexibility in the future as new technologies are adopted."

The Sun MediaCenter server delivers digital media - for everything from on-demand training to video information and entertainment services - seamlessly throughout any size organization. It offers guaranteed video streaming throughput, as well as hot-swappable and hot-pluggable disks for maximum availability and uptime, RAID 4 parity and striping for reliable backups and mirroring, and industry-leading reliability, availability and serviceability (RAS).

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ "SUNW"), to its position as a leading provider of hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $7 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the WorldWide Web at http://www.sun.com .

About Saturn Communications

Saturn Communications is owned by United International Holdings, Inc., a leading owner and operator of advanced communications networks worldwide. Headquartered in Petone, New Zealand, Saturn is currently constructing a state of the art broadband communications network in the Hutt Valley and Wellington. Saturn will offer a full range of pay TV, telephony and interactive services on its network. -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Sun MediaCenter, Ultra Enterprise, The Network Is The Computer and Java are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape or NCSA Mosaic. Type http://www.sun.com at the URL prompt.

CONTACT: Sun Microsystems Computer Company

Maria Villarino, 415/786-3205

maria.villarino@corp.sun.com

or

Thomas Associates

Theresa Hanlon, 415/596-2700

theresa@thomaspr.com