REPEATING/Stanford Telecom Introduces Next Generation Burst Receiver for Interactive CATV; STEL-9257 Targeted for Internet Applications

Business Wire, March 6, 1997

ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1996--Stanford Telecom today announced its next generation burst receiver assembly for interactive CATV digital headend equipment.

Compatible with the evolving IEEE 802.14 and MCNS specifications, the STEL-9257 is targeted for Internet applications, and provides upstream capabilities from the subscriber back to the headend. It will be sold to OEMs who in turn sell their equipment to cable operators.

One of the major new cable markets that is being addressed by cable operators is high speed two-way Internet and Worldwide Web access. The vast potential of the Internet is severely constrained by the low speed of present day phone line modems. In order to reach its potential, the cable system needs to be augmented with high speed digital upstream and downstream link capabilities.

Stanford Telecom believes its burst receivers are the only OEM assemblies on the open market that address the upstream demodulation challenge in hybrid fiber coax (HFC) environments.

"Because it addresses both Ethernet and ATM style packets, the STEL-9257 expands the viability of true Internet interactivity and can be used with essentially any cable modem," said Chuck Frank, vice president of Stanford Telecom's Telecom Component Products Group.

This past year Stanford Telecom introduced its first commercially available cable modem upstream products, and delivered them to a variety of customers for development and field trials.

"We view Stanford Telecom upstream modulation and demodulation technology as a key reason why our comUNITY access cable modem product line can provide a robust, high speed QPSK data channel," stated Buck Gee, vice president of marketing at Com21.

The STEL-9257, the first of a new generation of products, includes a tracking bit synchronizer making it suitable for use with cable modems that use variable length Ethernet style packets as well as fixed length ATM style packets. Selectable bit rates from 0.5 Mbps up to 4 Mbps QPSK and an alpha = .25 filter, combined with tunability over the full upstream frequency range, allow for upstream transmission in any part of the spectrum thereby maximizing efficiency and expandability.

"The focus of our development effort was variable bit rate and a more robust acquisition algorithm. Our team achieved truly remarkable performance with a product that excels in the cable environment," stated Allen Edwards, vice president of Stanford Telecom's Cable and Telecom Products Group.

Both the STEL-9257 and Stanford Telecom's earlier cable upstream demodulator, STEL-9244, provide extremely fast acquisition times to minimize channel overhead. The burst receivers are tunable to receive TDMA and FDMA signals over a broad input frequency range from 5 to 40 MHz RF for maximum system flexibility. The STEL-9244 continues to be an economical option for ATM style packets.

The STEL-9257 is identical in size and pinout to the STEL-9244 with the exception of additional control lines and an upgraded control protocol. The new burst receiver is expected to be available in production quantities in the first quarter 1997. Pricing is $625 in quantities of 1,000.

Stanford Telecom is supporting the development of an industry standard for the upstream portion of two-way, interactive CATV networks. Bruce Currivan, technical director of Stanford Telecom's Telecom Component Products Group, is chairman of the IEEE 802.14 subgroups on upstream channel modeling and physical layer evaluation. Stanford Telecom (NASDAQ: STII) designs, manufactures and markets advanced digital telecommunications products and systems to establish or enhance communications via satellites, terrestrial wireless, and cable. The company also provides communication systems networking solutions and GPS navigation products.

Stanford Telecom's expertise encompasses all the technologies required for these systems including radio frequency (RF), spread spectrum, waveform, coding, modem, software and system software design. The company maintains a low cost commercial manufacturing capability and offers cost effective engineering services. -0-

Note to Editors: This press release and other materials about the Telecom Component Products Group of Stanford Telecom and its products can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.stelhq.com or http://www.oakridge.com.

Stanford Telecom is the registered trademark of Stanford Telecommunications, Inc.

CONTACT: Stanford Telecom

Editor Contact:

William Patton, 408/745-2685

Bill_Patton@ccmail.stelhq.com

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Reader Contact:

Telecom Components Products Group, 408/745-2660

tpg.marketing@stelhq.com