United States Patent and Trademark Office Grants Advent Networks a Patent for the Ability to Deliver Dedicated Bandwidth Connections Over Cable Networks

Business Wire, July 21, 2004

AUSTIN, Texas -- Advent Networks(TM) Inc., a leader in cable broadband technology, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted Advent a patent for the ability to deliver dedicated high-speed bandwidth connections over cable networks.

"This patent grant helps Advent open a new market for cable companies in the highly lucrative small-to-medium business services space," remarked Ed Perry, Advent CEO. "Cable operators can deploy the Advent solution over existing hybrid fiber coaxial networks to pursue the $26 billion commercial services market in the U.S. that until now has relied primarily on phone companies for dedicated bandwidth solutions like fiber or T-1 circuits. Advent's HFC access solution enables cable operators to bridge the wide bandwidth and services gap between current cable modem and fiber-based technologies."

Advent's Ultraband(R) solution is based upon the recently approved patent that describes a hybrid fiber coaxial network access technology that uses Time Division Multiplexing within the cable RF spectrum to deliver packet-based services over dedicated bandwidth connections to each subscriber. When outfitted with Advent's technology, a cable customer will no longer experience the congestion that often impacts cable networks during peak usage hours as with existing cable modem solutions. As a result, Advent allows cable operators to cost effectively provide higher tier dedicated commercial services over the existing coaxial access network as opposed to deploying expensive fiber connections to the premise. Additionally, the Ultraband solution allows operators to deliver next-generation converged video, voice and data services over a single, dedicated IP connection to both commercial and residential customers.

"Cable operators have spent $84 billion over the past six years in building their networks, and now they have a solution to double their revenues again by gaining voice and data business users from the phone companies," Perry stated. "Commercial services are the fastest-growing new revenue source for cable operators in North America and Europe."

According to statistics published by The Yankee Group, cable operators are expected to more than double their number of commercial business data customers from 860,000 in 2003 to more than 2.3 million by 2008.

About Advent Networks

Based in Austin, Texas, and founded by cable industry professionals, Advent Networks has developed the Ultraband platform for the delivery of dedicated bandwidth for HFC networks over the last mile. The Ultraband system represents an evolution in cable access networks -- fiber-like bandwidth to the subscriber over existing cable networks without the need for costly plant upgrades.

ADVENT NETWORKS and ULTRABAND are registered trademarks or trademarks of Advent Networks Inc. in the United States and other countries.