Asia Global Crossing And Global Access Tests Prove Fiber Optics Better Than Satellites For Real-Time Trans-Pacific HDTV Broadcasts

Fiber Optic Systems Give Broadcasters A Video Transmission Medium That Is Less Expensive, More Reliable, And Higher Quality Than Satellites

23-Feb-01

Commercial Video Transmission Service To Be Launched March 1, 2001Asia Global Crossing and its affiliate Global Access Ltd. announced that they have successfully transmitted uncompressed HDTV and SDTV video between Japan and the U.S. using an STM-4C (622Mbps) on Pacific Crossing, demonstrating for the first time that fiber optic cable is a less expensive, more reliable, higher quality alternative to satellites for real-time video transmission. Asia Global Crossing expects to begin offering commercial video transmission services March 1, 2001. Currently, satellites are the most common medium used to transmit live video signals across the Pacific, primarily because a satellite's footprint allows for ""one-to-many"" distribution - that is, a satellite can transmit data directly to receivers within a large geographical area. However, satellites can only transmit a limited amount of data. Typical standard-definition television (SDTV) signals require a 270Mbps data rate to achieve broadcast-quality output. But since a satellite's capacity is limited, SDTV video signals are commonly compressed to 45Mbps for transmission, which diminishes picture quality. In the future, as high definition television (HDTV) becomes more prevalent and digital television the preferred standard, the one-to-many benefit of satellite transmission will be negated by the quality loss inherent in satellite technology. Additionally, satellites are subject to weather-related outages, which impacts reliability. Fiber optic cables offer a more stable transmission solution. ""Using fiber optic cables instead of satellites, as evidenced by the recent tests by Asia Global Crossing and Global Access Ltd., will allow broadcasters to transmit HDTV and SDTV video signals without compression, thereby maintaining video quality in a way that is both more reliable and cost-effective than satellites,"" said John Legere, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Global Crossing. For the video transmission tests, uncompressed and low compressed HDTV and SDTV video content - including pre-recorded Olympic opening ceremony footage, a baseball game, and b-roll of scenic views - were transmitted more than 20,000 kilometers between Tokyo to Seattle with insignificant delays, resulting in outstanding broadcast quality. The tests were conducted over Asia Global Crossing's Pacific Crossing - the only independent ring-configured fiber optic system that connects the U.S. and Japan - and Global Access' local terrestrial cable system - which connects major business centers within Japan to each other, and, via Pacific Crossing and the rest of the Global Crossing Network, to more than 200 other major business centers worldwide. The tests used STM-4C circuits to transmit both SDTV, at 270Mbps, and HDTV, at 1.5Gbps, video feeds. An STM-4C is a unit of bandwidth capacity equal to 622Mbps. This test was the first time an STM-4C has been used for trans-Pacific or domestic video transmissions. Domestically, the transmission test was between Kamiyacho and Nihonbashi, Tokyo, a distance of 20 kilometers. Video testing was administered by Nexion Corporation, a video content storage and distribution venture of Marubeni. ""Uncompressed video transmissions using high bandwidth fiber optic systems will enable more stability when broadcasting high-quality video data, such as overseas major league sports broadcasts, in real-time,"" said Darryl Green, President of Asia Global Crossing Japan. ""Asia Global Crossing and Global Access are committed to provide cost-effective, super-high-speed optical fiber networks as the new infrastructure for video transmissions in the broadband era."" For more information about Asia Global Crossing, visit www.asiaglobalcrossing.com.

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