RACAL-DATACOM PREMNET FIBER BACKBONE HELPS PUBLIC POWER COMPANY DELIVER
STATE-OF-THE-ART COMMUNICATIONS

--Massachusetts municipal utility and PremNet system give voice to Town
Hall, Fire Department and schools today; LAN data transport and video in
future--

February 22, 1995 -- SUNRISE, FL -- A convergence of factors is prompting
public power companies and other utilities to deliver communications as
well as kilowatts. Regulatory changes, increased bandwidth over fiber
networks, and the digital revolution are redefining business opportunities
for utilities with technological savvy, such as Braintree Electric Light
Department in Braintree, Massachusetts.

"It is not far-fetched that public utilities could provide communications
within our municipalities," says Walter McGrath, Chairman of the American
Public Power Association's Communications Infrastructure Subcommittee.
"After all, public power companies have always been there to serve, and we
already run wire directly to homes and offices."

PremNet Fiber Optic Backbone Makes It Possible

While other utilities investigate the delivery of cable TV and other
communications, Braintree Electric Light Department is already delivering
voice service to several municipal locations in Braintree, MA, a suburban
town located 15 miles from Boston. The PremNet backbone saves Braintree
money by reducing local-exchange carrier charges for the publicly-owned
power company.

Braintree Electric Light Department recently became the first power company
in the United States to implement T-1 voice over fiber backbone. Braintree
chose the PremNet system from Racal-Datacom as the fiber backbone to run
the voice application in it's 12-mile fiber network, citing its capability
to deliver voice, data and video communications.

"Braintree needed to replace existing equipment, but we wanted to maintain
the advantages of our installed fiber backbone," says McGrath. "We wanted
a system that would deliver voice now and be able to handle future needs
for video and data over fiber. PremNet backbone capabilities coupled with
the Racal-Datacom service reputation answered our needs."

PremNet Presents Business Opportunities for Utilities

Braintree Electric Light Dept. plans to extend the fiber backbone to more
sites, including homes and other municipal government departments. "We
want to have fiber to every home and business in Braintree," says Parker,
adding that the plan is about 10 years from goal.

Price and flexibility also helped the PremNet system win over traditional
devices offering only multiplexing functionality. "For the same price I
was ready to pay for multiplexers with limited interfaces, PremNet offers
a wide variety of data types. Support for high-quality video was a factor,
too, since Braintree wants to offer video to our schools for distance
learning and other applications," explains Jack Parker, business division
manager at Braintree Electric Light Dept. The utility plans to use the
fiber network to run E-mail, read meters, give on-line energy rates, and
eventually bill customers and accept payments.

The Braintree fiber backbone project has already installed 72 fiber pairs
for 12 miles of cable. The three-node ring topology PremNet backbone
network links private branch exchanges (PBX) at the town hall, high
school, fire department, and the Electric Light Department headquarters
and generator station. Each PremNet system chassis is equipped with one or
more DS1 interface modules for connection to the PBXs.

Key PremNet Advantages: Single Network, Multiple Interfaces

Rather than requiring separate networks for each application, the PremNet
system enables a single flexible backbone to simultaneously transmit
voice, multiple data types, and full-color, TV-quality video with stereo
sound -- at speeds up to 200 Mbps. This native speed transport is possible
because a PremNet backbone operates at the ISO physical level and is
transparent to higher level protocols. Devices on a PremNet backbone
appear to be on the same logical network, though they may be located
hundreds of miles apart. PremNet system design consolidates cabling,
reduces hardware and maintenance costs and makes networks simpler to
manage, modify and expand. Each chassis supports up to eight interface
modules. With 20 interface modules to choose from, users can mix-and-match
to design the perfect PremNet backbone solution.

Network Management and Service Capability

Like all Racal-Datacom products, the PremNet backbone is managed by the
Racal Management System, a single, open and integrated network management
platform. The Racal CMS 400 workstation offers a client/server
implementation delivering extensive management capability and control over
both local and wide area networks. The PremNet backbone can also be
managed via SNMP or by its on-board management system via the RS-232
port.

With a national support team numbering 500 professionals, Racal offers
complete services to areas ranging from small towns to major metropolitan
markets. Services include design, implementation, installation,
applications support, network monitoring, control, diagnostics, spares and
maintenance.

Racal-Datacan provides network solutions for the delivery and management of
information between headquarters and remote locations. The company's broad
product line includes local area, wide area and metropolitan area
networking systems that assist organizations in managing their migration
from host-based to client-server-based communications. Racal-Datacom
products and services support telecommuting and mobile computing, and
connect devices such as ATMs, reservation systems and point-of-sale
terminals. Wherever there is a need to put people in touch with
information from central databases or distant locations, Racal-Datacom
offers a solution.

Racal-Datacomm, 1601 N. Harrison Parkway, Sunrise, FL 33323-2899
Mailing Address: PO Box 40744, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33340-7044
305-846-1601;  800-RACAL-55,  Fax: 305-846-3935

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