IBM and TelePort Team Up to Take You "TeleDining"

New "TeleSuite" Offering Allows Users To Cross Real-Life Video Threshold

NEW ORLEANS, JUNE 27, 1995 -- Imagine a university student joining a family
dinner from several hundred miles away without having to leave final
exams. Or, a CEO of a global corporation conducting regular management
meetings without having to fly around the world, saving immense travel
costs and time. Dining out, business meetings and other "in-person"
encounters reach a new dimension with the "TeleSuite" solution from IBM
and TelePort Corporation, premiering at the Hospitality Industry
Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) in New Orleans, June 27 - 29.
(IBM, booth #812).

Combining the network expertise of the IBM Global Network with the
innovative "telepresence" technology of TelePort Corporation and IBM's
hospitality industry experience, the unique TeleSuite solution brings
real-time conferencing to a new dimension. The TeleSuite offering is a
virtual conference setting between parties in different geographic
locations without the use of traditional rolling audio/visual
videoconferencing units.

Participants communicate in fully synchronized audio and video between
separate TeleSuite sites, each party interacting with the other's
real-life image, or telepresence. The participants' telepresence appears
life-size across a table seemingly in the same room with a uniform decor.
This is possible through the use of TelePort's patent-pending video mirror
concept. Video mirror creates the natural and homogeneous setting viewed
from each TeleSuite, giving users the perception of being together in one
room enhanced through eye contact similar to that experienced
face-to-face.

"Don't confuse this with videoconferencing; this combines real-life and
virtual reality to redefine conferencing as we know it," said TelePort CEO
David Allen. "The IBM Global Network is the ideal partner because it
brings to the table its wealth of network expertise and aggressive ATM
rollout that will deliver this solution to consumers. The IBM travel
industry experience and worldwide marketing presence make this an
unbeatable combination."

"More people will now be able to experience and enjoy a revolutionary
conferencing solution at very reasonable prices," said IBM Global Network
General Manager, John Whiteside. "TelePort is the first to create a true,
real-life presence in this unique video offering."

"IBM is delighted to be able to offer this service to our customers in the
hospitality industry," said Greg Conley, general manager, travel industry,
IBM. "It's another example of how technology can bring people around the
world closer together."

Target Venues

The companies plan to offer TeleSuites at public locations, initially
hotels and resorts, and at private locations such as businesses and
government offices. Additional public suites will include restaurants,
airports and shopping malls. The public venues will provide users with a
combination of business and social environments 24 hours a day. Other
locations will include hospitals and educational facilities. The
TeleSuites also will be available to users at "mediaPLEXes," a collage of
TeleSuites at which they will be rented out by the hour.

Private locations, including businesses, private clubs and government
offices, will guarantee suite owners accessibility and scheduling control.
Private suite owners will be able to connect to other public and private
suite locations with an additional capability to restrict public access to
their own suite.

The $60 million contract spans five years, during which IBM and TelePort
expect to deploy 600 suites nationwide. The initial rollout over the next
two years is expected to be 120 suites in 40 major metropolitan U.S.
cities. Current pricing will range between $69 to $149 per hour for each
location, depending on the metropolitan market and time of day.

Live or TeleDining?

The seamless, transparent operation of the TeleSuite is essential -- no
wires, microphones, speakers or cameras in plain view. This concept allows
groups of people to view each other simultaneously and at close range,
rather than one person at a time, dissolving intimacy barriers common to
videoconferencing systems today.  With no obvious camera to distract or
create tension, users will feel comfortable and relaxed, allowing them to
enjoy dinner or conduct meetings with greater interaction and
flexibility.

"Our goal is to use transparent technology to recreate a real life
setting," said TelePort President Herold Williams. "The TelePort system
places participants in a very impressionable, real environment, while at
the same time it completes 'the other half of the room' using our video
mirror concept. The TeleSuite environment ensures that the customers'
experience will no longer be artificial and awkward but natural and
enjoyable."

At the heart of the TeleSuite system is the coder/decoder (codec) system
supplied by Compression Labs, Inc. (CLI). CLI leads the compression
support development that provides multimedia transmission over the IBM
Global Network for the TeleSuite system.

"Customers will experience a dynamic and interactive solution. They can
relax and enjoy themselves without worrying about being 'on the spot',"
said CLI CEO John Tyson.

The strategic network alliance between the IBM Global Network and TelePort
provides for T1 connectivity in the United States deployed in early 1996
and global connectivity during 1997. IBM and TelePort have also agreed to
a cooperative marketing services program aimed for IBM representatives to
market the TeleSuites. Further, IBM will assume responsibility for network
scheduling applications, help desk services and overall network
management.

TelePort Corporation, based in Englewood, Ohio, was founded by Allen and
Williams. In 1979, Allen and Williams co-founded Allen-Williams
Corporation, a hotel and resort development company, completing more that
160 renovations and build projects, including the Stouffer Grand Beach
Resort, St. Thomas, and the Hyatt Regency, St. John. Most recently, Allen
co-founded a multimedia company, Newleaf Entertainmment.

The IBM Global Network is the world's largest provider of integrated data,
voice and video services, with 25,000 customers in more than 850 cities in
100 countries worldwide. The IBM Global Network is provided in the United
States by Advantis and by local IBM subsidiaries or affiliates in other
countries around the world.

The IBM travel industry offers technology solutions to the airline,
hospitality, lodging, travel agents, tour operators, general distribution
systems, gaming and car rental industries.
 
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