SkyStream announced that China Telecom, China's largest telecommunications service provider, selected SkyStream's zBand PUSH video-on-demand (VOD) platform in addition to SkyStream's suite of IP video networking solutions to expand its rural Internet and video-on-demand service to remote areas.

China Telecom plans to extend broadband Internet and video services from the headend in its Shanghai Satellite division, and offer video-on-demand, video conferencing and Internet-on-demand in remote areas via satellite where broadband services are not currently available. China Telecom plans to roll out the on-demand, satellite-based services nationwide over the next 10 years to serve the 75 percent of the Chinese population that currently lives in rural areas. Over three-fourths of China is covered by mountains, desert and forest, which preclude extensive communications coverage from fiber terrestrial networks.

SkyStream will provide digital broadcasting capabilities, IP streaming over satellite and PUSH video-on-demand using its Source Media Router (SMR), Edge Media Router (EMR), micro-Edge Media Router and E-manager to manage the delivery of video and data assets to and among multiple sites, as well as direct support and sales training.

"SkyStream was the only company to present us with a complete solution for IP video delivery," said Mr. Lui Xing-Xie, CEO of Shanghai Gaozhi, the integrator and solution provider for the China Telecom project. "Earlier this year, a team from China Telecom received extensive training at SkyStream's U.S. campus and has been deploying this service across China ever since, reporting that they are very pleased with the quality of the solutions."

China Telecom's unique Turbo Internet and video-on-demand service features the most popular Web sites and videos stored on a PC hard drive that is managed by zBand both at the headend and on the PC. Using PUSH technology, zBand automates the process of regularly refreshing the Web sites and videos, managing user authorization and security, and deleting the expired content.

"China is an exciting market for IP video, and our customers there are implementing some visionary applications of our technology," said Jim Olson, president and CEO of SkyStream. "Our products allow China Telecom to break new ground with IP video delivery to rural locations, which brings more opportunity and information to millions of people."

zBa

nd PUSH VOD uses a client-server architecture to schedule, manage and deliver high-quality content to multiple service provider sites or to millions of customers simultaneously over broadband or broadcast networks. With zBand, service providers have the power to manage content, bandwidth and networks in a single software platform.

SkyStream's SMR features a patented technology that harvests unused bandwidth from a service providers' digital spectrum to deliver new data and video services. The partner to the SMR, the dual-tuner EMR reliably receives and manages content at the network's edge. It enables the service provider to receive the content at the remote sites while centrally managing its distribution and all the components of the network. Shanghai Satellite is also using SkyStream's E-Manager to manage the simultaneous operation of multiple EMRs.