May 23, 2002, Gallatin, Missouri — WideBand Corporation has been showing its Gigabit Ethernet Without Rewiring by using barbed wire to make the point at trade shows from coast to coast this spring.
Response from the shows has been positive, bringing new resellers, new customers, and even coverage in one of the premier computer trade magazines, InformationWeek (in print in the May 20, 2002 edition, and currently online at the following web address: http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020517S0038 )
The WideBand demonstration that has brought so many to its exhibits consists of an exposed section of a wall showing copper cabling over which data and video is successfully transmitted at Gigabit speeds. The catch is that the cable running between the two-by-fours is Category 3 cable – cable which is considered very “marginal” in its ability to carry today’s high speed networking signals. The installation of the cable in the demo is also marginal, with many wiring “no no’s” such as staples poking through the wire, extreme bends and angles, and A/C current running alongside it.
However, the most compelling part of the demo for most attendees was the section of wire where the cables were connected to 8 strands of BARBED WIRE. Many came to the exhibit to see for themselves that even through barbed wire, the signal got through. WideBand’s Gigabit Ethernet products had no problem transmitting large files and even DVD-quality video over the “less-than-ideal” cable and installation.
InformationWeek Magazine highlighted WideBand’s barbed wire demo as a pointed way of demonstrating its capability of transmitting over older or damaged cables. InformationWeek reaches 440,000 businesses and IT professionals weekly, providing in-depth analysis, news, research, and perspectives on the latest business trends.
WideBand has used its barbed wire demo as a way to underscore the robust transmission capability of its Ethernet products. Since so much of the currently installed base of copper cable is Category 5 or Category 3, access to Gigabit products that can work up to specification without having to upgrade the cable is a major factor in if and how soon many users can consider the move to Gigabit. In addition to problems with Gigabit Ethernet over installed cables, WideBand has found many instances of users having difficulty with clear transmissions even over 10/100 Mb/s Ethernet. The barbed wire demo sent the message to show attendees that WideBand’s Ethernet products give users reliable transmissions from 10/100 Ethernet, the capability of utilizing Gigabit over their installed cables, and the comfort of extra headroom for installations that have already upgraded to Cat 5e cables.
Recent shows in which WideBand demonstrated its Gigabit Ethernet products include FOSE, Washington, D.C. – the premier IT show to the Federal government, NetWorld + Interop, Las Vegas, NV – the foremost conference for enterprise networking professionals, The Government Technology Conference, Sacramento, CA – a state and local government and education show to California, and the Connecting Technologies show in Virginia Beach, VA – a worldwide technology exhibition to bring government employees and contractors up to speed with the latest information technologies.
WideBand Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets standards-based Gigabit Networking products. WideBand Stock is traded on the OTC.BB Market (ZWBC), and on the Frankfurt Exchange (Stock symbol WBD). The Corporate website is https://www.wband.com. Investor information is available at http://www.zwbc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement:
This news release contains information that is ‘forward-looking’ in that it describes conditions which WideBand Corporation reasonably expects to occur in the future. Expectations for future performance of the business of WideBand is dependent on a number of factors, and there can be no assurance that WideBand will achieve the results as contemplated herein. The accuracy of these statements cannot be guaranteed, as they are subject to a variety of risks, including the possibility that the described activities or events will not be completed or occur.