Tokyo, Japan, June 24, 2003 -- Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6703) today announced that the company has reached an agreement with Harris Corporation of the U.S. in May 2003 to deliver the first next-generation Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN) router to the FAA. Harris is the prime contractor for the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) program. This router will be installed at an FAA facility at Salt Lake City, where it will begin operations in March 2004 as an essential component of Air Traffic Services Message Handling System (AMHS), an info-communications system for air traffic control-related messages between the US and Japan. Oki has now commenced marketing of next-generation ATN routers to the worldwide market.
"We are pleased that Oki Electric is able to support this important FTI requirement by delivering the ATN router," said Bob Henry, the President of Harris Government Communications Systems and the Executive Vice President of the Harris Corporation.
The ATN routers Oki will provide to the FAA are essential components of the new Aeronautical Telecommunication Network, standardized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in seamlessly linking computerized aeronautical applications, and are now beginning to be introduced around the world. The ATN will improve the reliability, security and interoperability of aeronautical communications through common industry standards and will boost communications efficiency by integrating various networks among air traffic control systems, which currently use separate networks for each system. The US-Japan AMHS service over the ATN will offer enhanced performance and capabilities compared to the legacy system it will replace, as well as offering high reliability.
Oki's ATN router, which conforms to the ICAO international standard, is based on a Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) platform and implements Oki's unique graphical user interface, which has won high praise for its ease of operation and setup and reduced training requirements. It also permits remote maintenance to facilitate operations.
"We are proud to have been chosen to supply ATN routers to the FAA," said Kazushige Matsui, Executive Officer and President of the System Solutions Company at Oki Electric. "As an industry pioneer, Oki has developed a wide range of ATN systems since 1995, including ATN routers. The FAA's decision confirms Oki's leading technological capabilities in this area. We believe our ATN systems and technologies will contribute to the establishment of aeronautical communications systems over the international ATN network, which is to be introduced worldwide."
Oki has supplied ATN systems to a number of air traffic control organizations in Asian countries and regions including Japan and Hong Kong. An international ATN network will be established among Asia Pacific countries in 2005, following the start of ATN operations between Japan and the US in 2004.
The company intends to strengthen its position as a top ATN router provider and to expand marketing and sales of the system to the global market with the goal of achieving a, 50% share. It will also enhance the ATN-based applications lineup, including the introduction in 2004 of ATN routers based on the open-source Linux operating system.
About ATN Ground/Ground (G/G) Router:
- Standard price: <License fee per year> 15 million yen/software
- Supporting OS: Windows NT® 4.0 (Linux from 2004)
- Target sales: 100 software in 5 years
Notes:
- Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the US and other countries.
- Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the US and other countries.
- Names of companies and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies.
About Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
Founded more than a century ago in 1881, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. is Japan's first telecommunications manufacturer, with its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. With the corporate vision, "Oki, Network Solutions for a Global Society," Oki Electric provides top-quality products, technologies and solutions to its customers through its telecommunications systems, information systems and electronic devices segments. All three segments are integrated into one effective organization that functions as a collective force to create exciting new products and technologies, including information and telecom converged solutions. Through its business activities, Oki Electric satisfies a spectrum of customer needs in various markets. Details of Oki ATN router can be found at http://www.oki.com/jp/SSC/ITS/eng/atn.html.
