HAMBURG, Germany, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Polish News Agency PAP
(Polska Agencja Prasowa S.A.), Warsaw, has ordered a system for the
distribution of news from the German firm mecom
(Medien-Communikations-Gesellschaft mbH), Hamburg. The system named
"mecom-newsPIPE" uses satellite and Internet communication for the
distribution of text, pictures, graphics and data to customers of the news
agency
    Having formed a consortium with VSAT System s.j, Warsaw, mecom won a
public tender and is to deliver in 2005 a system of the newest generation to
PAP, providing the agency with unique quality in data transmission and cost
efficiency in operation. One module of newsPIPE, the Content Distribution
System, allows PAP to deliver news individually to their customers using
stored profiles based on news-content. VSAT Systems will carry out all
antennae installations, both for the central hub and for about 100 remote
receive stations. PAP issued the order with a volume of about 1 million Euro
after the consortium has won an international public tender.
    "Announcing a public tender our goal was to get one of the most advanced
and cost efficient systems of its kind," said Waldemar Siwinski, President
and Editor-in-chief of PAP. "Now we are ready to make an important step
forward in our effort to modernise the technology in PAP, and with mecom and
VSAT we have two competent partners for this plan".
    "We could not buy anywhere the kind of innovative systems we require for
our own operations. Therefore, we had to develop it ourselves," said Ulrich
Wiehsalla, CEO of mecom. "The high quality and functionality of the system
will bring over many years advantages to PAP as our first customer for
newsPIPE. Since we are using the same system for our operations, our
experience will result in continuous development and will be of immediate
benefit to our customers."
    "Our core competence is the technology for the space segment and in this
we are number one in Poland," said Wojciech Eckstein, CEO of VSAT System. "We
are delighted to continue bringing this competence together with mecom to our
customer PAP."
    About the project:
    The Polish news agency PAP is modernising its technical operations and in
particular the news distribution system for their customers. One focus is the
satellite based communication, complemented by Internet distribution. The
project will replace the old satellite transmission system with one central
hub and about 100 receive stations. The new generation system as delivered by
mecom offers PAP not only satellite communication but a seamless interface to
the Internet. The project will be completed by the end of 2005.
    About newsPIPE:
    Under the name of newsPIPE, mecom offers a unique modular system for data
transmission of text, pictures, graphic and audio. The system supports all
known network types and is scalable and efficient in operation from small to
a large number of users, bandwidth and data volumes.
    Focusing on news distribution, the Content Distribution System is a
module of newsPIPE knowing all major news formats of news agencies. It
analyses the metadata contained in the news objects using them for onward
routing to individually targeted customers.
    The Satellite Broadcast System is a module of newsPIPE designed for the
special conditions of satellite broadcast communication. Owing to a unique
design feature it reduces common data transmission errors to almost zero. The
satellite receiver is integrated into a server (SatServer) which is located
at the customer sites of the news agency. It may be connected by secure
protocols to the Internet recovering data corrupted locally at the receive
station.
    The Network Delivery System is a newsPIPE module interfacing with
terrestrial networks including the Internet, actively pushing news objects as
selected by the Content Distribution System to individual customers in a
variety of formats. Agency News is a database for customers who want to
retrieve news via the Internet and as an alternative for the news normally
pushed to them. See http://www.newspipe.biz
    About PAP:
    The Polish Press Agency (Polska Agencja Prasowa S.A.), in existence since
1918 and commonly known as "PAP", is the national news agency in Poland. Its
service, subscribed by the majority of both print and electronic media in
Poland, is the leading news source in the country. PAP is also a leading
provider of business news and photo service. See http://www.pap.pl
    About mecom:
    The company was founded in Hamburg in 1989 as mecom
Medien-Communikations-Gesellschaft mbH by the news agencies dpa, AFP, ddp,
epd and KNA. As a communication service provider, mecoms major market is the
news and media industry, offering its customers integrated solutions
including hardware, software and maintenance support. Owned by and also
operating as carrier for news agencies, mecom focuses on the real time
distribution of news material (text, pictures, graphics, audio),
simultaneously and securely to many agency customers, especially via
satellite and the Internet. It also offers solutions for the distribution of
advertising and print-ready material. In the recent years, mecom also became
a system house, designing, engineering and operating solutions for customers
within and outside the media. See http://www.mecom.de
    About VSAT:
    VSAT System s.j. founded in 1996 in Warsaw is company specializing in the
integration of satellite and wireless data transmission systems. VSAT System
offers turn-key solutions, project management, maintenance, service and
support. VSAT System provides services to major Polish telecoms, media
companies and also for government agencies. For further details see
http://www.vsat.pl

    For questions please contact:
    Ulrich Wiehsalla
    CEO, mecom
    Tel.: +49-40-4113-2801
    E-Mail: wiehsalla@mecom.de

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