Polish News Agency PAP orders innovative News Distribution System
Hamburg (ots) - 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 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 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 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 www.vsat.pl
For questions please contact.
Ulrich Wiehsalla, Tel.: +49 40 4113 2801
E-Mail: wiehsalla@mecom.de
Hamburg, 15th April 2005