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MediaOne to Offer Broadband Remote Access for Digital EquipmentMediaOne(r) Express high-speed Internet service and Digital's AltaVista Tunnel 97 to enable safe and secure network access MediaOne(r) today announced the successful completion of a high-speed data telecommuting trial with Digital Equipment Corporation. Digital will roll out MediaOne(r) Express service to its telecommuting employees by year-end. MediaOne(r) is the Broadband services arm of U S WEST Media Group (NYSE:UMG). MediaOne(r) Express is the company's high-speed Internet access service that provides access to the Internet at speeds 50 times faster than conventional telephone dial-up service. "We are increasingly relying on telecommuting to meet the needs of our rapidly-changing business environment, and a high-speed secure connection to the office is absolutely critical," said Laurence Cranwell, Digital's director of corporate telecommunications. "We have evaluated MediaOne(r)'s Broadband technology and it meets our requirements for performance and reliability. Using MediaOne(r) Express and Digital's AltaVista Tunnel 97 software, our telecommuters can access their network resources safely and securely." Digital expects to receive significant productivity benefits from Broadband telecommuting, and employees also will have more flexibility to balance the demands of work and family. A large-scale adoption of telecommuting in a metropolitan area ultimately could reduce auto emissions, improve air quality and reduce the company's real estate costs. Digital employees involved in the trial worked from home and connected to the Digital corporate network via MediaOne(r)'s powerful Broadband infrastructure comprised of state-of-the-art optical fiber and coaxial cable technology. To enable access to Digital's corporate network during the trial, MediaOne(r) installed a cable modem and Digital's AltaVista Tunnel 97 software at each trial user's home. Once the service is rolled out, Digital employees who use it will receive the same equipment and software. The cable modem delivers 1.5 mb/s of downstream bandwidth and 300 kb/s of upstream bandwidth. "We're delighted to offer a joint MediaOne(r)/AltaVista Tunnel 97 solution to Digital employees," said Ed Holleran, MediaOne(r) vice president and director of Broadband Data Services. "This application is an example of the power of Broadband and its impact on how we live and work. Digital will be the first enterprise to roll out a large-scale implementation of our Broadband commuting product, and we will be looking to market this technology to businesses in our service area." AltaVista Tunnel 97 enables the creation of a virtual private network over the public Internet, allowing end-users to safely and securely access corporate resources. AltaVista Tunnel 97 is firewall-independent, allowing it to work with virtually any firewall to provide total flexibility and dynamic creation of VPNs among partners and remote offices. With AltaVista Tunnel 97, companies can securely use the Internet to significantly reduce expenditures on remote access hardware, software and phone charges. An IDC/InfoWorld survey found that 40 percent of the connections to a remote access server are for Internet access. With MediaOne(r) Express, this traffic is moved off the corporation's remote access server to MediaOne's(r) high- speed Broadband network. "The raw speed of the access into the Digital network rivals the access of being in the office. The other great thing about this service is that it is on all the time-no dial-up wait," said Daya Puls, electronic commerce consultant for Digital. MediaOne(r) Express is currently available in metro Boston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Detroit; Chicago; Atlanta; and southeast and southwest Florida. MediaOne(r) expects to extend the service to Los Angeles by the end of the year. Digital Equipment Corporation, recognized for product and service excellence, is a leading supplier of high- performance, Web-based computing solutions which help enterprises compete in the global marketplace. Digital gives its customers a winning Internet advantage through a comprehensive portfolio of Internet solutions based on award-winning systems, advanced networking infrastructure, innovative software, and industry applications - including those from its business partners. The expertise and experience of Digital employees help customers plan, design, implement, manage and support Internet solutions in countries throughout the world. For the latest company information, visit Digital on the World Wide Web at http://www.digital.com MediaOne(r), a unit of U S WEST Media Group (NYSE:UMG), is the nation's leading Broadband services company, providing more than 5 million subscribers in 19 states with entertainment, information, and communications services. U S WEST Media Group is involved in domestic and international cable and telephony, wireless communications, and directory and information services. For 1996, Media Group reported proportionate pro forma revenues of $8.1 billion. Media Group is one of two major groups that make up U S WEST, a company in the connections business, helping customers share information, entertainment and communications services in local markets worldwide. U S WEST's other major group, U S WEST Communications, provides telecommunications services in 14 states.
For more information, contact: Dave Wood, Corporate Communications Manager 617/854-3174 dwood@mediaone.com
Tom Green
Chuck Malkiel, Public Relations Manager
  
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