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News & Press Release Archive NETWORKS ON-LINE BECOMES ONE OF THE FIRST ISPs TO ROLL OUT INTEGRATED DESKTOP CONFERENCING SERVICES TO CORPORATE AND EDUCATION CUSTOMERS White Pine’s CU-SeeMe, MeetingPoint, and ClassPoint Products Enable New Value-Added Service Offerings by ISPs NASHUA, New Hampshire – July 1, 1998 – White Pine Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: WPNE), a leading provider of group conferencing software solutions for the Internet and intranets, and Networks On-Line (NOL), a subsidiary of Comtech Consolidation Group, Inc. (OTBB: CCGI), today unveiled an integrated desktop videoconferencing service offering available to NOL’s customer base. NOL, which provides turnkey solutions for clients with telecommunications and networking needs, is integrating White Pine technology into its product and service offerings in response to the growing demand for conferencing and collaboration solutions within the business, education, and healthcare markets that they serve. "As the needs of business grow and change rapidly, it’s our responsibility as an enhanced ISP to offer new value-added services which respond to day-to-day customer demands," said Don Brown, executive vice president for CCGI. "White Pine’s technology enables us to provide solutions for interactive conferencing and collaboration in a variety of scenarios – whether it be virtual meetings or distance learning – that improve the way our customers communicate and extend the use of their network resources." NOL becomes one of the first ISPs to offer hosted conferencing services. Essentially, customers lease IP-based virtual conference rooms for internal or external business meetings, or they can lease virtual classrooms to conduct corporate training or distance learning courses. NOL administers the multipoint conference server on their network and manages logistics such as conference and class setup, user registration, etc. This simplifies the user experience and makes it possible for businesses and schools to take advantage of conferencing services without the cost or resources necessary to implement servers on their own network. To participate in hosted meetings, customers use White Pine’s award-winning CU-SeeMe software or another H.323 client such as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Proshare or Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) NetMeeting. NOL provides integration services to outfit its customers with an appropriate client solution. They also resell White Pine’s MeetingPoint and ClassPoint products to sites which want to host conference servers on their own networks. "Funding provided by the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) – a grant provided by the State of Texas – has enabled our school district to begin exploring technology solutions for distance learning (DL). Our challenge has been to find a cost-effective solution that will meet or exceed our needs," said Patrick Jackson, director of career and technology education for North Forest School District, Houston, Texas. "NOL’s capabilities and their collaborative experience in working with other education organizations made it easy for us to find an affordable solution that fits our schools. Our review of White Pine’s ClassPoint prompted us to move forward with a pilot program because of the rich features and cost-effective way the service can be delivered. Because NOL is a full service ISP and systems integrator, they are positioned to provide the product, but more importantly the expertise to deliver a complete turnkey conference solution to our school district."NOL becomes the first of White Pine’s ISP partners that were announced Q4’97 to launch a full-scale implementation of hosted conference services. Other ISP and content partners, including CompuServe, Time Warner and UUNet, are currently in pilot stages for evaluating similar types of services. NOL’s hosted conference pricing is based on an hourly per seat basis, or an unlimited monthly fee. "Conferencing is a natural extension to the ISP business model for providing value-added services. As applications such as business conferencing and distance learning become more prevalent, ISPs have a growing opportunity to serve their customers," said Brian Lichorowic, vice president of marketing for White Pine. "By integrating White Pine’s products into their solution set, NOL becomes a one-stop-shop for identifying business critical application needs and hosting and deploying desktop videoconferencing services that solve for them." About White Pine Software White Pine develops, markets and supports multi-platform browser-based internetworking software that facilitates worldwide video and audio communication and data collaboration across the Internet, intranets, extranets and other networks that use the Internet Protocol. White Pine’s videoconferencing software products, CU-SeeMe and MeetingPoint, create a client-server solution that allows users to participate in real-time, multi-point video, audio and data conferences over the Internet and intranets. White Pine Software can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.wpine.com About Networks On-Line Networks On-Line, Inc. is a full-service systems integration company created to help clients manage their networking, communications, and informational needs. NOL is an Enhanced Internet Service Provider (EISP) as well as reseller and integrator, uniquely positioned to provide comprehensive network solutions customized for individual client needs and to solve diversified integration problems. Networks On-Line can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.nol.net All trademarks are recognized.
Networks On-Line touts new 'Net video service By Denise Pappalardo Network World Fusion, 7/13/98 Houston - Networks On-Line is introducing a new videoconferencing over the 'Net service that offers users a low-cost alternative to expensive do-it-yourself videoconferencing systems.
The ISP, which is a subsidiary of Comtech Consolidation Group, Inc., is using White Pine Software, Inc.'s MeetingPoint videoconferencing servers at two of its point of presence (POP) locations. When Vmeeting users order the service, Networks On-Line sets up a virtual videoconference room for that customer on the MeetingPoint server. Because Vmeeting users dial in to a MeetingPoint server using a standard 28.8K or 56K bit/sec modem, the need to deploy a server at each user's site with a dedicated connection is eliminated. Vmeeting users are required to deploy an H.323 International Telecommunication Union-compliant videoconference software client, such as WhitePine's CU-SeeMe, Microsoft Corp.'s NetMeeting or Intel Corp.'s Proshare, on their PC in order to support the service. One analyst questioned the quality of videoconferencing when using an analog dial-up modem. "When using a modem to connect to a videoconference, the best performance would be 30 frames per second. Most of the time you're lucky to get even 15 frames per second [from an analog modem], which is very choppy quality," said Greg Howard, senior analyst at Infonetics Research, a San Jose, Calif.-based consulting firm. Vmeeting is available now for $5 to $10 per hour depending on the number of participants. For $1,000 to $2,000 per month, users are offered a videoconference room 24-7. Networks On-Line: (713) 467-7100
Conferencing eases onto InternetCheaper software, better technology give small ISPs a new tool VINCE VITTORE In their continuing search for ways to differentiate themselves from larger competitors, smaller Internet service providers are getting a weapon that doesn't require big capital expenses to launch. Over the last few months, audio and videoconferencing capabilities have improved to the point that most users are within the reach of even the most cash-strapped ISPs. "In the last six months, the technology finished cooking," said Brian Lichorowic, vice president of marketing for White Pine Software. "[The industry has] basically had enough time to get a stable enough technology to get the video experience out there." White Pine was one of the first vendors to hit the market several years ago with its CU-SeeMe client software and MeetingPoint hosting solution, both of which allow videoconferencing over the Internet. More recently, the company announced that Networks On-Line, a subsidiary of Comtech Consolidation Group, would use MeetingPoint to deploy desktop videoconferencing services. White Pine also counts CompuServe, Time Warner and UUNet among its client base, although all still are testing the software. NOL will use White Pine's software in several different applications, depending on the client's needs, said Rick Behlman, president of NOL. In one of the first deployments, the company is using ClassPoint to link top-level teachers in one school with students in 22 different locations. Unlike distance learning applications, though, NOL is looking more at tutoring situations. "That application is all really one-to-one, and they don't need the big room-based systems," said Behlman. In fact, NOL is getting into the videoconferencing market as a way to differentiate itself from the big ISPs and, just as important, as a way to expand its market beyond Net heads. "Most of the people we have that are interested in the product aren't Internet people. They have a mission to accomplish like teachers. They just want to click a mouse and go," Behlman said. For its dial-up customers, the company will offer two levels of service:
Customized meeting rooms such as those done for educational users run about $350 per seat for installation and administration, said Behlman. To participate in meetings, customers can use any H.323 client such as CU-SeeMe, Intel Proshare or Microsoft NetMeeting. NOL will provide administration and support. In addition, the company will resell White Pine's MeetingPoint and ClassPoint products to Internet site administrators that want to host conference servers on their own networks. "We view this as a great add-on to our network business," said Behlman. "And we've also been looking for ways to differentiate ourselves." OnLive Inc. is offering similar services, though without the video elements. Under the Sunnyvale, Calif., company's model, business users participate in audio conferences and share documents over Internet protocol-based networks including the Internet. Using two servers--one for text conferencing and the other audio--the company envisions on-line conferences in which large groups of people can break off into separate meetings and reconvene at specific times. "The advantage with us vs. a regular audio conference is
that you can hear two audio streams and it's much more natural," said Bryan Kerr,
vice president of marketing and sales for OnLive. www.internettelephony.com e-Meet and Greet
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Networks On-Line, Inc., a regional ISP located
in Houston, earlier this month announced Vmeeting, a new service that lets users set up
videoconferencing sessions over the Internet without deploying expensive hardware,
software or dedicated high-bandwidth Internet access connections at each site.