HRS Harris Corp.

Harris Provides New High-Capacity Radio System to St. Olaf College Constellation(R) Features Industry's First 4xds3 Interface REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harris Corporation has provided its newest and highest capacity Constellation(R) digital microwave radio system to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, providing a key link in the college's extensive and innovative telecommunications network. The new Harris equipment, which features the first 4xDS3 interface available in the industry, provides a reliable, high-capacity connection between St. Olaf and the Minneapolis metro free calling area, allowing St. Olaf to save thousands of dollars in access and long distance charges. St. Olaf's telecommunications system, designed and managed by Craig D. Dunton, director of telecommunications, provides management of voice, data, video and transport services to four institutions-St. Olaf College, Carleton College, Shattuck-St. Mary's School, and the Northfield Hospital-in effect, combining the telecommunication departments of four non-affiliated businesses. "We've combined technical resources to benefit all four institutions," said Dunton. "We've also applied to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to become a CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier), which when granted, will allow us to extend the telecommunications services we provide to other colleges as well as the entire Northfield community." St. Olaf's ability to provide its customers cost savings as a CLEC depends in large part on the quality of the microwave connection between St. Olaf and the Minneapolis switch. Harris has been working with St. Olaf since 1996 when it provided the college with a single DS3 microwave connection. The new Harris Constellation 4xDS3 system replaces the single DS3 system that had been capacity-constrained due in part to the increasing demand for bandwidth for Internet users at the college. "We are a proponent of microwave technology and we have been very pleased with the reliability of Harris equipment and the commitment of Harris people," said Dunton. "The single DS3 system had less down time in seven years than the LEC fiber connection, and the training and technical engineering services Harris provided have been excellent. The Constellation 4xDS3 interface provides us the additional capacity we need without having to license more bandwidth or provide more space in our telecom switchroom." The new high-capacity Constellation radios provide St. Olaf with 4 DS-3s, or the equivalent of 2,688 voice channels. Constellation was first introduced in 1999 and Constellation 155 in mid-2002. Today, the new 4xDS3 interface is available along with the already available 8/16/28 DSI, 1xDS3, 3xDS3, or 2xDS3 + 28 DS1 interfaces. Constellation's powerful features include an integrated add/drop multiplexer, which provides DS1 access from a selected DS3 with no need for an external M13 multiplexer. Constellation's single platform supports 8/16/28DS1, 1xDS3, OC-3, 3xDS-3, or 2xDS3 + 28xDS1 capabilities with an upgrade path from low/medium to high capacity. "We are pleased to be working with St. Olaf College in expanding its telecommunications network," said Jayne Leighton, Harris vice president of sales for North America. "St. Olaf's network is a model of innovation, demonstrating the ability of microwave to provide cost savings and reliability to service providers in many situations." In addition to the industry's most flexible capacity options, Constellation also provides quick protection switching compatible with SONET, errorless receive switching, and reverse channel switching to protect from silent upstream failures. Remote software downloads and remote module inventory can be performed with the convenient craft-person interface via the user's laptop or optional keypad. Constellation operates in the 6, 7/8, and 10/11 GHz frequency bands and is one of the industry's most powerful and flexible digital microwave radio systems. For more information on the Constellation, please visit http://www.microwave.harris.com/products/constellation/. About Harris Harris Microwave Communications Division, one of five divisions within Harris Corporation, is the largest supplier of microwave systems in North America and a leading supplier worldwide. The division delivers wireless solutions to service providers of all types, including public network operators; fixed wireless operators; transportation; state, local and federal agencies; and power utilities. Its product line, the broadest in the industry, spans 2 to 38 GHz and includes both microwave and millimeter wave systems for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint architectures. Harris Corporation, which also provides government communications, tactical radio, broadcast, and network support systems and products, serves customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, please visit: http://www.microwave.harris.com/ DATASOURCE: Harris Corporation CONTACT: Michelle Maeder of Harris Microwave Communications Division, +1-530-945-2581, or Web site: http://www.microwave.harris.com/

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