Goodmorning Investors RAQ is out!
www.newvisual.com/questions
January 6, 2003
Wow! Big numbers that you announced. I was wondering if the telephone co's could use Embarq™ for VDSL and other services?
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A complete description of the various types of DSL, generically referred to as xDSL, is beyond the scope of this RAQ. Some xDSL services, like ADSL and VDSL, are asymmetrical in nature, such that the data speed downstream (DS) from the central office to the subscriber is much larger than the data speed going upstream (US) from the subscriber to the central office. Other xDSL services, like HDSL, HDSL2, and SDSL, are symmetric in nature, where the data speed is equal both ways.
We feel that Embarq is well-suited for its intended application - the transmission of symmetrical data across telephone wires.
We also continue to believe that the performance of the Embarq processor in these applications represents a significant improvement over typical speeds and distances for xDSL transmissions, as the following chart illustrates:
[unable to insert Chart],see NVC website
12/30/02
Today's PR is well timed and versed. A job well done. Two questions I have are, "Is 24 gauge wire, standard?" I thought your website or had been talked about by personnel, that the standard was 26. How does this affect the distance and speeds mentioned?
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Telephone company (telco) outside plant copper cable has been deployed, and continues to be deployed, in a wide variety of gauges. AWG is an abbreviation for "American Wire Gauge" and is the standard for wire conductor sizes. The "gauge" refers to the diameter. Telephone cables are usually 19, 22, 24 or 26 AWG, with the higher numbers referring to the thinner wires. The four US Bell companies commonly deploy 26 AWG cable, while independent telcos often favor thicker, 24 AWG cable. Internationally, every country has its own deployment guidelines.
Telco outside plant engineers are schooled in dealing with outside plant cables. The AWG numbering system is standardized, and by knowing a couple of speed and distance parameters, they can easily calculate approximate speed and distance values for other AWG gauges. They are accustomed to receiving performance parameters from vendors such as New Visual and converting them to the actual AWG wires that are present in their outside plant. For this reason, we do not plan to publicly publish the many tables that give the conversion factors, though we will make them available to our customers.
As a side note, our competitors do not typically publicly specify which AWG they use in making claims for speeds and distances. This makes comparison difficult for the average investor. Unlike our competitors, we chose to specify the AWG used as a method of comparing our technology under equivalent circumstances against other performance claims. The specification for testing VDSL, for example, includes the use of 24-gauge wire.
12/30/02
For the laypeople out there, could you explain the BER rate of the Embarq Technology in relation to the "industry standard"? Is it better than what is out there?
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Whether they design communications equipment, develop tests for production, install network subsystems, or maintain networks, telco engineers need to make bit-error-rate (BER) measurements. BER measurements give them insight into the health of an entire network; a network subsystem such as a switch, router, multiplexer, or hub; or a network component such as an electrical or optical transmitter or receiver. The measurements also provide benchmarks that network users require from communications service providers as part of quality-of-service agreements.
BER measurements tell how many bit errors occurred for a given number of bits that passed through a network, subsystem, or component. One error in 1000 is referred to as BER 10-3. One error in a million is BER 10-6. For strictly voice circuit application to T1, a BER of 10-6 or 10-7 might be considered acceptable performance, although a BER of 10-8 or 10-9 might be required for some data purposes.
New Visual chose to release its performance data with a reference of 10-9, though we could have chosen a higher or a lower BER number. At a higher BER, our speeds would be lower, and at a lower BER, our speeds would be higher. A BER of 10-9 is an acceptable BER for our product in its intended use. As a side note, our competitors do not typically publicly specify which BER they use in making claims for speeds and distances. This makes comparison impossible for the average investor. Telco engineers are privy to privately available data and can therefore make informed competitive comparisons. We are being told by them that we have the best performance in the industry.
12/30/02
"I sure hope that we (NV) will be able to extend the distance out to 10,000 feet at say 2meg. I realize that the pr is directed at the business sector as you said it would be all along."
"I was hoping that you could do 52 Mbps at 9 kft?"
"What is the data rate for 15,000 feet? Expected BER at this distance?"
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We have received several questions from interested investors like the above inquiries. The speed and distance numbers that we have released are all that we plan to release publicly at this time. These speeds and distances represent significant advances over other published claims. Additional information, such as expected performance on a variety of loop lengths for different service applications, is being provided to our target customers.
Strategically, New Visual has positioned its technology to target specific markets and applications that current technology cannot address. The Carrier Serving Area guidelines specify a geographic radius that reaches a majority of customers within an addressable service market. Typically, these ranges are served directly by a central office or a remote terminal and can be 6, 9,or 12 kilofeet depending upon things like the number of subscribers in the region, the network topology, customer demographics and demand for various types of services. Current high-speed wire line technology is fairly well suited for delivering speeds in the 1-2 Mbps to 100-200 Kbps range out distances greater than the Carrier Serving Area. While this type of performance may be satisfactory for delivering current residential services to remote areas, service providers have no meaningful option to deliver high-speed symmetrical services in the CSA range without bearing the expense of deploying fiber optic technology. Yet demand for these services continues to grow. This is our target market for the first-generation Embarq processor.
One planned element of the Embarq™ family of transport processors is the repeater. A repeater regenerates a data signal and gives it an additional several kilofeet. We envision the use of repeaters for copper lines that are outside the Carrier Serving Area guidelines of 9 kft on 26 AWG copper and 12 kft on 24 AWG copper, though these repeaters may not be necessary if the Telco is using Embarq™ for low bit rate data services.
12/30/03
What kind of reaction has the company gotten from the PR that announced the release of the Prototype? Have there been inquires from the media? New investors? Potential customers?
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Management at New Visual has received scores of email messages and dozens of telephone calls from existing investors. These communications have been largely positive and congratulatory, and have typically included requests for additional clarification about Embarq™. Some are answered in this volume of Recently Asked Questions.
Several media companies have also contacted us, and we have responded to their requests for interviews. We plan to include links to their items on our website in the future.
Potential customers and new investors have also contacted us, and we are now in the process of responding to their inquiries. In all, we are pleased at the response from the Embarq™ announcement.
1/1/03
Now that we have delivered our Embarq prototype to the companies evaluating it can you tell us when the results of their tests will be released? Who will make this announcement; them or us?
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As target customers receive and evaluate our prototype, we will work to further refine the technology so that our high-volume ASIC meets the customers' needs for speed and quality, and ours for profitability. This process takes as few as four months and as many as eight months time. During this period, we are discussing the technology, the business relationship, demand forecasts, the needs of the telcos and the end users, and commercial terms like pricing and guarantees for our first series of products.
It is not customary in the telecommunications industry to publicly announce which telcos or equipment manufacturers are customers. For example, GlobespanVirata releases no information about its customers, other than those disclosures required by the SEC, namely information concerning customers that contribute more than 10% of GlobespanVirata's revenues. Though we would certainly like to answer questions concerning our potential customers, we would typically be barred from doing so by the terms of Non-Disclosure Agreements, unless mutually agreed to by both parties. It is likely that investors will need to rely upon the Company's public filings and statements to the press as to our progress in developing and delivering Embarq™ until material commercial transactions occur. We are, of course, required to disclose our material contracts in our periodic reports filed with the SEC.
