🚀 go-pugleaf

Thought this might be of general interest .. got it from someone who is 
taking the service ...

SAINT JOHN, NB -- Forty-three hundred households in the nearby 
     Kennebecasis Valley are poised to leap into a
     new era of choice, convenience and control.
     Starting today, Valley residents are being offered
     "Vibe", the first-ever commercial service to
     provide two-way, high-speed video, audio -- and
     more -- using a home computer.

     VibeTM service is the first of its kind to be
     launched on NBTel's interactive, multimedia,
     broadband VideoActive network.

     "Today's launch of Vibe service marks a milestone
     in the evolution of telecommunications," said NBTel
     president and CEO Gerry Pond. "We are delighted
     such a milestone is being achieved in New Brunswick
     first."

     The Vibe service enables customers to send and
     receive multimedia content at speeds up to 150
     times faster than those normally available through
     a 28.8 modem. When combined with Internet service,
     Vibe service offers the fastest Internet access on
     the market and, unlike standard modem access, it
     doesn't tie up customers' telephone lines.

     "So, whether customers want to keep abreast of the
     news, play games, manage their phone services or
     surf the Net, Vibe service allows them to do it
     better, " said Mr. Pond. "And, that's our main
     objective -- to help our customers do everyday
     things better."

     Specific content currently available to Vibe
     service customers includes Happy Puppy games, the
     Telegraph Journal and NBTel's Phone Store. Happy
     Puppy, the number-one games site on the Internet
     today, offers a vast array of interactive games;
     the Telegraph Journal, New Brunswick's provincial
     daily newspaper, provides on-line news; and the
     Phone Store is a multimedia version of NBTel
     Express, providing on-line access to telephone
     products and services.

     NBTel is working with other content providers
     anxious to take advantage of the Vibe service
     capabilities that enable consumers to do more
     everyday things from the convenience of their own
     homes in an easy-to-use multimedia environment --
     everything from banking and shopping to accessing
     government services, weather information, education
     and enhanced telephone services like video
     conferencing. BKM, a Moncton-based training firm,
     will soon begin to offer interactive education and
     training programs.

     The commercial launch of Vibe service follows a
     three-month trial of the service to 28 homes in the
     Kennebecasis Valley. Trial participant Dan Soulis
     of Gondola Point experienced first-hand the speed
     and convenience of the Vibe service, downloading
     games for his son in a fraction of the time it
     takes using a 28.8 modem. "It's just great from a
     speed point of view. The computer isn't tied up for
     an hour and a half just waiting (to download)," he
     said. "You get a lot more done in a lot less time,
     which is convenient for everyone. It's a fantastic
     system."

     The VideoActive network and Vibe service are
     helping New Brunswick take the lead in the emerging
     multimedia industry. NBTel's ground-breaking
     infrastructure offers advantages that exist nowhere
     else in the world -- advantages that appeal to
     major corporations.

     "The capabilities we are providing here in New
     Brunswick create a real-life, everyday testing
     ground where companies can develop and perfect
     their latest network applications," said Mr. Pond.
     "This Living Lab environment makes New Brunswick an
     important learning destination for both
     international and local application developers."

     This unique development opportunity was an
     important advantage for Nortel (Northern Telecom),
     NBTel's prime technical partner in the development
     of its new interactive, multimedia, broadband
     network.

     "NBTel's Living Lab has enabled us to commercially
     deploy the world's first end-to-end ATM network,
     delivering interactive personal computer services
     and the power of the Internet right to the home,"
     said Ian Craig, president, Nortel Broadband
     Networks. "And in the process, we learned
     first-hand the technology requirements of the
     network operator, the service provider and the end
     user in the uncharted world of multimedia service
     delivery."

     As the systems integrator for NBTel's VideoActive
     network, Nortel built on NBTel's province-wide
     digital and fibre-optics capabilities, developing
     most of the new broadband technology, including the
     ATM switching and SONET transmission backbone
     networks and its new Interactive Coax Access
     System, which provides the functionality of a "20
     Mbps neighborhood LAN".

     "Vibe is one more electronic door to help our
     customers access meaningful services," said Mr.
     Pond. "Whether it's a touch-tone phone, a
     screen-based phone, a PC or -- in the
     not-too-distant future -- the TV, we're offering
     consumers more ways to do everyday things better.
     We're giving them the choice and that choice saves
     them time and gives them more control."

     These benefits extend to business as well. New
     Brunswick companies can take advantage of the
     leading-edge telecommunications services being
     developed right in their own province to improve
     their service quality and competitive position both
     here at home and around the world.

     NBTel is an acknowledged world leader in
     telecommunications. It invests in people and
     technology. NBTel's expertise is in developing and
     delivering local and long-distance telephone
     services, wireless services, advanced network
     services and interactive multimedia applications
     that provide a competitive advantage to business
     customers and enrich the everyday lives of
     consumers.