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Does anyone know what happened to John Tunney? What has he been doing since leaving the Senate? Thanks!

AT&T TRIDOM SIGNS RUSSIAN DEALS M2 PRESSWIRE December 16, 1995

LENGTH: 667 words HEADLINE: AT&T TRIDOM SIGNS RUSSIAN DEALS

BODY: AT&T Tridom today announced a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract with the Russian Savings Bank and a related cooperative agreement with the Special Research Bureau of the Moscow Institute of Power Engineering (OKB NEI), the network integrator for the bank.

The Russian Savings Bank contract calls for AT&T Tridom to provide a VSAT system for a data communications network connecting the bank's regional offices and branches to its data centre in Moscow.

Installation of the network is scheduled to begin in February 1995, with plans to have 79 branch offices connected by the end of the year. Eventually, the network may include more than 1200 Savings Bank branches located across Russia.

Under this new agreement, OKB MEI will supply the antennas and satellite tracking equipment, and work with AT&T Tridom to adapt the VSAT system to operate with Russia's Gorizont satellites.

A separate agreement with the Savings Bank calls for OKB MEI to manage the VSAT hub and network, as well as install and maintain the remote VSAT stations.

The central hub station and network control centre will be located at OKB MEI's satellite communication facility in Bears' Lake outside Moscow. Dedicated digital lines will provide two-way data communications between Bears' Lake and the Savings Bank's main computer centre in Moscow. At each of the bank's remote branch sites, a small, satellite antenna connected to computer equipment will transmit and receive messages via the Bears' Lake hub facility to the Moscow data centre.

"Our purchase of the AT&T Tridom hardware and software system is a further demonstration of our commitment to the introduction of information technology," said Y.A. Bobyliev, vice president, Russian Savings Bank. "The creation of a new communication system will enable us to provide a significant range of new banking services to our customers."

"Reliable data communications are especially critical in a rapidly growing economy like Russia's," said Eileen McNamara-Raisch, president and CEO, AT&T Tridom. "VSAT systems are the ideal solution in these cases because they can be installed more quickly and operated more economically than terrestrial-based systems."

Konstantin Pobedonostsev, director of OKB MEI, added, "The VSAT technology from AT&T Tridom will complement our wide range of satellite and wireless communications products and services. We are pleased to have negotiated significant technological cooperation that will integrate local Russian-manufactured components into the AT&T Tridom system. This will allow us to reduce the overall cost of the system and to utilize the professional skills of our own engineers and technicians."

AT&T Tridom will train both OKB MEI and Russian Savings Bank personnel assigned to the project. This training will take place in Russia and the United States.

In addition, OKB MEI and AT&T Tridom plan to cooperate on test and repair procedures.

Market research into Russia and other Former Soviet countries by the British company Amadeus Research helped facilitate the agreements between the Russian Savings Bank, AT&T Tridom and OKB MEI. Consultative support provided by another British company, Symmetric Quorum Ltd., also contributed to concluding the contracts.

The Russian Savings Bank is the largest retail bank in Russia with more than 30,000 branches across the country.

OKB MEI is a Russian organization with more than 45 years of experience in the development of radio-electronic systems for aerospace, aviation, and communications technology.

AT&T Tridom, headquartered here, is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. The company develops and markets multi-functional, satellite- based communications products and network services that use VSAT technology to address the diverse, global communications needs of organizations worldwide.

CONTACT: John Tunney, AT&T Tridom
Tel: +44 1 201 467 5858
Sandy Skinner, AT&T Tridom
Tel: +44 171 229 8023

SBD