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Sandvine Identifies Surge in Xbox Live Bandwidth Following Halo 3 Release(Market Wire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) WATERLOO, ONTARIO, October 4 / MARKET WIRE/ -- Sandvine, (TSX: SVC)(AIM: SAND) a leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions for DSL, FTTH, cable, and wireless carriers, announced that its Network Demographics solution identified a surge in Xbox Live online gaming traffic following the release of Microsoft's Halo 3 last week. Early identification of Halo 3 traffic has enabled Sandvine customers to plan for any increases in bandwidth usage and ensure the optimal online experience for their subscribers. Sandvine Network Demographics tracked the effect of Halo 3 on Xbox Live traffic across a sampling of North American and European-based broadband service providers' networks. The new game was released on September 25th, and over the following week, Sandvine observed a 100% to 200% increase in peak bandwidth of Xbox Live traffic, compared to the period prior to the release. The number of hosts (gamers) remained unchanged from before Halo 3's release, implying that existing Xbox Live gamers most likely accounted for the additional bandwidth consumption, as opposed to new gamers. (See Gears of War comparison: www.sandvine.com/news/pr_detail.asp?ID=111.) Sandvine also tracked Xbox Live's time-of-day trend and observed that the gaming peak occurs several hours later than the business hours peak (9am-5pm) for most application traffic. Gaming traffic builds up in the early to mid-afternoon on weekdays and peaks just before midnight, so the Xbox live traffic is most active between 6pm and 1am. "Broadband providers that have visibility into the network have been able to plan and allocate resources for the increase in Xbox Live traffic as a result of the recent release of Halo3, and avoid any quality of gaming issues," said Dave Caputo, Sandvine's president and CEO. "Using Sandvine's Network Demographics solution to identify gaming traffic enables broadband providers to make policy decisions that ensure customer satisfaction when users are playing their favorite online games like Halo 3." "Multimedia applications such as Internet video and online gaming are forecasted to be among the fastest growing applications. Surges tied to popular online events are expected to create acute pressure on networks for short periods of time, and enhance the importance of better network management," said Matt Davis, IDC's director, consumer multiplay services. "IDC research quantifies our expectations for consumer-generated Internet traffic to triple over the next four years." Sandvine Network Demographics is a part of Sandvine's Intelligent Broadband Network Solutions suite that enables service providers to identify applications on a per-subscriber basis, providing the insight and the tools required to roll out new application-specific service levels that maximize ROI on infrastructure investments, reduce customer churn, increase the service provider's revenue per customer, and enhance subscribers' quality of experience. For the latest Xbox Live trend graphs, visit (Xbox Live Halo 3 Effect: www.sandvine.com/general/getfile.asp?FILEID=104.) Microsoft and Xbox are registered trademarks of Microsoft. ABOUT SANDVINE Sandvine's award-winning network equipment helps DSL, FTTH, cable, and wireless carriers characterize what is really happening on their networks, enabling polices that improve customer satisfaction, reduce operational costs and increase profitability. Sandvine's DPI-based policy solutions are both application and subscriber-aware, empowering service providers to better manage network traffic congestion, mitigate the proliferation of malicious traffic, and deliver QoS-prioritized multimedia services. With more than 90 customers in over 40 countries, Sandvine is enhancing the Internet experience for millions of broadband users worldwide. www.sandvine.com. Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws and are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of such laws. Statements related to potential benefits of, and demand for, Sandvine's products including statements with respect to the features and benefits that may be achieved through the use of Sandvine's products and the relative position of these products vis-a-vis competitive offerings in the industry are forward-looking statements which are subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include such factors as rapid technological changes, changes in customer architecture and equipment deployment requirements, the introduction of competing technologies, the risks and uncertainties of new product introductions, dependence on key supplies and other similar factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Sandvine to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Sandvine assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contacts: MEDIA CONTACT Sandvine Tanieu Tan (519) 880-2232 Email: [email protected] INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT Sandvine Rick Wadsworth (519) 880-2400 ext. 3503 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sandvine.com AIM NOMAD Canaccord Adams Limited Chris Bowman/Andrew Chubb +44 207 050 6500 Copyright 2007 Market Wire, Incorporated |