Radio Free Virgin Teams with Akamai for Digital Radio Delivery
Pioneers of a cutting-edge platform for digital radio, Radio Free Virgin offers an innovative software application that turns a user's computer into an advanced digital radio tuner. Offering state-of-the-art streaming audio, Radio Free Virgin can now provide higher performance delivery of its audio streams through Akamai's FreeFlow Streaming service that distributes broadcast content to more than 4,200 servers deployed at the edges of the Internet located close to end users. This distributed approach ensures Radio Free Virgin significant reliability and scalability to reach any audience size while providing its end users highly interactive, engaging streaming media experiences.
"Attracting bellwether customers like Radio Free Virgin further establishes Akamai as the leading streaming provider for the entertainment industry," said Paul Campbell, vice president, media and entertainment services, Akamai. "Akamai is excited that Radio Free Virgin recognizes the strengths of our technology, and we're eager to put our services to work to help them fulfill the promise of digital radio."
"We formed a strategic relationship with Akamai for two fundamental reasons: its leadership position in the online music and radio industries and its revolutionary approach to streaming media delivery," said Zack Zalon, general manager of Radio Free Virgin. "With Akamai as our exclusive streaming provider, we can focus on creating the most compelling content for our customers while upholding the innovative experience they have come to expect from us."
Akamai's FreeFlow Streaming service is built upon the Company's EdgeAdvantageSM platform that uses sophisticated algorithms to monitor the Internet on a real-time basis, understand the location of the requesting user, and make intelligent decisions about the best and most efficient Akamai edge server from which to deliver content to the end user. The FreeFlow Streaming service incorporates Akamai's proprietary SteadyStreamSM technology that sends multiple copies of the same stream to the edges of the Internet and then recombines the streams into the original high-quality format.
About Radio Free Virgin
Radio Free Virgin is a proprietary software application that turns a user's computer into the world's best digital radio tuner. Offering state-of-the-art streaming audio, listeners have the opportunity to experience CD quality sound while working or surfing the Internet. Radio Free Virgin's innovative music channels are programmed by well-known artists, celebrities, musicologists and DJs from around the world. The Radio Free Virgin player can be downloaded free of charge from www.radiofreevirgin.com. Los Angeles-based Radio Free Virgin is a unit of Virgin Audio Holdings, LLC.
About Akamai
Akamai is the foremost provider of global, high performance services for the delivery of Internet content, streaming media and applications, serving over 2,100 customers. Akamai has the broadest deployment of servers for content, streaming media, and applications delivery with more than 4,200 servers in 50 countries directly connected to 225 different telecommunications networks. Akamai (pronounced AH kuh my) is Hawaiian for intelligent, clever and cool.
The release contains information about future expectations and plans of Akamai's management and prospects of Akamai's business that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, the dependence on Akamai's Internet content delivery service, a failure of its network infrastructure, market acceptance of its EdgeAdvantage service, the complexity of its service and the networks on which the service is deployed, the failure to obtain access to transmission capacity and other factors that are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.
| Contacts: |
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| Caryn Converse Akamai Technologies 617-250-4661 converse@akamai.com |
--or-- | Jennifer Gross Radio Free Virgin 323-658-8700 jenngross@aol.com |
Akamai tapped as exclusive streaming provider for Radio Free Virgin's
Cambridge, Mass. - September 6, 2000 - Akamai Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM) the foremost provider of global, high performance services for the delivery of Internet content, streaming media, and applications, today announced that Radio Free Virgin, the world's leading digital radio tuner and a unit of Virgin Audio Holdings, LLC, will utilize its FreeFlowSM Streaming service for high-quality delivery of Radio Free Virgin's innovative music channels to end users worldwide. A recognized leader in the Internet music industry, Radio Free Virgin has chosen Akamai for its leadership in providing streaming solutions for the online music and radio industries.Pioneers of a cutting-edge platform for digital radio, Radio Free Virgin offers an innovative software application that turns a user's computer into an advanced digital radio tuner. Offering state-of-the-art streaming audio, Radio Free Virgin can now provide higher performance delivery of its audio streams through Akamai's FreeFlow Streaming service that distributes broadcast content to more than 4,200 servers deployed at the edges of the Internet located close to end users. This distributed approach ensures Radio Free Virgin significant reliability and scalability to reach any audience size while providing its end users highly interactive, engaging streaming media experiences.
"Attracting bellwether customers like Radio Free Virgin further establishes Akamai as the leading streaming provider for the entertainment industry," said Paul Campbell, vice president, media and entertainment services, Akamai. "Akamai is excited that Radio Free Virgin recognizes the strengths of our technology, and we're eager to put our services to work to help them fulfill the promise of digital radio."
"We formed a strategic relationship with Akamai for two fundamental reasons: its leadership position in the online music and radio industries and its revolutionary approach to streaming media delivery," said Zack Zalon, general manager of Radio Free Virgin. "With Akamai as our exclusive streaming provider, we can focus on creating the most compelling content for our customers while upholding the innovative experience they have come to expect from us."
Akamai's FreeFlow Streaming service is built upon the Company's EdgeAdvantageSM platform that uses sophisticated algorithms to monitor the Internet on a real-time basis, understand the location of the requesting user, and make intelligent decisions about the best and most efficient Akamai edge server from which to deliver content to the end user. The FreeFlow Streaming service incorporates Akamai's proprietary SteadyStreamSM technology that sends multiple copies of the same stream to the edges of the Internet and then recombines the streams into the original high-quality format.
About Radio Free Virgin
Radio Free Virgin is a proprietary software application that turns a user's computer into the world's best digital radio tuner. Offering state-of-the-art streaming audio, listeners have the opportunity to experience CD quality sound while working or surfing the Internet. Radio Free Virgin's innovative music channels are programmed by well-known artists, celebrities, musicologists and DJs from around the world. The Radio Free Virgin player can be downloaded free of charge from www.radiofreevirgin.com. Los Angeles-based Radio Free Virgin is a unit of Virgin Audio Holdings, LLC.
About Akamai
Akamai is the foremost provider of global, high performance services for the delivery of Internet content, streaming media and applications, serving over 2,100 customers. Akamai has the broadest deployment of servers for content, streaming media, and applications delivery with more than 4,200 servers in 50 countries directly connected to 225 different telecommunications networks. Akamai (pronounced AH kuh my) is Hawaiian for intelligent, clever and cool.
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The release contains information about future expectations and plans of Akamai's management and prospects of Akamai's business that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, the dependence on Akamai's Internet content delivery service, a failure of its network infrastructure, market acceptance of its EdgeAdvantage service, the complexity of its service and the networks on which the service is deployed, the failure to obtain access to transmission capacity and other factors that are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.
