02/24/2004

Nationwide data network for German Rail

TeraGate and QSC operating a VPN for 300 locations

Cologne/Munich, February 24, 2004. TeraGate AG, of Munich, and Cologne-based QSC AG joined forces to connect300 locations of Deutsche Bahn AG (German Rail) through a high-speed virtual private network. Plans are presently under way to network a further 600 locations.

Deutsche Bahn´s IT infrastructure is presently in the process of being restructured. DB Systems, the company´s IT systems subsidiary that is responsible for this project, contracted with TeraGate AG to act as the prime contractor and IT service provider for the network project. The assignment was to implement and operate a virtual private network (VPN) on an S-DSL technology platform. Working together with QSC, a nationwide telecommunication provider with its own DSL infrastructure, TeraGate networked 300 locations with 2.3 Mbit connections and put them into operation - in the nine cities of Berlin, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Halle, Hamburg, Hanover, Karlsruhe, Leipzig and Munich. In this context, QSC links the railroad stations and other locations via S-DSL to form a city-wide network and connects these city networks nationwide via 155 Mbit fiber optical lines.

In awarding the contract, German Rail placed particular emphasis on having a homogeneous network that could be implemented swiftly. Moreover, the innovative value-added services that are planned by German Rail, such as electronic travel reservations and reservation confirmations, as well as its other business processes, necessitated especially high bandwidths and excellent availability of the data network. The crucial factors in selecting TeraGate/QSC were flexibility and speed as well as the excellent price-performance ratio. A five-year framework agreement has been signed.

TeraGate has been a qualified and accredited German Rail IT service provider to Deutsche Bahn for years. QSC has its own DSL infrastructure in place in all major German cities and implements high-quality corporate networks for its business customers. The partnership between TeraGate and QSC represents an outstanding foundation for a number of further challenging projects.
Munich-based TeraGate AG, which is held by EGORA Holding and Deutsche Bank Investor/TTM Investor GmbH, specializes in designing, implementing, operating and financing complete IT infrastructures in office buildings. This enables TeraGate to provide both the corporates as well as the small and medium enterprises in these buildings with the information technology needed to take full advantage of the market opportunities offered by globalization and e-business.

Cologne-based QSC AG (QSC) is a nationwide telecommunication provider with its own DSL network, supplying businesses and premium residential customers with a comprehensive portfolio of broadband communication options ranging from leased lines in various bandwidths to voice and data services right through to custom enterprise networks (VPN). QSC serves more than 40 of Germany´s largest cities with its own broadband network infrastructure and additionally offers its services to business customers nationwide through partners. The company presently employs a workforce of some 380 people and will be a member of the TecDAX 30, representing Germany´s 30 leading public technology companies

Further information is available from:
QSC AG
Claudia Zimmermann
Corporate Spokeswoman
Mathias-Brüggen-Str. 55
D - 50829 Cologne
Fon: +49 221/6698-235
Fax: +49 221/6698-289
E-Mail: presse@qsc.de

TeraGate AG
Michaela Vogt
Corporate Spokeswoman
Albrechstr. 14
D - 80636 Munich
Fon: +49 89/127101-23
Fax: +49 89/127101-99
E-Mail: michaela.vogt@teragate.de