Canon's Canobeam Wins the Data Race for International Speedway Corporation; Free-Space Optics Goes the Distance for Fast, Reliable Networking

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--Feb. 2, 20055, 2005--International Speedway Corporation (ISC) knows what being fast is all about. As one of the nation's leading motor sports promoters, ISC is involved in more than 100 stock car, sports car, truck, motorcycle, and other racing events annually. It also owns 12 motor sports facilities, as well as Florida's DAYTONA USA, the official attraction of the sanctioning body known as NASCAR.

Crucial to the ISC's promotion of the world's fastest vehicles is fast data access at the many race tracks it operates at throughout the year. While the need for connectivity at those tracks can include everything from the sanctioning body's weather-monitoring requirements, to high-speed Internet access for journalists, to the ISC's own internal computer network, installing fiber at every track would be cost-prohibitive.

So how does ISC solve its fast data-access needs at major motor sport venues? With Free Space Optics using Canon's Canobeam optical transceiver systems.

"A lot our sites are quite large," explains ISC Senior Communications Manager Bob Shafto. "Daytona, for example, is a two-and-a-half mile oval. The cost of tearing up the ground, installing fiber optics from point A to point B, and then maintaining that infrastructure would be quite cumbersome and costly. But with Free Space Optics we're able to shoot the beam across the entire track from one side to the other at speeds that are as fast as fiber. We use our Canobeams primarily where we need temporary high-speed network access, and we're very pleased with their performance."

ISC uses both a Canobeam DT-110 and a DT-120 Free Space Optics data-transmission system, which provide a communication range of from 20m to 500m and from 100m to 2km, respectively. Both offer a wide range of data speeds from 25Mbps to 156Mbps, as well as Canobeam's unique Auto Tracking Function, which constantly maintains beam alignment and compensates for vibrations in the installation base that can be caused by such factors as wind, weather, or even the vibrations of large crowds and auto traffic. Canobeam systems are protocol-independent (like fiber), require no radio-frequency permits or licenses, and--because they use a line-of-sight light beam--provide a highly secure wireless data link. With transmission speeds of up to 1.25Gbps available for Gigabit Ethernet networking, Canobeam users include a wide range of business, government, and educational institutions.

"You can set the Canobeams up at a moment's notice, you get connectivity on the fly, and then you can take them to the next event," Shafto explains. "If you have two events at one track location per year, do you spend $500,000 installing fiber optics or do you set up the Free Space Optics, get the same throughput, and then use it elsewhere? The choice is clear. The locations that we've already used Canobeam at have really paid off. These include Daytona Florida, Watkins Glen, New York, and Brooklyn, Michigan. We own other tracks around the country, too, so we could ship our Canobeams out and get them set up there as well.

"Free Space Optics is a technology that you don't hear about every day but it gives you faster throughput than Wi-Fi or any other wireless-type signal," Shafto adds. "And a lot of Canobeam's speed is quicker even than what you have going to your desktop. Another thing I like about Canobeam is that if something happens to my existing network on our corporate campus I can set it up and to 'give network' where it needs to be at a moment's notice. Product support has been fantastic, although we haven't had to use tech support very much." ISC purchased its Canobeams from Primestock, a major distributor.

About International Speedway Corporation: ISC is a leading promoter of motorsports activities in the United States, currently promoting more than 100 events annually. The Company owns and/or operates 11 of the nation's major motorsports facilities, including: Daytona International Speedway, in Florida (home of the Daytona 500); Talladega Superspeedway, in Alabama; Michigan International Speedway, located outside Detroit; Richmond International Raceway in Virginia, California Speedway near Los Angeles, Kansas Speedway, in Kansas City, Kansas; Phoenix International Raceway, in Arizona; Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Florida; Martinsville Speedway, in Virginia; Darlington Raceway, in South Carolina; and Watkins Glen International, in New York. Other track ownership includes Nazareth Speedway, in Pennsylvania and an indirect 37.5 percent interest in Raceway Associates, LLC, which owns and operates Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway near Chicago, Illinois.

The Company also owns and operates: MRN Radio, the nation's largest independent sports radio network; DAYTONA USA, the "Ultimate Motorsports Attraction" in Daytona Beach, Florida, the official attraction of NASCAR; and subsidiaries that provide catering services, food, and beverage concessions, and produce and market motorsports-related merchandise under the trade name "Americrown." For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.iscmotorsports.com.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc. Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America, and is ranked #35 on the Business Week list of "Top 100 Brands." Its parent company Canon Inc. is a top patent-holder of technology, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2003, with global revenues of $29.9 billion. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

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