PacketExchange Brings New Radiohead Album to Fans Around the Globe in Record Time

PacketExchange Brings New Radiohead Album to Fans Around the Globe in Record Time

LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO, October 11/PRNewswire/ -- British band Radiohead made its brand new album 'In Rainbows'
available for download to fans across the world this week. By doing this,
Radiohead posed a bold challenge to the traditional music industry's business
model by offering its new album via digital download at a price open to fans'
discretion.

With the music world's attention focused on the launch, the
hosts of Radiohead's official download site, w.a.s.t.e, needed a solution
that guaranteed uninterrupted delivery of the album. By selecting
PacketExchange, the leading provider of private high-speed internet networks,
w.a.s.t.e was able to bypass the public internet and its bottlenecks, and
enable fans to download the album 100 times faster than via the public
internet.

"With such a prestigious band as Radiohead, and such an
important release, we knew that we had to call on the services of a company
who could perform this delivery without a hitch. Fans had committed money
upfront for their download and were therefore entitled to get it as soon as
it became available and quickly. Ultimately people's experiences on release
day had to be the music and not the delivery, and PacketExchange exceeded our
highest expectations," says Julie Calland, at Radiohead's band management
company, Courtyard. "The Radiohead album launch would have not been possible
without PacketExchange."

PacketExchange has been working with a number of partners
utilizing a combination of complementary delivery platforms to ensure 100%
guaranteed reliability and delivery of the album. PacketExchange worked
closely with w.a.s.t.e to understand their requirements and developed the
optimum solution for both the initial surge of demand after launch and
ongoing demand in the future. Following the launch this week, users will have
guaranteed access to Radiohead's album 24/7 directly over PacketExchange's
eXpress service.

"If this album was sent over the public internet, it would
have bounced back and forth significantly slowing down the download. This can
have serious implications on the overall user experience and jeopardize
Radiohead and w.a.s.t.e's reputation," says Kieron O'Brien, CEO of
PacketExchange. "A recent survey we commissioned shows that on average users
wait no longer than ten seconds to get the content they want so speed is
absolutely fundamental."

About w.a.s.t.e

w.a.s.t.e is Radiohead's own fan service and has been running
since the band began releasing records in the early 1990's. Starting out as
letters posted by the band, it grew in line with Radiohead's success,
providing a vital link between the fans and the band, with web services,
ethically sourced merchandise, tickets and now the direct release of
Radiohead's 'In Rainbows'.

About Virtek

Virtek has provided technical support to w.a.s.t.e and its
sister company, Sandbag, for many years. "Their technical expertise has been
crucial in this project to ensure that fans get the download they rightly
deserve", says Mel Maxwell, head of w.a.s.t.e. It was Virtek that sourced and
recommended PacketExchange to be Radiohead and w.a.s.t.e's partner in the
fulfilment of the album download.

About PacketExchange

PacketExchange is the leading provider of private high-speed
internet networks with a global application sensitive delivery platform
spanning North America, Europe and Asia. By enabling organizations to bypass
the public internet, PacketExhange offers its customers a reliable, fast and
secure internet connection, while providing a superior user experience.
PacketExchange has an impressive portfolio of over 450 customers including
Microsoft and Yahoo!. Headquartered in London, England, PacketExchange also
has offices in San Francisco and is rapidly expanding. PacketExchange was
ranked as the 18th Fastest Growing Technology Company of 2006 in The Sunday
Times Tech Trak and is nominated in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA
2007.

For more information, visit http://www.packetexchange.net

Media Contacts:

PacketExchange Team
Grant Butler Coomber (PR Agency)
p. +44-(0)20-8322-1922
e. packetexchange@gbc.co.uk

Source: PacketExchange

Media Contacts: PacketExchange Team, Grant Butler Coomber (PR Agency), p. +44-(0)20-8322-1922, e. packetexchange@gbc.co.uk

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