FORM 6 - K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Report on Foreign Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a - 16 or 15d -16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the Month of May, 2003
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.
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(Translation of Registrant's Name into English
Gilat House, Yegia Kapayim Street
Daniv Park, Kiryat Arye, Petah Tikva, Israel
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(Address of Principal Corporate Offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes No X
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If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): N/A
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Attached hereto and incorporated by reference herein is Registrant's press
release dated May 1, 2003, announcing that Registrant has been selected by China
Telecom to provide a large-scale satellite-based rural telephony network in
Tibet
Signature
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.
(Registrant)
By: /s/ Yoav Leibovitch
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Yoav Leibovitch
Chief Financial Officer
Dated: May 11, 2003
May 01, 2003
CHINA TELECOM SELECTS GILAT TO PROVIDE LARGE-SCALE SATELLITE RURAL TELEPHONY
NETWORK IN TIBET
GILAT'S DIALAWAY(TM) VSAT NETWORK WILL BRING TELEPHONY SERVICES TO MORE
THAN 1,300 PUBLIC CALL OFFICES
Petah Tikva, Israel, May 1, 2003 - Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: GILTF)
has been selected by the China Telecommunications Corp. to provide a
large-scale, satellite-based rural telephony network in the Tibet autonomous
region of China. China Telecom will make an initial purchase of a DialAway hub,
14 gateways and 1,300 VSAT terminals for public call offices to serve the
region's remote villages. The tender indicates that the contract can be extended
to a total of 5,000 VSATs.
Each DialAway remote site supports up to six toll-quality voice channels, the
network providing as many as 4-5,000 voice lines. The DialAway VSAT provides
on-demand voice, fax, and data services to and from fixed remote locations via
satellite. It can be deployed quickly in harsh terrain and is designed to
perform well in severe conditions where the mountainous terrain and cold weather
make it difficult to implement a communications infrastructure. These are
important attributes in Tibet, a vast, mountainous territory with altitudes up
to 5,000 meters. In such an environment, satellite-based technology provides the
most effective, if not the only, means of communication.
Gilat's DialAway rural telephony VSATs are used successfully by other major
telecommunications agencies around the world, including Telkom South Africa,
Peru's FITEL, Colombia's Compartel and India's TATA Teleservices. However, it
was the successful deployment of over 1,000 DialAway VSATs in China's Xinjiang
region (China's first large-scale, satellite rural telephony network), that was
instrumental in the decsion to award Gilat the contract in Tibet.
The first 300 VSATs have been delivered China Telecom, while the remaining units
are to be delivered in the second quarter of 2003. China Telecom is responsible
for the deployment of the system. Gilat provides technical services, training
and support to its customers in China through its local Beijing office.
Giora Reish, Associate Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Asia, said, "With
this agreement, we solidify Gilat's position as the leading provider of
satellite-based rural telephony networks in China. Given the fact that several
other Western regions of China are interested in similar systems, we have a very
positive outlook for our business position in this very important market."
ABOUT GILAT SATELLITE NETWORKS LTD.
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., with its global subsidiaries Spacenet Inc., Gilat
Latin America, Inc. and rStar Corporation (RTRCE), is a leading provider of
telecommunications solutions based on Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT)
satellite network technology - with nearly 400,000 VSATs shipped worldwide.
Gilat markets the Skystar Advantage, DialAw@y IP, FaraWay, Skystar 360E and
SkyBlaster* 360 VSAT products in more than 70 countries around the world. The
Company provides satellite-based, end-to-end enterprise networking and rural
telephony solutions to customers across six continents, and markets interactive
broadband data services. The Company is a joint venture partner in SATLYNX, a
provider of two-way satellite broadband services in Europe with SES GLOBAL.
Skystar Advantage(R), DialAw@y IP(TM) and FaraWay(TM) are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
Visit Gilat at WWW.GILAT.COM. (*SkyBlaster is marketed in the United States by
StarBand Communications Inc. under its own brand name.)
Certain statements made herein that are not historical are forward-looking
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The
words "estimate", "project", "intend", "expect", "believe" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties.
Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of
Gilat to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements, including, among others, changes in general economic and business
conditions, inability to maintain market acceptance to Gilat's products,
inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and
applications, rapid changes in the market for Gilat's products, loss of market
share and pressure on prices resulting from competition, introduction of
competing products by other companies, inability to manage growth and expansion,
loss of key OEM partners, inability to attract and retain qualified personnel,
inability to protect the Company's proprietary technology and risks associated
with Gilat's international operations and its location in Israel. For additional
information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties associated with
Gilat's business, reference is made to Gilat's reports filed from time to time
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
GILAT INVESTOR CONTACT:
TIM PERROTT,
VP, INVESTOR RELATIONS (USA)
TEL: +703-848-1515
TIM.PERROTT@SPACENET.COM
GILAT MEDIA CONTACT:
BARRY SPIELMAN,
DIRECTOR CORPORATE MARKETING
TEL: +(972)3-925-2201
BARRYS@GILAT.COM