H-E-B TO LINK MEXICO, TEXAS HEADQUARTERS VIA SATELLITES

DEENA AMATO-McCOY

SAN ANTONIO -- H.E. Butt Grocery Co. here will be able to exchange a wealth of electronic information, including voice, fax, electronic mail and software applications, with its headquarters in Mexico when a customized satellite network installation is completed within 90 days.

Though the retailer signed a contract stating the installation would be complete within 90 days, "we expect the link to be working before September," said Steve Bassel, director of information systems operations for H-E-B.

According to Bassel, a satellite dish will be installed at H-E-B's headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico, which opened earlier this year. A teleport -- a group of satellite dishes pointed at multiple satellites -- will be housed at the retailer's headquarters here.

Using the satellites as a pipeline of information, "the dishes will act as a point of contact and will funnel data between the two locations," Bassel said.

The satellite link is a private network that will enable H-E-B to traffic voice, fax and e-mail transmissions, and even software applications between the two locations. The network relays data in a manner similar to an Internet connection.

"The link will let us share data and applications to control pricing, accounting, inventory, even marketing solely between Mexico and San Antonio, in real time," Bassel explained.

Information can be either input or uploaded at a computer at H-E-B's San Antonio headquarters. As the data is carried through the teleport, a stationed satellite transmits the data to a database in H-E-B's Mexico headquarters, where it is stored, ready for use, as digital information.

The customized satellite network, developed as a means of supporting H-E-B's expansion into Mexico, will replace the need for the retailer to communicate between the two locations via the Internet.

"We use the Internet now, but we cannot always depend on the reliability, security or performance of the connection when we are sending information back and forth between the states and Mexico," Bassel said.

"The satellite network is a stronger link that has a higher performance rate and is more manageable," he added. "Besides, with the satellite connection we decide on the bandwidth allocation ourselves, as opposed to the people who provide us Internet service."