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Airspan Unveils WiMAX Portfolio; AS.MAX Offers Network Operators a Range of Services Including Self-Installable Customer Applications for Voice over IP and DataHANOVER, Germany --(Business Wire)-- March 9, 2005 -- Airspan Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:AIRN), a leading provider of broadband wireless solutions, today unveiled the world's first self-installable indoor WiMAX products that link Desktop PCs, Laptops, Internet-ready telephone sets and other broadband devices directly to operator networks. The AS.MAX family of WiMAX base stations and end-user devices includes support for residential and nomadic internet access, corporate data networks, and Voice-over-IP. The AS.MAX portfolio was demonstrated at stand E09 in Hall 13 at CeBIT and will be commercially available in the third quarter of 2005. The AS.MAX family comprises two customer premises equipment (CPE) devices: the EasyST and ProST. The EasyST, which uses Intel Corporation's "Rosedale" wireless broadband system-on-chip, connects IP-enabled devices directly to WiMAX networks and can be installed indoors by end users within minutes without the need for costly truck-roll deployments by the operators. Designed for the residential and small enterprise markets, the device is also the world's first integrated voice and data WiMAX product, supporting two voice lines and an Ethernet connection. It can also act as an 802.11 Wi-Fi Access Point. The ProST CPE will serve larger enterprises and is designed for outdoor professional deployment. Both CPEs are designed to work on any WiMAX-Certified(TM) base station. The AS.MAX family also includes point-to-multipoint base stations called HiperMAX, MacroMAX and MicroMAX, as well as an integrated point-to-point backhaul solution, PrimeMAX. The Software Defined Radio (SDR) in the base stations allows high-capacity AS.MAX base stations to be upgraded from the fixed to the mobile WiMAX standard, thereby enabling connections to laptops, PDAs and other portable devices supported by the emerging IEEE 802.16e mobile WiMAX standard. Eric Stonestrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of Airspan Networks, said: "Broadband Wireless needs to be simple and affordable for operators and end users. With this in mind, we have designed AS.MAX as the most robust product family on the market. AS.MAX supports converged video, voice and data services on a single platform, which will make it very attractive to operators wishing to bundle multi-media service offerings to their end-customers. We have also introduced a broad range of products and devices to fit different network price points and densities, permitting low start-up capital expenditures for our customers which is an essential part of the offering. In addition, we will address the cellular backhaul market for the first time." "Airspan's Easy ST is on track to begin to deliver the promise of WiMAX this year for residential and small business customers," said Scott Richardson, general manager of Intel's Broadband Wireless Division. "Broadband access is currently only available to a fraction of computer users, but WiMAX solutions will help bring high-speed wireless to the next generation of computer users." Paul Senior, Vice President, Marketing and Product Management at Airspan, said: "The AS.MAX platform makes 'personal broadband' a reality, and it will enable the delivery of services to devices, not locations. We have built on our 12 years of wireless voice and broadband experience to deliver class-leading, self-installable indoor WiMAX equipment, and we expect these products to be WiMAX Certified(TM) as soon as the WiMAX Forum opens its labs in July 2005." Airspan will commence trials of AS.MAX products with service providers in the second quarter of 2005, and expects commercial WiMAX network rollouts to begin in the third quarter of the year. About Airspan Networks Inc. Airspan Networks provides wireless voice and data systems and solutions, including Voice Over IP (VoIP), to operators around the world in both licensed and unlicensed frequency bands between 700 MHz and 6 GHz, including both PCS and 3.5GHz international bands. Airspan has a strong product roadmap that includes offerings compliant with the new WiMAX 802.16-2004 standard, and software upgradeability to 802.16e from the time the WiMAX products are introduced. Airspan is on the Board and a founder member of the WiMAX Forum. The Company has deployments with more than 300 operators in more than 95 countries. Airspan's systems are based on radio technology that delivers excellent area coverage, high security and resistance to fading. Airspan's systems can be deployed rapidly and cost effectively, providing an attractive alternative to traditional wired communications networks. Airspan also offers radio planning, network installation, integration, training and support services to facilitate the deployment and operation of its systems. Airspan is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with its main operations center in Uxbridge, United Kingdom. More information on Airspan can be found at http://www.airspan.com This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words "targets", "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "projects," "will," "would" and similar expressions or negative variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. Investors and others are therefore cautioned that a variety of factors, including certain risks, may affect our business and cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These risk factors include, without limitation: (i) a slowdown of expenditures by communication service providers; (ii) increased competition from alternative communication systems; (iii) the failure of our existing or prospective customers to purchase products as projected; (iv) our inability to successfully implement cost reduction or containment programs; (v) a loss of any of our key customers; (vi) our ability to retain Axtel, Mexico, as our largest customer; (vii) our ability to continue to sell the Proximity products on terms and conditions comparable to those currently utilized, and (viii) particularly with respect to this press release, our ability to complete the WiMAX certification of the AS.MAX product family, the successful completion of AS.MAX trials, and the willingness and ability of our customers to purchase and successfully deploy WiMAX networks. The Company is also subject to the risks and uncertainties described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003. You should read those factors as being applicable to all related forward-looking statements wherever they appear in this press release. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. |
