Adaptive Broadband's First Field Trial of High-Speed Wireless Internet Access to be Deployed in 20 Locations

Business Wire, Nov 19, 1998

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 1998--California Microwave Inc. (Nasdaq:CMIC) announced today that its Adaptive Broadband Limited subsidiary (Adaptive) has signed a contract with the Olivetti & Oracle Research Laboratory (ORL) under which ORL will purchase and deploy a field trial system covering 20 locations around Cambridge, England.

This is the first customer delivery for field deployment of AB-Access(TM), Adaptive's new system which provides "last mile" wireless connectivity to homes and businesses.

Dr. Daniel L. Scharre, California Microwave's chief technology officer and Adaptive's chief executive officer, commented, "We're very excited to reach this major milestone. ORL is an organization of major international standing in the field of data communications and networking, and we welcome its involvement in deploying demanding, real-life applications on our system.

"We anticipate the distributed multimedia applications ORL is developing for our AB-Access platform will increase demand for our broadband point-to-multipoint product."

ORL's Director, Professor Andy Hopper, added, "Broadband links to the home and office are a requirement for next-generation applications. Wireless links will play an important role in making this a reality, and we believe Adaptive has a very significant technical lead in this field."

ORL to Collaborate with the University of Cambridge

ORL will use the AB-Access system as an extension of its corporate LAN, providing Internet and intranet access, as well as serving as a platform for advanced multimedia applications. Evaluations of system performance will take place in conjunction with the University of Cambridge's Laboratory of Communications Engineering, where some of the equipment will be installed.

Low-Cost Wireless Data Connections Comparable to Wired Speeds

AB-Access is a wireless broadband technology that offers unprecedented data rates over a point-to-multipoint radio link: 25 Mbps operating in the 5 GHz frequency band. For the first time, low-cost wireless connections will be available at speeds comparable to wired networks.

High-speed connectivity at low-cost is made possible by Adaptive's unique combination of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and packet-on-demand bandwidth management, based on asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology.

Adaptive's initial products target Internet service providers, competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and other alternate carriers, who will provide service to small and medium businesses that do not have access to broadband services. Its products are particularly applicable to markets where wired infrastructure does not exist or where competitive markets are developing.

Adaptive is in the final stages of product development and several U.S. telecommunications service providers are evaluating prototypes. Launch of the first products is scheduled for early 1999.

California Microwave Inc. (http://www.calmike.com) is a leading U.S. supplier of satellite earth station and microwave radio infrastructure products and information and collection systems. Its focus is on transmission of high-speed data, especially for Internet traffic, via satellite and terrestrial wireless communications. More information on its Adaptive Broadband subsidiary can be found at www.adaptivebroadband.com.