Proxim and Computer Hardware of Australia Announce Distribution Agreement

Business Wire, Oct 26, 1999

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 1999--

Australia's Pioneer of Wholesale Distribution Now Carrying

Proxim's Leading Commercial and Small Office/Home

Wireless Networking Products

Formalizing their agreement to deliver the world's most popular wireless local area networking (LAN) products in Australia, Proxim, Inc., (Nasdaq:PROX), and Computer Hardware of Australia (CHA) today announced a distribution agreement.

Under terms of the agreement, CHA will carry Proxim's industry-leading RangeLAN2(TM) wireless LAN products for commercial applications, as well as Proxim's award-winning Symphony(TM) Cordless Networking Suite for small offices and homes.

In 1987 CHA established itself as the pioneer of wholesale technology distribution in Australia, and today is the Australian subsidiary of CHS Electronics, Inc., a leading international distributor of microcomputers, peripherals and software to approximately 150,000 resellers in more than 45 countries. CHA distributes its product range through more than 15,000 resellers in Australia through warehouses located in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Proxim is the world's leading supplier of spread spectrum wireless LAN products to both OEMs and wireless solutions providers with its RangeLAN2 product line. Proxim's commercial business has grown at a five-year compounded annual growth rate of approximately 45 percent, and the company is expanding to serve new international markets. Analysts who study the wireless LAN market consistently rate its commercial products as the global market leaders. For example, a recent study by Frost & Sullivan highlights Proxim's share of the worldwide market at almost 40 percent.

Proxim has also established itself as a leader in the emerging small office and home networking market with its award-winning Symphony suite of cordless networking products. Symphony is today's most popular wireless networking solution for the U.S. consumer market, with 60 percent market share in 1999 according to a study this month by Frost & Sullivan Research. It leverages Proxim's more than 15 years of experience providing the world's most popular wireless LAN technology. Wireless small office and home networking products are the only viable option in Australia since most small offices use digital telephone lines for voice communications which are unable to carry data, and homes are usually limited to one phone line and two phone jacks.

"Proxim has been well established as the worldwide leading wireless LAN provider to the commercial sector and into vertical markets, and it has recently emerged as the leading wireless home networking provider as well," said James Robbins, National Marketing Manager. "The demand for connecting multiple computers in Australian businesses and homes is growing, and the Australian market is virtually untapped. We are pleased to add such a comprehensive product set to CHA's leading mix of computer products and networking solutions for our customers."

"CHA is Australia's leading specialist computer products distributor, and we're excited about our new partnership and distribution agreement to further penetrate the Australian market," said Brian Button, Proxim Sales and Marketing vice president. "Proxim's industry achievements can be attributed to our many partnerships with leading distributors and OEMs worldwide, and this distribution agreement follows the company's heritage and recipe for success."

AVAILABILITY

Offerings in the RangeLAN2 and Symphony product families will be available in November througo frequency technology, which is both highly secure and exceptionally immune to interference. The products are designed to provide the industry's best combination of features for mobile wireless LAN applications, including high speed, long range, low power consumption, network scalability and advanced network management. RangeLAN2's driver software is the only wireless LAN technology shipping in the Microsoft Windows CE Handheld PC Pro Edition, because of its smallest form factor and industry-lowest power consumption for improved battery life. RangeLAN2 is certified and complies with the OpenAir(TM) wireless LAN standard set by the Wireless LAN Interoperability Forum (WLI Forum), a nonprofit organization of more than 20 leading wireless vendors which supports interoperability among members' products.

ABOUT SYMPHONY

Proxim's Symphony Cordless Networking Suite operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band and utilizes frequency hopping spread spectrum radio frequency technology, which is both highly secure and exceptionally immune to interference. It delivers data rates of 1.6 Mbps in a single-cell environment with an indoor coverage radius of up to 50 meters, or enough area to cover nearly any small office or single family home. Symphony includes device driver software for the Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems. It is based on Proxim's award-winning RangeLAN2(TM) products, which were first to market in the 2.4 GHz frequency band in 1994.