Celiant Corporation, A New Lucent Technologies Venture, To Offer Its Wireless Infrastructure Equipment To All Network Systems Providers

Business Wire, Oct 1, 2001

Business Editors

WARREN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2001

Celiant Also Announces $50 Million Investment from Pequot Capital

Celiant Corporation, a new company that is already the largest supplier of wireless power amplifiers in the United States, today announced it would begin to sell its radio frequency infrastructure subsystems globally to all wireless network systems providers.

Celiant was created as an independent venture from a Bell Labs group and Lucent Technologies' (NYSE: LU) power amplifier division, which had previously sold products only to Lucent. About 140 of Celiant's 200 owner/employees had been Bell Labs scientists and engineers with years of expertise in wireless and telecom equipment design, and Celiant's high efficiency wireless infrastructure products are backed by more than 300 Bell Labs patents and patent applications.

Celiant also announced it had received a $50 million investment from Pequot Capital, a leading venture capital and private equity fund headquartered in Westport, Ct. Power amplifiers are critical radio frequency components in the base stations of wireless network systems. A base station, located at the base of a cellular antenna, is an electronic system that multiplexes and amplifies mobile signals before they are routed onto the wireless network. More than one million Celiant amplifiers and amplifier modules are already in use in thousands of base stations worldwide.

"As a standalone company backed by the funding and industry savvy of Pequot, Celiant will more easily be able to expand its sales to a variety of equipment providers," said Ralph Faison, president and chief executive officer of Celiant. "The trend in wireless is definitely favoring the outsourcing of base station subsystems, and within five years we expect up to half of our sales will be to the merchant market."

Celiant also announced today that it had signed a significant multi-year supply agreement to provide power amplifiers to Lucent's Mobility Solutions group, which makes Celiant the leading U.S. company in that field.

"We believe this contract is a vote of confidence in Celiant and in our ability to help Lucent stay a global leader in the wireless networks market," said Faison.

In a January 2000 report, Hambrecht and Quist estimated that the market for wireless power amplifiers is growing at about 18 percent annually, and will grow from $1.7 billion in 2000 to $2.8 billion in 2003.

"Creating the Celiant venture allows Lucent's Mobility Solutions group to sharpen its focus and investments on providing wireless solutions at the system level, while at the same time ensuring that it will continue to have a high-quality supply of amplifiers," said Jim Brewington, president of Lucent's Mobility Solutions unit. "It is a win-win for both Lucent and Celiant."

Celiant's products are being manufactured by Celestica, Inc., a leader in electronics manufacturing services for industry leading original equipment manufacturers.

"We've seen the power of unleashing Bell Labs technology through the entrepreneurial venture model before," said Jerry Poch, Celiant's Chairman of the Board and a Managing Director of Pequot Capital. "The two previous wireless ventures from Bell Labs in which Pequot has invested - WatchMark and Flarion Technologies - each now have estimated market values of several hundred million dollars."

About Celiant Corporation

Celiant is a leading supplier of power amplifiers and base station subsystems for 2G and 3G wireless systems. The technical expertise of Celiant is unmatched in its field, and its products are based on more than 300 patents and patent applications, in power amplifier design, linearization algorithms, radio frequency circuits, and digital signal processing technology. With headquarters in Warren, N. J., Celiant is owned by Pequot Capital of Westport, Ct., and Lucent Technologies of Murray Hill, N. J. For more information about Celiant Corp., see its web site at www.celiant.com or call 1-888-CELIANT (1-888-235-4268, x4777).