Proxim Wireless Raises the Global Bar in Broadband Wireless Networking With Tsunami® Product Enhancements

Business Wire, Feb 12, 2006

BARCELONA, Spain -- WiMAX Quality of Service and Fast Roaming Enable Mobile Networking Today; Dynamic Frequency Selection Improvements Receive EN 301-893 v1.3.1 Certification; Existing Customers Can Upgrade Installed Infrastructure

Proxim Wireless Corporation, a global provider of broadband wireless equipment and wholly owned subsidiary of Terabeam, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRBM), today announced that its Tsunami(R) MP.11 point-to-multipoint product line has been enhanced with features including WiMAX Quality of Service (QoS), roaming with seamless handoffs at speeds up to 200 km/hour, and dynamic frequency selection (DFS) which has already received EN 301-893 v1.3.1 certification. The MP.11 is capable of supporting converged voice, video and data transmission in fixed and mobile applications, bringing capabilities of the WiMAX IEEE 802.16e standard to market now, for the 2.4 GHz, 5.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz frequency bands available globally. These enhancements also apply to the Tsunami QB.11 point-to-point product line, and existing MP.11 and QB.11 installations can even be upgraded in the field.

"Given the recent ratification of the 802.16e standard, products that are certified as fully compliant with the recently ratified 802.16e standard will not be generally available on the market for the next one or two years. However, with our Tsunami product line, Proxim Wireless customers can immediately take advantage of key 802.16e features such as fast roaming for mobile applications that demand these enhanced capabilities today," said Amit Malhotra, VP of Marketing at Proxim Wireless. "We are also excited about the new bar we have set for DFS, as we believe we are the first equipment vendor to pass EN 301-893 v1.3.1 testing. This standard is a requirement in France, and we expect it to be adopted worldwide."

More About IEEE 802.16e

The IEEE 802.16e standard evolves the technology underlying WiMAX to support mobile applications, which require subscriber units or clients to be able to switch connections from one base station to another while moving, in addition to other enhancements. The 802.16e specification was ratified in December 2005, and now the WiMAX Forum must create system and certification profiles. Development of those test scripts and the start of certification then follow. Proxim Wireless projects that this process will conclude sometime in 2007 and thus WiMAX Forum-certified products will not be available before then.

More About Fast pre-802.16e Mobility with Auto-Scanning

With enhanced mobile roaming of Subscriber Units (SU) between Base Station Units (BSU), the Tsunami MP.11 enables on-demand entertainment and broadband access solutions for transportation systems applications such as ferries, transit buses, and commuter railways. Public safety first responder networks, transportation system monitoring and telemetry, and mobile security and surveillance are now made possible with fast handoff speeds of up to 120 mph (200 km per hour), with handoff times as low as 40ms. The product software provides configurable roaming parameters that ensure enough bandwidth is available for optimal session persistence and maximum application performance. A user surfing the Web on a fast-moving train will not lose their connection because the application session will not disconnect during handoff. In addition, IP video for security and surveillance won't be interrupted or experience frozen frames or pixelization since maximum bandwidth and low latency are maintained during handoff.

More About WiMAX QoS

IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) QoS provides a higher level of prioritization than any available 801.1p-based schemes from currently existing products. As many as eight classes of service, with up to four service flows per class, are supported. This is especially important for emerging services like VoIP and streaming video applications. As a result, service providers will have more options for managing their bandwidth more effectively and can make better, more informed decisions about their service management strategies and revenue-generating opportunities.

More About Compliance with the Newly Approved DFS Standard

The Tsunami Wireless Point-to-Multipoint System has passed the compliance testing required for EN 301-893 v1.3.1 Certification. EU regulations now require equipment suppliers to implement a new Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) standard to avoid interference with radar signals. The new version of the regulation requires the detection and avoidance of an unprecedented sixty-seven different radar-signal types, up significantly from the previous requirement of only three radar-signal types in version 1.2.3. Proxim's implementation not only provides the scanning, listening, detection, and channel selection functionality to ensure non-interference with all these radar-signal types, but also guarantees the uniform spectrum loading critical to ETSI 5.4GHz and 5.8GHz band deployments.

How Existing Customers Can Upgrade Installed Systems

Proxim is pleased to announce that purchasers of earlier versions of its Tsunami MP.11 and QB.11 can upgrade their products in the field. Please visit http://support.proxim.com to obtain upgrade details.