PCTEL Receives New Patents on Seamless Roaming and Simplified Access to the Internet; Inventions Describe Flexible Proxy Settings and Ability to Roam Between Cellular and Wi-Fi Networks

Business Wire, Sept 12, 2006

CHICAGO -- PCTEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCTI), a leader in wireless broadband solutions, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a patent and received a notice of allowance from the USPTO on a second patent application related to their Roaming Client and IMS software products. PCTEL's patent and application describe a number of inventions, including the ability to maintain wireless Internet connections while roaming from one type of wireless network to another.

"We believe that we have added valuable patents to our wireless roaming technology portfolio," said Marty Singer, PCTEL's Chairman and CEO. "It is important that we protect our new software products, particularly our IMS and network roaming initiatives, with patented intellectual property," added Singer.

PCTEL's patent is referred to as "System and Method of Providing Computer Networking" (Any Proxy). PCTEL also received a notice of allowance from the USPTO for PCTEL's patent application entitled "System and Method for Seamless Roaming Between Wireless Networks". This means that the application, which was submitted three years ago, has been published pending issuance.

PCTEL's Any Proxy Patent (US Patent # 7,065,047) enables a computing device to bypass the proxy settings on a network where such settings are incompatible between the device and the networks. Incompatible proxy settings create large numbers of support calls in the IT industry for computers connecting from the outside as well as from within the enterprise environment. With devices such as cell phones and cameras connecting to IP networks in a nomadic fashion, the ability to automatically and seamlessly connect to such networks without user intervention becomes critical. PCTEL's invention enables devices and software applications to eliminate such hurdles associated with incompatible proxy settings. The European Patent Office also validated the patent in France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.

PCTEL's patent application for Seamless Roaming Between Wireless Networks is a software -based method that enables a dual-mode (Wi-Fi / Cellular) device to intelligently and automatically connect to the best available wireless network, based on a pre-determined set of criteria. This invention enables wireless carriers to balance the traffic on capacity and bandwidth constrained networks by offloading subscribers on to a Wi-Fi network when appropriate. Both of these inventions were developed within PCTEL's Mobility Solutions Group located in Chicago.

The inventors listed on the Any Proxy Patent are Robert Boxall and Emir Mulabegovic. PCTEL employees listed on the Seamless Roaming patent application are Biju Nair, Marty Singer and Robert Boxall.

About PCTEL

PCTEL, Inc. (Nasdaq:PCTI), which is headquartered in Chicago, is a global leader in wireless broadband solutions. PCTEL's Antenna Products Group (http://antenna.pctel.com) designs, distributes, and supports innovative antenna solutions for public safety applications, unlicensed and licensed wireless broadband, fleet management, network timing, and other GPS applications. PCTEL's Mobility Solutions' (http://mobilitysolutions.pctel.com) software tools provide secure, access independent, remote connectivity to the Internet and VoIP capability for converged handsets. PCTEL's RF Solutions' (http://rfsolutions.pctel.com) portfolio of OEM receivers, receiver based products and interference management solutions are used to measure, monitor and optimize cellular networks.

The company's products are sold or licensed to wireless carriers, wireless ISPs, distributors, system integrators, wireless test and measurement companies, wireless network equipment, handset manufacturers, and government agencies. PCTEL protects its technology with a strong intellectual property portfolio and broad cross-licensing agreements. For more information, please visit the company's web site at: http://www.pctel.com.