Alereon AL5000 Family PHY Achieves WiMedia Upper Band Group Registration

Business Wire, March 11, 2008

WiMedia Registers Dual-Band Physical Layer Chipsets Allowing Devices to Operate Above 6 GHz

AUSTIN, Texas -- Brian O'Rourke is a senior analyst with In-Stat (sted IDC).

The corrected release reads:

ALEREON AL5000 FAMILY PHY ACHIEVES WIMEDIA UPPER BAND GROUP REGISTRATION

WiMedia Registers Dual-Band Physical Layer Chipsets Allowing Devices to Operate Above 6 GHz

Alereon, Inc., the Certified Wireless USB technology leader for Ultra Wideband (UWB) WiMedia solutions, announced that its AL5000 family chipset - the AL5100 RF transceiver and the AL5300 BaseBand Processor (BBP) plus Media Access Controller (MAC) - has been registered as compliant with the WiMedia Physical Layer (PHY) 1.1 specification and interoperable with both WiMedia Band Group 1 (3.168-4.752 GHz) and WiMedia Band Group 3 (6.336-7.920 GHz), which are vital for Wireless USB devices in Europe and Asia that operate above 6 GHz. Alereon's chipset is the only chipset that supports WiMedia bandgroups 1, 3, 4 and 6, providing customers a single hardware solution that can meet regulatory requirements worldwide.

"With its multiband radios, Alereon is well positioned to benefit from the increased interest in higher-band UWB radios, particularly in Europe and Asia," commented Brian O'Rourke, senior analyst with In-Stat.

Alereon's AL5000 family includes the AL5300/AL5100 chipset, and is based on WiMedia's common radio platform. The AL5300/AL5100 chipset integrates all the essential RF circuitry plus the Media Access Controller (MAC), BaseBand processor (BBP) and software to develop a worldwide Wireless USB product. Covering all WiMedia bands from 3.1GHz to 10.6 GHz, the AL5300/AL5100 has been optimized for both PC host applications and embedded applications, such as PC embedded and aftermarket devices, handheld electronics, consumer electronics and mobile products where space and power consumption are at a premium. In addition the AL5300/AL5100 is the only worldwide solution that can provide use of the full WiMedia bandwidth by providing greater than 10 channels in every region of the world.

"Alereon offers the first global UWB product that gives customers the freedom to work in any world market while still adhering to UWB regulations," said Eric Broockman, CEO of Alereon. "Our goal has been and remains to be to stay ahead of the curve and respond to the needs of our customers by providing a simple solution that will allow all of their devices to interoperate. The adoption of the WiMedia specifications broadens the possibilities for future devices that enable Wireless USB."

About the WiMedia Alliance

The WiMedia Alliance is a not-for-profit open industry association that promotes and enables the rapid adoption, regulation, standardization and multi-vendor interoperability of ultra-wideband (UWB) worldwide. The basis for the industry's first UWB standards (published by Ecma International), WiMedia UWB is optimized for wireless personal-area networks delivering high-speed (480Mbps and beyond), low-power multimedia capabilities for the PC, CE, mobile and automotive market segments. Emphasizing peaceful coexistence with other wireless services, the WiMedia UWB Common Radio Platform is designed to operate with application stacks developed by the 1394 Trade Association Wireless Working Group, the Certified Wireless USB Promoter Group and the Bluetooth-SIG. WiMedia's board members include Alereon, CSR, HP, Intel, Nokia, NXP, Samsung Electronics, Sony, STMicroelectronics, Staccato Communications, Stonestreet One and Wisair. For more information, please visit www.wimedia.org.

About Alereon, Inc.

Alereon, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company using revolutionary ultrawideband (UWB) radio technology to develop high-bandwidth, low-power, low-cost Wireless USB and WiMedia UWB chipsets that are ideal for today's portable products, like digital cameras, mp3 players and cell phones. Our mission is to replace the complex tangle of wires that interconnect today's electronic devices with wireless links. For more information, visit http://www.alereon.com.