MetroMAX was established in 2005 by private investors to build and
operate an IP-based voice and data network in the Samara region of
Russia. More than 3 million people currently reside in the region, which
covers approximately 536,000 square km. Samara is a major oil producing
and refining, light and heavy engineering center, with a gross regional
product per capita that is more than 30% above the Russian national
average. Less than 5% of Samaran residents currently have access to
broadband communications. MetroMAX's goal is to cover the entire region
by the end of 2006 with a WiMAX-based system. The initial Airspan
deployment is in the largest city, Samara, which has 1.2 million
inhabitants. At first, MetroMAX will offer its subscribers high-speed
Internet access, standard VoIP services as well as virtual private
networks for small and medium-sized enterprises. By the middle of 2006,
it expects to have deployed Airspan's VoiceMAX solution in the network,
giving it the ability to offer toll-quality VoIP services as well in a
fully-integrated network system. KKS Telecom, one of Airspan's principal
distributors in Russia, is assisting in the deployment of the MacroMAX
base stations and EasyST and ProST customer premise devices in the
network.
Commenting on the transaction, Anders Rendahl, Airspan's Vice President
and General Manager -- EMEA, said: "We are very pleased to be the first
to sell and deploy a fully compliant 802.16-2004 system in the Russian
market, particularly to a company like MetroMAX. Airspan has enjoyed a
successful presence in Russia with its proprietary products since 1998.
We have built more than 50 networks there, with capacity in excess of
tens of thousands lines. The introduction of our newest WiMAX products
is the result of the excellent reputation we have built as the most
credible broadband wireless access systems provider in the country."
Yuri Kozyrev, General Manager of MetroMAX added: "After extensive
comparison of WiMAX systems, we chose Airspan's new AS.MAX platform
because of its exceptional performance and the ability of the system to
offer seamlessly integrated voice services. The ability to offer more
than just broadband data capabilities is essential to the success of any
broadband network operator in today's market of bundled service
offerings."
Airspan's AS.MAX product range consists of Macro and Micro base stations
and indoor and outdoor customer premises equipment (CPE). AS.MAX is
world's first commercial end-to-end system to fully support the IEEE
standard 802.16-2004, the standard on which WiMAX Forum Certified™
products is based. IEEE 802.16-2004 includes important functions that
allow both fixed and nomadic services to be provided to both traditional
outdoor fixed CPEs and new, plug-and-play, self-installable Indoor WiMAX
modems like Airspan's "EasyST".
Advanced linear power amplifiers and multi-channel transmit and receive
diversity are combined with uplink sub-channelisation and full dynamic
modulation to enable MacroMAX to deliver a 160dB link budget, enough to
provide proper indoor coverage.
The AS.MAX product range, which is designed to be WiMAX Forum
Certified™, is a complete portfolio of Base Stations and CPEs.
Commercially available AS.MAX Products include:
MacroMAX -- High Performance Macro Cell Base Station
-
Full 802.16-2004 Software Defined Radio for Fixed and Nomadic
Operation
-
3.5 GHz FDD Operation ( > 10Mbit / s Net on Downlink and Uplink
simultaneously)
-
High Performance Radio System (+37dBm Output Power, -103dBm Rx
Sensitivity)
-
Multi-Channel Transmit and Receive Diversity
- Full support for BPSK to 64QAM Dynamic Modulation on Downlink and
Uplink
- Full QoS Support (including CIR and MIR)
- Support for Uplink Sub-Channelisation
EasyST -- Indoor, Self-Installable Nomadic WiMAX CPEs
- Full 802.16-2004 Fixed and Nomadic Operation
- 3.5 GHz FDD Operation ( > 10Mbit / s Net, shared over uplink and
downlink)
- HD-FDD CPE based on Intel ProWireless 5116 Silicon
- High Performance Radio (+24dBm Output Power, -103dBm Rx Sensitivity)
- Support for BPSK to 64QAM Dynamic Modulation on Downlink and Uplink
- Advanced Antenna System with Uplink Sub-channelisation and Switched
Diversity
- Integral SIM Card Reader
ProST and ProST-WiFi -- Outdoor Fixed WiMAX CPEs
-
Full 802.16-2004 Fixed and Nomadic Operation
-
3.5 GHz FDD Operation ( > 10Mbit / s Net, shared over uplink and
downlink)
-
HD-FDD CPE based on Intel ProWireless 5116 Silicon
-
High Performance Radio (+23dBm Output Power, -103dBm Rx Sensitivity)
-
Support for 64QAM Dynamic Modulation on Downlink and Uplink
-
High Gain Antenna Options (15dBi and 18dBi) with Uplink Sub-channelisation
-
ProST-WiFi: Integrated 802.11b/g Access Point, support for Multi-SSIDs
and VLANs.
About MetroMAX
Information on MetroMAX can be found at www.metromax.ru
About Airspan Networks Inc.
Airspan Networks provides fixed and wireless voice and data systems and
solutions, including Voice Over IP (VoIP). Its wireless products serve
operators around the world in both licensed and unlicensed frequency
bands between 700 MHz and 6 GHz, including both PCS and 3.5GHz
international bands. Airspan has a strong wireless product roadmap that
includes offerings compliant with the new WiMAX 802.16-2004 standard,
and software upgradeability to 802.16e from the time the WiMAX products
are introduced. Airspan is on the Board and a founder member of the
WiMAX Forum. Through its newly acquired Radionet division, the company
also offers 802.11-based metrozone networks and applications for various
enterprise vertical markets. The Company has deployments with more than
300 operators in more than 95 countries. Airspan's wireless systems are
based on radio technology that delivers excellent area coverage, high
security and resistance to fading. These systems can be deployed rapidly
and cost effectively, providing an attractive alternative to traditional
wired communications networks. Airspan's new i-Tone VoIP system is a
carrier class, turnkey solution that provides carriers with Class 4,
Class 5 and IP-Centrex solutions and has a Softswitch and Gateways
supporting SIP/H323 and SIP. i-Tone's design provides customers;
carriers, next-generation telcos, cellular providers and ITSP with a
wide range of solutions with the best price/performance system for IP
telephony. Airspan also offers radio planning, network installation,
integration, training and support services to facilitate the deployment
and operation of its systems. Airspan is headquartered in Boca Raton,
Florida with its main operations center in Uxbridge, United Kingdom.
More information on Airspan can be found at http://www.airspan.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than
statements of historical facts, including statements regarding our
strategy, future operations, financial position, future revenues,
projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words "targets,"
"anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may,"
"plans," "projects," "will," "would" and similar expressions or negative
variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying
words. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations
disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place
undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. There are a number of
important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ
materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the
forward-looking statements we make. Investors and others are therefore
cautioned that a variety of factors, including certain risks, may affect
our business and cause actual results to differ materially from those
set forth in the forward-looking statements. The Company is subject to
the risks and uncertainties described in its filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, as
amended by Amendment No.1 on Form 10-K/A, for the year ended 31
December, 2004. You should read those factors as being applicable to all
related forward-looking statements wherever they appear in this press
release. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements. |
