Reliability, Security, Long-Range, Ease of Installation and Wi-LAN's Field-Proven Engineering Support Make Ultima3 Series a Global Winner
CALGARY, Canada - October 30, 2002 - Wi-LAN Inc. (TSE:WIN), a global provider of broadband wireless communications products and technologies, is acquiring new Fixed Wireless Access customers worldwide with its Ultima3 products, the company announced today. Ultima3 provides high reliability, multi-layered security, modular scalability, long-range coverage, and easy installation, all in a rugged, weatherproof, fully integrated single unit design. As with all Wi-LAN products, the Ultima3 is supported by Wi-LAN applications engineers, with many years of Wi-LAN product experience. It is available globally in the 5.8 GHz license-exempt spectrum.
"The Ultima3 series combines Wi-LAN's engineering excellence with market intelligence gathered from our customers around the world," said Dr. Hatim Zaghloul, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wi-LAN Inc. "Our customers told us the features that would make our AWE 120-58 products even better, and we built those features into the Ultima3. The result is the most mature 5.8 GHz Fixed Wireless Access product series on the market, and it is a favourite of serious license-exempt Internet service providers worldwide."
"As the 2.4 GHz spectrum becomes ever more crowded, people have turned their gaze to 5.8 GHz products," said Liu Jun, Fixed Access Department Manager of Anhui Province Unicom, a provincial subsidiary of China Unicom. "However, only Wi-LAN's Ultima3 offers a mature 5.8 GHz product, which uses patented MC-DSSS technology to provide 10 megabits-per-second of usable bandwidth. Its integrated design does not require RF cabling, saving cost while increasing range and making installation simple and flexible. We plan to utilize large quantities of this product."
"We have built a wireless data and Voice Over Internet Protocol network in Lima, Peru using Wi-LAN's 5.8 GHz products," said Alex Ternero, Technical Director of Wi-Net Peru, a major Peruvian Internet service provider, "Wi-LAN's 5.8 GHz products have the best performance, are extremely reliable and secure, and they are easy to configure and install. The new Ultima3 series is even better than Wi-LAN's first generation 5.8 GHz products, with many more features, longer range, and a single-unit integrated design that eliminates coaxial cable, making installation even easier and more flexible."
Ultima3 is certified for use in all major telecommunications markets worldwide, having received certification from the USA Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the State Regulatory Radio Commission (SRRC) of the Peoples' Republic of China, Industry Canada (IC), and having received the CE Mark indicating the product conforms to the standards of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The Ultima3 series includes Rapid Deployment (RD) and Extended Range (ER) products for point-to point applications, and Access Point (AP) and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) products for point-to-multipoint applications. The point-to-point systems can deliver a maximum of 12 Mbps for up to 75 kilometers, and the point-to-multipoint systems can deliver an aggregated throughput of 72 Mbps per cell for up to 16 kilometers based on a six-sector design. As with all Wi-LAN products, the Ultima3 is supported by Wi-LAN applications engineers, with many years of experience with Wi-LAN products in network design, troubleshooting, component selection and customer training.
"The Ultima3 builds upon the success of the AWE line and offers additional features, improved manageability, and most importantly, overcomes the installation barriers common to most traditional 5.8 GHz systems," said Mike Cowan, President of Wireless Connections, a U.S. division of Advanced Computer Connections Inc. developed to provide broadband wireless solutions for Internet service providers. "I would also like to thank Wi-LAN's software engineers for a job well done. We recently installed 5.8 GHz radios in a peculiar environment, and the engineers actually customized the firmware in the radio to best suit our unusual deployment."
Built on eight years of field-proven technology and experience, the 5.8 GHz Ultima3 series is designed to meet the needs of license-exempt wireless Internet service providers and enterprises looking to build or extend broadband communications infrastructures. The Ultima3 series can be configured with various antennas, depending on customer requirements, making it more flexible and scalable. The Ultima3 also offers dynamic power control, which improves performance by minimizing interference, allowing customers to utilize spectrum effectively and maximize frequency reuse. Improved multi-layered security is incorporated through Wi-LAN's proprietary MC-DSSS technology, user-configurable data scrambling and formatting, individual identification codes, VLAN tagging and IP filtering, making an Ultima3 network virtually impregnable. Installation and network setup is simplified through CPE cloning and an optional installation kit. Ultima3 also offers tiered service management through CIR/MBR (Committed Information Rate / Maximum Burst Rate), longer-range, and a user-friendly web-based GUI network management interface. The single unit design eliminates the need for expensive accessories and coaxial cable, is easier and less expensive to install, can be mounted indoors or outdoors without the need for additional climate control, and enables longer-range coverage due to reduced line and connector losses.
Ultima3 series products can be used for broadband access applications alone or in combination with wired alternatives. When paired with Wi-LAN's TEmux T1/E1 multiplexer, Ultima3 point-to-point products can also be used for transmission of up to 30 voice channels to provide a robust, reliable and cost-effective alternative to traditional leased T1 or E1 lines. Using a cellular-based frequency reuse point-to-multipoint network design linked by point-to-point units, Wi-LAN's Ultima3 solution can easily serve a large customer base. Coverage cells can be added and expanded quickly and cost effectively. By starting small and expanding, network operators experience early profits, and enterprises realize incremental cost savings. Available in the 5.8 GHz license-exempt bands, the Ultima3 is suitable for deployment in most countries worldwide.
The current hardware is capable of supporting several generations of enhancement to the system software. Features such as video services and additional network management features are being made available, as the market requires, via over-the-air software upgrades. Also, future generations of products will be compatible with existing products.
The AWE (Advanced Wireless Ethernet bridge) Product Series, which includes the Ultima3 series as well as the AWE 45-24 and AWE 120-24, is offered in the license-exempt 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands. The AWE Series meets the requirements of service providers and enterprises without the need to obtain spectrum licenses. The 5.8 GHz Ultima3 series and the 2.4 GHz AWE 120-24 products feature Wi-LAN's patented MC-DSSS technology, which is designed to support constant service over distance through increased data rates, enhanced reliability and cost-effective performance. MC-DSSS technology also improves security due to built-in data scrambling that prevents unwanted eavesdropping. Wi-LAN's advanced wireless Ethernet bridges are designed to be easy to use, install and manage. Enhanced scalability allows a service provider to add new customers easily.
The MC-DSSS Advantage
Wi-LAN's patented Multi-code Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum technology (MC-DSSS) is the world's most spectrally efficient spread spectrum radio technology, and is the technology that makes it possible to multiply the carrying capacity of traditional spread spectrum systems by as much as ten times. Wi-LAN believes that MC-DSSS is the foundation for third generation (3G) mobile radio networks, including cellular phones, and Wi-LAN has filed an intellectual property statement with the International Telecommunications Union offering to make MC-DSSS available for licensing on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
MC-DSSS is a spectrally efficient spread spectrum modulation technique that assigns up to N DSSS codes to a single user, where N is the number of chips per DSSS code. These N DSSS codes are all orthogonal. In other words, MC-DSSS enables multiple CDMA codes to be assigned to a single user in a CDMA network, thus increasing throughput. Conventional systems can only assign N codes to a single user by assigning N transceivers to that user, which greatly increases system costs. In MC-DSSS implementation, the information on all codes can be decoded in a single transformation.
Wi-LAN Customer Support
As part of the Wi-LAN turnkey wireless network solution, the company provides engineering services to help customers and business partners plan and install wireless networks. From preliminary engineering service, such as system design and maintenance planning, to consulting and on-site service and training, Wi-LAN offers a full range of engineering services to help customers get the most from their wireless network equipment. About Wi-LAN Inc.
About Wi-LAN Inc.
Wi-LAN is a global provider of broadband wireless communications products and technologies, specializing in high-speed Internet access, LAN/WAN extension and broadband wireless access. Wi-LAN's broadband wireless access products are known worldwide for their high quality and industry-leading technology. Wi-LAN believes its W-OFDM patent is necessary for the implementation of devices using the IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g or ETSI BRAN HiperLAN/2 standards as well as the current drafts of the IEEE802.16a and ETSI BRAN HiperMAN proposed standards. Wi-LAN licenses its W-OFDM technology and has executed non-exclusive W-OFDM license agreements with semiconductor companies. Wi-LAN is the Chair Company of the OFDM Forum(www.ofdm-forum.com). Wi-LAN's common shares trade on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WIN." Detailed information on Wi-LAN can be found at www.wi-lan.com.
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