AWE Equipment to Supply High-Speed Internet Access to Upscale Housing Development
(CALGARY, Canada and YUBA CITY, California - March 21, 2002) - Wi-LAN Inc. (TSE:WIN), a global innovator of high-speed wireless data/Internet communications, today announced it has been selected to supply over $500,000 (US$350,000) of its AWE products over a one-year period to Prime Companies, Inc. (OTC BB: PRMC) to provide wireless high-speed Internet service in an upscale housing development in California. Prime Companies, Inc. (Prime) is a licensed provider of local multipoint distribution services (LMDS) and a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) that operates in several states throughout the US.
"Wi-LAN's AWE products enable us to offer our customers the best price-to-performance wireless access solutions in the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz license-exempt radio frequencies," said Norbert J. Lima, CEO of Prime. "These products are ideal for this network and we are considering using Wi-LAN products exclusively on all similar future projects."
The agreement is a commitment from Prime to purchase a minimum of approximately US$350,000 of Wi-LAN's AWE systems over the next twelve months, in monthly increments.
"We are excited to be chosen by Prime to supply wireless equipment for their new broadband data network," said Dr. Hatim Zaghloul, Chairman, President and CEO, Wi-LAN Inc. "With this agreement we can now add Prime to our growing worldwide list of innovative fixed wireless access service providers deploying Wi-LAN products."
Wi-LAN's AWE product line, based on Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Wi-LAN's patented Multi-Code DSSS (MC-DSSS) technology, serves the point-to-multipoint, point-to-point and backhaul needs of customers deploying broadband wireless systems in the license-exempt 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz frequency bands. AWE products feature throughput of up to 12 megabits per second, enhanced reliability and cost-effective performance. Wi-LAN's smart polling algorithm offers enhanced scalability, allowing a service provider to add new customers with no degradation of network performance.
About Prime Companies, Inc.
Prime Companies, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, currently provides telecommunications services to both commercial and consumer customers throughout the U.S., with its primary focus on California, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia markets. The services offered include prepaid telecommunications, interconnect, paging, and voicemail services. The Company provides, through its wholly owned subsidiary LMDS Communications, Inc., LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Services) to various markets. LMDS is the broadband wireless technology used to deliver voice, data, Internet and video conferencing in the 28-31 GHz Spectrum. More detailed information can be found at www.primecompanies.com.
About Wi-LAN Inc.
Wi-LAN is a global innovator in the field of high-speed wireless data communications, specializing in high-speed Internet access, LAN/WAN extension and broadband wireless access. Wi-LAN is the Chair Company of the OFDM Forum (www.ofdm-forum.com). 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. Wi-LAN's products are known worldwide for their high quality and industry-leading technology. 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.wilan.com.
Statements in this news release regarding Prime Companies, Inc. that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause such statements to differ materially from actual future events or results. Any such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following factors, among others, could cause Prime Companies, Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those described in a forward-looking statement: limited history of offering Prime Companies, Inc.'s services in its current form; history of losses; increasing competition from existing or new competitors; increased telecommunications costs resulting from the expansion of Prime Companies, Inc.'s services; rapid technological change; possible unavailability of financing as and if needed; dependence on a limited number of vendors, including without limitation third-party vendors for the provision and roll-out of the Prime Companies, Inc. broadband service; inability to achieve telecommunication cost savings through efficient hardware utilization; possible industry consolidation; and potential fluctuations in quarterly and annual results. This list is intended to identify only certain of the principal factors that could cause actual results to differ. Readers are referred to the reports and documents filed by Prime Companies, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of these and other important risk factors.