Contact Information: For Investor Relations and Media Inquiries, contact: David Brant Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Airspan Networks Inc. Tel: +1 561 893-8650 Fax: +1 561 893-8681 Email: Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane Investor Relations Tel. +561 395 4581 Email:
Vodacom Lesotho Selects Airspan's WiMAX Solutions
| Source: Airspan Networks Inc.
BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwire - April 21, 2008) - Airspan Networks Inc. (NASDAQ : AIRN ), a
leading worldwide provider of WiMAX based broadband wireless access
networks, today announced that Vodacom Lesotho, a subsidiary of Vodacom
Group has selected Airspan as its preferred WiMAX supplier. Airspan will
supply its MicroMAX base stations in the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz frequency band in
addition to CPEs (customer premise equipment). The contract is through
Airspan's reseller partner, TVS.
Vodacom is a Pan-African cellular communications company providing a world
class GSM service to more than 23 million customers in South Africa,
Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho and Mozambique.
Vodacom South Africa launched its 3G network in December 2004 and its 3G
HSDPA network in March 2006. Vodacom Lesotho launched its commercial
operations in May 1996 and is considered to be of strategic geographic
importance to the Vodacom Group.
Vodacom Lesotho currently holds 80% of the GSM market in Lesotho and has
more than 400,000 subscribers. They will use Airspan's WiMAX solution to
introduce high quality IP data services to their current subscriber base as
an alternative to fixed line broadband access. Airspan's solution is ideal
for rapid deployment especially in the rural areas where traditional cable
infrastructure is challenging to deploy. However, in compliance with its
license requirements, VoIP service will not be offered by Vodacom Lesotho.
"This contract win once again highlights the flexibility and scalability of
Airspan's base stations and CPEs. Our WiMAX solution will enable Vodacom
Lesotho to offer world class data services at more affordable rates to the
fixed line alternatives currently available in the Lesotho market,"
commented Anders Rendahl, Airspan's Senior Vice President of Sales and
General Manager of EMEA.
Airspan's MicroMAX system provides a low-cost, high-performance
point-to-multipoint IEEE 802.16 compliant solution. This OFDM based
architecture is suited to deliver high-speed data, Voice Over IP (VoIP),
and multimedia services to residential, SOHO (small office/home office),
and SME (small medium enterprise). MicroMAX offers service providers an
integrated access solution, providing quick-to-market deployment and
low-market entry cost for broadband services in an expandable "pay as you
grow" model.
About TVS
TVS is a Johannesburg, South Africa based systems integrator with
operations more than 15 African countries, specializing in infrastructure
design and implementation. TVS has built a solid track record in the
Southern African region for delivering world class systems to Telco's and
Celco's alike.
About Airspan Networks Inc.
Airspan is the industry's leading WiMAX pure player, ranked #1 for
IEEE802.16-2004 WiMAX revenue in 2007 and has now been selected for some of
the world's largest mobile WiMAX deployments. With direct sales offices
throughout Asia, EMEA and the Americas, a worldwide network of resellers
and agents, and partnership alliances with major OEMs, Airspan boasts over
100 commercial WiMAX deployments worldwide. www.airspan.com.
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