Notas de Imprensa

Three Italian Operators Deploy Nera-Alvarion LMDS Systems

Alvarix™ Solution Helps Alternative Telcos Bring Sophisticated, Affordable Communications Services to Remote Areas
 
 
Tel – Aviv, Israel, January 29, 2003 – Alvarion Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALVR), a leading provider of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) solutions, today announced that its Alvarix solution has been deployed by three of the Italian regional operators that have recently been awarded 26GHz licenses. These operators were the first of the 11 regional and 3 nationwide operators granted licenses in August 2002 to select an equipment vendor. NERA, one of Alvarion’s OEM partners, secured initial orders for the three projects.

The operators that have already deployed the Nera-Alvarion systems include:

Brennercom, an alternative operator owned partially by the Alto Adige/South Tirol Regional Government. Brennercom was granted licenses to operate in the Bolzano and Trento provinces, which includes many sparsely populated alpine valleys where Telecom Italia’s DSL solutions cannot be deployed. With the goal of becoming the dominant alternative telecom service provider in the region, Brennercom will integrate its Alvarion/NERA network with its fiber and other investments, and has already begun connecting SME customers. www.brennercom.it

Serenissima Infracom, an alternative operator established by one of Italy’s premier infrastructure companies. Over the past few years, Serenissima Infracom has built an advanced fiber-optic backbone along the Autostrade that it operates from Milan to Venice. Granted licenses to operate in the Veneto region, it has deployed an advanced Nera-Alvarion access network to deliver cost-effective voice and data services to SME customers. www.infracom.it

Trivenet, a well-financed regional operator. Trivenet was granted licenses to operate a 26Ghz network in the Veneto, Bolzano, and Trento provinces. As its initial customers, Trivenet has targeted industrial complexes in sparsely populated areas that are not served by Telecom Italia. It has already hooked up initial customers in and plans soon to extend the network to cover all of its service areas. www.wireless2000.it

Commenting on the news, Fabrizio Martinelli, CEO of NERA Italy, said, “We are delighted to have achieved these early wins in the newly-opened Italian market. The granting of regional licenses is the ultimate win-win situation for the country as well as for these pioneering telcos. By deploying fixed broadband wireless networks in these areas, the alternative telcos will be able to bring affordable broadband services to remotely located businesses and residential users that DSL cannot reach, or that have been ignored by the incumbent telco. With a heavy SME population disbursed widely through the countryside, these regions offer a great business proposition to broadband operators. We are pleased that the outstanding features and low cost of our Alvarix solution has proven to be such a close match for the needs of these new operators.”

Alvarion’s new Alvarix™ solution is an exceptionally flexible and cost-effective access solution for carriers in the 26GHz band. Integrating Alvarion’s WALKair™ 1000 and WALKair 3000 technologies in the same base station, Alvarix allows operators to benefit from low deployment costs without limiting the ability to upgrade each customer when justified. For a low-cost entry solution, operators can deploy WALKair 1000, which supports high-quality legacy voice services (BRI, Frame Relay, POTS, E1, etc.) along with differentiated data service. When higher speed and capacity is required, WALKair 3000 can be deployed on the same Base Station to deliver high-end data services with premium Quality of Service capabilities. This pay-as-you-grow approach allows operators to optimize infrastructure price-performance, minimizing both CAPEX and OPEX for a rapid Return on Investment (ROI). Alvarix is ideal for a wide range of SME and MDU/MTU applications, and allows for converged BWA and cellular backhauling.

Mr. Tzvika Friedman, President and COO of Alvarion, added, “We look forward to working closely with these three exciting operators to help them bring a new level of sophisticated, affordable communications services to their customers. We believe that the Alvarix feature mix and value proposition are the best available for local needs, giving us confidence that we will be able to win additional tenders in Italy. We continue working closely with NERA to deploy and support systems throughout the region.”

About NERA

Norway’s Nera Group supplies high capacity wireless access systems to satellite operators, broadcasters, Internet service providers and telecommunication service providers throughout the world. Nera's extensive product portfolio, radio-link and satellite communication for fixed broadband wireless access solutions, Interactive PMP and PTP Terminals and Base Stations, and Satellite Interactive Terminals and Gateways, makes it possible for Nera to connect the user to the transport network with high capacity, cost-effective access solutions that exactly match their needs. With a presence in 23 countries, Nera’s advanced systems have been deployed by leading telecom operators and system integrators all over the world.

For more information on Nera, visit Nera’s World Wide Web site at http://www.nera.no.

About Alvarion

Alvarion is a premier provider of solutions based on Point-to-Multipoint (PMP) Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) used by telecom carriers, service providers, and enterprises worldwide. Alvarion systems provide Internet access and voice and data services in the last mile, cellular network feeding, building-to-building and wireless local area network (LAN) connectivity.

Alvarion offers the broadest range of BWA solutions by market segment and frequency band, designed to address all carriers’ and service providers’ business models. With its combined market experience, strong customer base, diversified distribution channels and field-proven deployments, Alvarion is a leading BWA pure play provider for every end user profile, from residential subscribers to business customers.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current expectations or beliefs of Alvarion’s management and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: inability to further identify, develop and achieve success for new products, services and technologies; increased competition and its effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; as well as the inability to establish and maintain relationships with commerce, advertising, marketing, and technology providers and other risks detailed from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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