Exalt EX-i Series Gigabit Ethernet Radio System Pioneers Multi-Band, Multi-Radio Capacity Aggregation for Rapid, Cost-Effective Network Scaling

CAMPBELL, CA--(Marketwire - March 31, 2009) - Exalt Communications (www.exaltcom.com), the company that is reinventing microwave backhaul, today announced that its new, licensed 6 GHz EX-i Series GigE radio system is the first in the industry to aggregate capacity from licensed 6 GHz and carrier-class license-exempt 5 GHz radios over a single long haul link. By directly aggregating traffic from the primary 6 GHz radio and up to three Exalt EX-5r GigE systems over a single pair of antennas and waveguides, the EX-i Series GigE radios support up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) of Ethernet capacity, eliminate the need for expensive gigabit Ethernet router ports for data aggregation and reduce deployment time. The company will demonstrate this industry-first capability live in its exhibit, Booth #1926, at CTIA Wireless 2009 opening this Wednesday, April 1, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Exalt's aggregation capability is not limited to 6 GHz licensed and 5 GHz license-exempt combinations. Any Exalt GigE radio system -- current or future -- supports multi-band, multi-radio aggregation of any frequency combination. Thus, operators can aggregate capacity from links in the upper 6 GHz and lower 6 GHz bands or even between 6, 11, 18 and 23 GHz bands.

"With 4G technologies such as LTE and WiMAX driving the need for exponentially more backhaul capacity and forcing the transition to Ethernet and IP, operators and private network owners are faced with a serious challenge when upgrading their existing backbone infrastructures," said Amir Zoufonoun, president and CEO of Exalt. "The EX-i Series GigE radios give carriers and enterprises the ability to rapidly and cost-effectively expand capacity by combining multiple licensed and license-exempt radios operating over a single transmission infrastructure."

The EX-i Series GigE capacity aggregation capability provides multiple benefits for network operators:

--  Instant capacity upgrades - The EX-i Series GigE serves as a primary
    radio that carries its own traffic along with the traffic from up to three
    Exalt 5 GHz GigE radios, making it possible to provision up to 1 Gbps of
    Ethernet capacity with a single antenna pair. With one EX-i Series GigE 6
    GHz radio link in place, carriers, utilities, transportation companies,
    government agencies and other enterprises can rapidly add license-exempt 5
    GHz radios that share the same transmission infrastructure.
--  Cost reduction - Because an EX-i Series GigE radio can deliver
    aggregated traffic from a single gigabit Ethernet interface, it eliminates
    the need for a gigabit Ethernet router at the aggregation point (saving up
    to $40,000 per link in capital costs) and also eliminates the need for
    multiple wave guides and antennas. Furthermore, Exalt's aggregation
    approach eliminates the need both for complex VLAN configurations in the
    router and for specially trained data networking personnel to perform and
    maintain the aggregation portion of the link.
--  Higher provisioning flexibility - Exalt's unique ability to offer
    asymmetric throughput over 5 GHz radio links makes it possible for carriers
    to change the upstream/downstream configuration of traffic, an increasingly
    important capability for mobile operators providing 3G and 4G data services
    such as HSPA and LTE. Exalt can deliver up to 80% of the added license-
    exempt capacity in a single direction for more efficient combined
    asymmetric throughput over the gigabit Ethernet ports. In addition,
    existing TDM-based equipment can be easily connected to the various T1/E1
    and DS3 ports which are standard features of the EX-i GigE systems.
--  Better link reliability - By providing up to 1 Gbps of capacity in an
    aggregated 6 GHz radio, the EX-i Series GigE can transmit up to 40 miles
    with carrier-class reliability, and its ability to carry traffic from
    multiple 5 GHz radios ensures the link is maintained at 99.999% even in the
    event of a single radio failure.
    

Improving Time-to-Revenue

Exalt's GigE radios allow mobile operators to bridge the time gap between cell site deployment and revenue generation. With Exalt, an operator can install a 6 GHz backhaul infrastructure along with a 5 GHz GigE radio system. This allows the operator to turn up the site immediately using the 5 GHz spectrum and to begin generating revenue rather than waiting to serve subscribers until the licensing process can be completed -- a process that can take 45 to 60 days. Once the 6 GHz link is commissioned, the operator has the option to continue to backhaul traffic using the aggregated 6 GHz and 5 GHz links or to redeploy the 5 GHz GigE radio to another new cell site.

Industry-leading Licensed Radio Feature Set

In addition to first-of-its kind capacity aggregation, Exalt EX-i Series GigE systems include:

--  Hitless and errorless adaptive coded modulation (ACM) that ensures
    99.999% link availability, while allowing extended range operation and
    guaranteeing 99.999% TDM availability.
--  Trellis coded modulation (TCM), a software configurable feature that
    allows engineers to design longer links at the same target availability
    level by making use of as much as 5 dB more system gain.
--  Built-in spectrum analysis to remotely identify and capture the
    signatures of interfering signals that all too often disrupt licensed band
    communications.
--  Adaptive interference cancellation, an additional weapon that
    operators can use to combat interfering signals.
    

The all-indoor EX-i Series GigE radios are available immediately for operation in the upper and lower 6 GHz FCC bands. Other popular frequency bands such as 11 GHz FCC and 7 and 8 GHz ETSI with additional SDH interface options will be available in the near future.

All Exalt radio systems -- both licensed and license-exempt -- are carrier-class systems offering guaranteed link availability, guaranteed throughput availability and low, constant latency. Designed to enable a smooth transition to IP, they offer native support for both TDM and Ethernet and are fully software configurable and upgradeable. For easy and secure management using third-party network management systems, Exalt systems support SNMP v1, v2 and v3c. Data security is provided by available FIPS-197 compliant AES 128-bit and 256-bit encryption that adds zero latency to the transmission. To simplify installation and maintenance, all Exalt systems feature an embedded manual and most include a built-in spectrum analyzer.

About Exalt Communications

Exalt Communications provides next generation licensed and license-exempt microwave systems to service providers, government organizations and enterprises worldwide. Exalt products are designed to solve the network bottlenecks associated with the growing demand for IP-based voice, data and video applications and the resulting migration from TDM to IP-based networks. With a flexible architecture and technology-agnostic product platform covering multiple market segments, Exalt provides a full range of carrier-class microwave radio systems that meet the demand for cost-effective and flexible alternatives to fiber and leased lines.

www.exaltcom.com

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Pamela Valentine Sr. Director of Marketing Exalt Communications pvalentine@exaltcom.com 408-871-1804 x351 Liam Rose Sterling Communications for Exalt lrose@sterlingpr.com 415-992-3213