AIRSPAN WIMAX NETWORK PRESENTED TO RUSSIAN AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS
dbrant@airspan.com, clottomane@airspan.com
MarketWatch
9:08 a.m. EDT Oct. 24, 2008
Presidents Medvedev and Sarkisyan Witness Capabilities of Comstar’s
Country-Wide WiMAX Network
BOCA RATON, FL, Oct 24, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — Airspan
Networks, Inc. (AIRN:airspan networks inc com a leading provider of
WiMAX-based broadband wireless access networks announced that earlier
this week, an official ceremony was held in Yerevan, the capital
of Armenia, to launch Comstar’s nation-wide, WiMAX communications
network powered by Airspan equipment. At the ceremony, Comstar’s CEO
presented Airspan’s award-winning MiMAX Q-Series USB devices to Russian
President, Dmitry Medvedev and President of Armenia, Serge Sarkisyan.
Comstar, the largest integrated telecommunications provider in
Russia and CIS, has deployed Airspan’s WiMAX equipment to create
a combined fixed and mobile network. The network, which currently
comprises 24 base stations, covers Yerevan and 18 additional cities,
offering Armenian residents and businesses high-speed Internet, VoIP,
video conferencing and mobile services.
During the ceremony, the Presidents of both States participated
in a real-time two-way video conference with a medical diagnostics
center and were briefed on a pilot deployment for mobile WiMAX in the
city of Armavir. Both the video link and the mobile deployment are
enabled via Mobile WiMAX links supported by Airspan’s EasyST indoor
subscriber stations.
Sergey Pridantsev, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Comstar UTS, commented: "This national WiMAX network is a unique
project for Armenia, and one of the first projects of its kind
worldwide. Airspan was able to supply us with a superior solution to
meet our requirements, enabling us to deliver modern communications
services that help improve quality of life as well as bring telephony
services and broadband internet access to some homes for the first
time ever."
"We are very proud to partner with Comstar in such a revolutionary
project," stated Anders Rendahl, Airspan’s Senior Vice President &
General Manager EMEA. "The attendance of the Presidents of Russia
and Armenia to this ceremony only highlights the importance of the
life-changing effects a network such as this can have on a country
like Armenia. We look forward to further expansion of the Comstar
network in 2009 and to continuing to help revolutionize fixed and
mobile communications in this important and growing economy."
About Comstar Comstar-United TeleSystems JSC is the leading fixed-line
telecommunications company in Moscow. Comstar provides voice, data,
television and other value-added services to residential and corporate
subscribers and operators, using its extensive backbone network and
exclusive last mile access to 97% of Moscow households. The Company
also offers communications services in five Russian regions, Armenia
and Ukraine. Comstar had 3.6 million residential subscribers and 783
thousand residential broadband internet subscribers in Moscow, as
well as 49 thousand residential regional and international broadband
internet subscribers at the end of June 2008. Comstar generated US$
834.2 million of revenues and a 39.5% OIBDA margin for the six months
ended June 30, 2008. Comstar’s Global Depositary Receipts are listed
on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: CMST). For details, please visit:
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.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
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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: dbrant@airspan.com
Charlotte Laurent-Ottoman Investor Relations Tel. +561 395 4581 Email:
clottomane@airspan.com