Mobile WiMAX Certification for SOMA Networks Base Station

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SOMA Networks, Inc., a leading provider of Mobile WiMAX products and professional services, announced the FlexMAX ABS-1000 Mobile WiMAX Base Station has received the WiMAX Forum Certified™ seal of approval for operation in the 2.5 GHz band. The SOMA base station underwent rigorous interoperability and conformance testing, as defined by the WiMAX Forum®, at the AT4 wireless facilities in Malaga, Spain before achieving this milestone. This certification serves as another benchmark to the company's leadership in WiMAX™ and its commitment to bridging the digital divide. SOMA Networks is the select operating partner of BSNL in India, where the two companies are currently deploying the industry's largest Mobile WiMAX network.

"Certification of WiMAX base stations contributes to the advancement of the WiMAX market as a whole," said Daryl Schoolar, senior analyst, In-Stat. "It gives operators reassurance of the infrastructure's performance and helps lower network CAPEX. For systems like SOMA's FlexMAX, delivering that performance assurance at an economical rate will help with their goal of meeting the pent-up demand for broadband. Combined with SOMA's BSNL partnership in India, this certification is a positive step forward in delivering Broadband to the Home."

WiMAX has the potential to eliminate the barriers to ubiquitous broadband access and accelerate the delivery of broadband wireless services to people around the world. Certified standards ensure interoperability and lower costs for carriers, but carriers also want differentiated service offerings. SOMA delivers the key to service differentiation with the FlexMAX ABS-1000 Base Station which uses Sequans' WiMAX Forum Certified™ SQN2130 chip. By integrating the advantages of Mobile WiMAX, including advanced antenna technologies, and support for multimedia applications, SOMA is empowering its customers to deliver unrivalled services over the most advanced broadband wireless equipment on the market.

"SOMA Networks is proud to receive the WiMAX Forum Certified designation, that ensures our FlexMAX products will enable customers to rapidly roll-out WiMAX networks that support high-value services and increase the global footprint of broadband service worldwide," said David Sumi, Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing at SOMA Networks. "Customers can be confident that our WiMAX solution complies with the most stringent requirements of the WiMAX Forum and will smoothly interoperate with other WiMAX Forum Certified devices."

"We are pleased to have worked side by side with our colleagues at SOMA Networks to achieve certification of their state-of-the-art FlexMAX base station," said Georges Karam, CEO of Sequans, SOMA's base station chip supplier. "Certification is a major achievement, and the WiMAX Forum stamp of approval puts SOMA's FlexMAX among the leaders in Mobile WiMAX base station solutions."

The FlexMAX portfolio extends beyond individual WiMAX products to encompass a complete broadband wireless system, including: portable devices, subscriber gateway products, antenna processing, traffic management optimization, integrated applications, network management, and network gateways -- all backed by world-class partners, global managed support and professional services.

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SOMA Networks helps service providers and their subscribers access the world with WiMAX. As a leading provider of Mobile WiMAX products and professional services, SOMA's FlexMAX™ Mobile WiMAX System and global professional services provide a complete system solution that accelerates service providers' time to market with revenue-generating applications while bringing broadband to the home or business. SOMA is a principal member of the WiMAX Forum®, and its FlexMAX Mobile WiMAX System supports the 802.16e-2005 Mobile WiMAX standard. Deployed on five continents, SOMA is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Delhi, Sao Paulo and Singapore.