City of Pelham Launches High-Speed Wireless Network; First Rural Broadband Application in South Georgia.

Business Editors

PELHAM, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2003

As part of the growing wave of small rural cities seeking broadband solutions, the City of Pelham, Georgia today announced the launch of its high-speed wireless network.

Called "Pelnet," the new network will bring residents and businesses of Pelham and surrounding areas DSL-like speeds. Unlike DSL from the telephone company, however, no expensive or additional telephone line is required. The new service is "ON" all the time, and unlike cable services, the prices are low and the services are "symmetrical," meaning that both the download and upload speeds are the same.

"The City and its residents are very excited about this new capability," said Jimmy Davis, City Manager of Pelham. "Larger cities have high-speed Internet access, but the traditional providers kept ignoring us. We now have our own solution."

Pelnet was engineered and installed by Tri-State Broadband, Inc., a wireless broadband systems provider with headquarters in Roswell, Georgia. Tri-State specializes in helping small and medium-sized cities deliver high-speed fixed wireless solutions to individuals and businesses. The project represents a multi-year contract between the City of Pelham and Tri-State.

"Pelnet represented a unique challenge to us," stated John Overley, Vice President of Tri-State Broadband. "There are many pine and other indigenous trees here in South Georgia that make a fixed wireless solution difficult at best; however, we deployed special "non-line-of-sight" equipment from WaveRider Communications that overcomes these obstacles. The new system penetrates dense foliage and connects locations that could not be reached with conventional "line-of-sight" wireless technologies. The WaveRider system enables us to deliver high-speed broadband connections very effectively through the trees and therefore reach more subscribers," noted Overley.

With the Pelnet project, the City of Pelham established a high-speed, high-capacity fiber (OC48) point of presence (POP) at its City Hall by connecting to the statewide fiber-optic network operated by Georgia Public Web, Inc. A non-profit corporation owned by thirty-two municipalities, Georgia Public Web delivers affordable Internet, Private Line and Web Solutions to communities and businesses throughout Georgia.

"We are very excited about having this state-of-the-art system in place. It will serve the community now, as well as into the foreseeable future," commented Davis.

Pelnet will officially launch on April 25, 2003. An open-house will be held on the platform in City Hall on Friday, April 22, 2003 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. to provide interested parties a first-hand view of the technology. Food and refreshments will be served. The public is welcome.

Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) Deployments by Tri-State Broadband, Inc.

The City of Pelham's Pelnet project is the latest city-wide deployment of NLOS last mile wireless solutions from Tri-State Broadband, Inc. The Pelnet NLOS wireless system can accommodate up to 900 subscribers on a single three-sector base station and deliver a maximum data rate of 2.0 Mbps over a 2.75 Mbps channel, with a range of up to six miles supporting both NLOS and LOS subscribers.

About Tri-State Broadband, Inc. (www.trisbb.com)

Tri-State Broadband was founded with the expressed purpose of introducing affordable high-speed broadband access (primarily wireless) and related services to small and medium-sized cities and county governments in the Southeast. With broadband services offerings, Tri-State provides cities and counties the ability to attract new businesses and to derive new sources of revenue and cash flow - all while meeting individual needs of local residents and businesses.

About Georgia Public Web, Inc. (www.gapublicweb.com)

Georgia Public Web is a non-profit provider of Internet and telecommunications services, bridging the digital divide by offering cost-effective, fiber-optic Internet, private line and web solutions throughout Georgia. GPW utilizes a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network that incorporates digital "on-ramps" and "off-ramps" in many Georgia Communities.

About WaveRider Communications, Inc. (www.waverider.com)

WaveRider Communications Inc. is a leading global provider of fixed wireless Internet access products. WaveRider's Last Mile Solution(R) (LMS) product family includes its non-line-of-sight 900 MHz wireless system that connects businesses and residential subscribers to the Internet. WaveRider's NCL Series provides 11 Mbps wireless connections between single or multiple computer networks. WaveRider is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board, under the symbol WAVC.