Columbia Health Sciences Employs New FiberLeap Wireless Connection to Bridge Buildings, Ensure Future Redundancy; Provides fast connection and network security against cable cuts.

Business/Technology Editors

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Telaxis Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:TLXS) has demonstrated a new way for companies to bridge physical gaps in their networks with the first operational installation of FiberLeap(TM), a wireless fiber optic connection at the Columbia University Health Sciences Campus.

While organizations are searching for easy ways to set up high-speed network connections and ensure their security, Columbia is the first institution to put in place FiberLeap's(TM) high-frequency (60 GHz) wireless technology. This first for the fully tested wireless technology closes the gap between two gigabit Ethernet LANs (Local Area Networks) for this noted medical institution, allowing communication to flow at high speed between two neighboring NYC buildings without requiring permits or digging up the street. This technology will initially triple telecommunication speed and ultimately increase the speed 20-fold at the buildings.

"In 1996, we proposed fiber to connect the Russ Berrie Pavilion to our main campus," said Prof. Edward Shortliffe, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Medical Informatics at Columbia University and deputy vice president for IT, Health Sciences Division. "Cost, time, and the process of gaining rights and permits to dig up two major streets in northern Manhattan presented major roadblocks. We will still put that link in, but now the currently installed FiberLeap product enables us to provide high-speed connectivity (155 Megabits/sec) to buildings around campus that have yet to be connected to the campus fiber network."

Telaxis is providing the initial FiberLeap link to this joint test bed in return for Columbia's role in demonstrating new products' functionality in a real operating network. The FiberLeap(TM) connection will enable Columbia researchers, students, and physicians to have access to bandwidth intense information, such as huge genetic databases, x-rays, patient information and video images. It will serve the Columbia Genome Center, the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, and the Institute of Cancer Genetics, all housed in the Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion, and provide the rest of the Columbia University Heath Sciences Campus with faster access to the data and computer hardware in this building, including a super computer for high-end computation. The Columbia University Health Sciences Campus consists of more than 20 buildings.

It is anticipated that the Columbia site will be updated with new products as they are released, enabling Columbia to have the latest in Telaxis' broadband wireless products.

Columbia has successfully completed its network test and evaluation, and data is flowing efficiently across the FiberLeap(TM) connection at fiber optic speeds. Prior to the FiberLeap(TM) system, Columbia used a lower speed microwave connection.

"By the end of summer, we expect to upgrade to the next version of this product, which will carry data rates up to Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Megabits/sec)," said Valerie Punnett, Director of Core Resources at Columbia. "This will blend in seamlessly with our Gigabit Ethernet core/distribution network design. We've found the technology simple to install and maintain, with a small footprint and low power requirement."

FiberLeap's(TM) roots are in the intelligence community. Telaxis developed millimeter-wave radio frequency technology to meet government agencies' need for secure point-to-point high-speed communication that would overcome the difficulties with laser-based connections. Telaxis experience lies in radar, receivers, contraband detection, and millimeter-wave components. Their equipment was responsible for detecting water on Mars using the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) during a Small Explorer mission, and their radar technology is built into Mercedes' auto collision warning systems.

"The main concerns for company chief information officers include security, redundancy, establishing high-speed connections, and easy deployment," said Steve Ward, executive vice president of Telaxis. Telaxis' FiberLeap(TM) can provide all these, enabling an organization to transmit data at fiber optic speed between two buildings in less than four hours, while overcoming the fog, snow, ice, and vibration drawbacks of laser-based (free space optics) systems. Its 1-1/2(Degree) focal beam antenna and operating frequency are highly secure. FiberLeap(TM) has been certified by an independent third party as transparent on the network--it appears and acts as if it were a piece of fiber. The connection is able to bridge distances of 1,000 meters with carrier-class availability of service.

"It can take years for a company to get a permit to lay cable in a municipal area, and some cities won't even allow it," said Ward. "FiberLeap(TM) gets companies up and running quickly, extending their high speed networks." FiberLeap(TM) can also be used as a backup to provide redundancy in the network for devastating cable cuts. The connection can be installed by personnel with traditional fiber optic skill levels and does not require any specialized knowledge for operation. The product operates in the unlicensed 60 GHz spectrum band, eliminating the time and cost of obtaining a license.

FiberLeap(TM) has been extensively tested, including successful Bellcore and UL tests. The FiberLeap(TM) product being used at Columbia received FCC approval in April and is ready to ship.

Taking advantage of Telaxis' high-frequency millimeter-wave expertise, the FiberLeap(TM) product family is being developed to use the large amounts of unallocated spectrum above 40 GHz to provide data rates of OC-3 (155 Mbps), OC-12 (622 Mbps), and Gigabit Ethernet. For more information about Telaxis, please visit its website at www.tlxs.com.

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical facts, including statements regarding our business outlook or expected performance or developments, are forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, without limitation, difficulties in obtaining customers; lack of market demand for our products; our having limited capital and limited ability to predict our financial performance; possible delisting from The Nasdaq National Market; stockholder litigation; the uncertainty in the telecommunications industry and larger economy; difficulties inherent in entering new markets and in developing new products; difficulties in supplying products with the desired features and price in a timely and cost-effective manner; competitive products and pricing; difficulties in attracting and retaining personnel; inability to protect our proprietary technology; possible intellectual property infringement, warranty, and other claims; difficulty in obtaining satisfactory performance from third-party suppliers and manufacturers; and difficulties in obtaining any necessary governmental permits, waivers, or approvals, including any necessary for us to supply a type-approved product with the contemplated performance and other characteristics. Further information on these and other factors that could affect our actual results is included in our filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.

FiberLeap, Telaxis Communications, and its logos are trademarks of Telaxis Communications Corporation.

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