Formus Communications & ARCIS Granted German Licenses for 3.5 & 26.6 GHz Services.

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 1999--

On to Phase II: Company pursuing applications for country's

big-city markets

Formus Communications, Inc., a leading high-speed broadband wireless services company, announced today that the RTP (Regulierungsbehorde fur Telekommunikation und Post), Germany's communications regulatory agency, has approved spectrum licensing for Formus' subsidiary, ARCIS Media.COM. This will allow Arcis to operate point-to-multipoint communications services at the 3.5 gigahertz and 26.6 gigahertz radio frequency ranges.

The licenses will significantly increase Formus' presence in Germany. The 3.5 GHz license covers 26.7 million pops (population) and the 26.6 GHz license consists of 15.5 million pops, and each license has one or two channels. These licenses are primarily in suburban and rural areas of Germany, but Arcis is now in Phase II of the application process for remaining 3.5/26.6 spectrum licenses that are in large-population markets.

"These new licenses will allow Formus and Arcis to start deployment of our wireless networks, providing customers with high-speed Internet connections and other broadband access services," said Vernon Kenley, President and Chief Operating Officer of Formus. "The recently awarded German CLEC licenses have enabled our in-country affiliate, Arcis, to begin providing wireless telecommunications services in Germany. These new wireless licenses will enable Arcis to begin offering the kinds of broadband wireless access services local companies are demanding. Germany has a robust, sophisticated economy and the opportunities for broadband wireless communications are tremendous."

Earlier this year, Arcis was awarded key Common Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) telecommunication licenses covering all of Germany. This license allows ARCIS to expand from its current regional CLEC presence to a national one, enabling the company to provide carrier-based telecommunication switching services to customers throughout Germany.

ARCIS Media.COM Management GmbH (Arcis) is a start-up facilities-based telecommunications company with headquarters in Munich, Germany. Formus and Chase Capital Partners have made a significant investment in Arcis, which already has been awarded national and regional licenses that allow the provision of fixed and mobile telecommunications throughout Germany.

"We see the 3.5 and 26.6 license awards as a significant step toward our objective to rapidly increase our presence throughout the country," said Mathias Weber, CEO of Arcis. "We feel very good about the government's confidence and support of Arcis and Formus. We intend to take full advantage of this competitive market and bring the cost-efficient alternative of our wireless communications to businesses and other organizations throughout Germany."

Formus has already applied for additional wireless spectrum in Germany and intends to initially offer business customers with broadband wireless access (BWA) services including high-speed Internet access, data, voice and video. BWA, the cornerstone of the Formus strategy to deliver services in emerging international markets, is expected to rival fiber for providing high-speed network access and allows coverage areas to be easily expanded as customer demands warrant.

ABOUT FORMUS COMMUNICATIONS

Formus Communications, Inc. is one of the world's leading international broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum holders, focusing primarily on markets in Europe and Latin America. Formus integrates cost-effective, high-capacity wireless broadband technology to provide its customers with reliable high-speed Internet access, high-speed data transmission, video and voice services. The company is presently delivering BWA services to customers in France, Hungary and Argentina with service launches scheduled for late May in Poland and early summer for Germany. Formus will launch services in Colombia in late 1999, and recently won authority to provide services in Peru. For more information on Formus, visit the corporate Web site at [www.formus.net].

ABOUT CHASE CAPITAL PARTNERS

Chase Capital Partners is a global private equity organization with approximately $6 billion under management including over $1 billion committed to the media and telecommunications industry. CCP is an affiliate of The Chase Manhattan Corporation, the largest bank holding company in the United States. Since its inception in 1984, CCP has closed more than 550 individual transactions in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.