Maxima Corp. Names Saul Umbrasas as VP of Marketing; Adds Extensive Global Marketing, Business Development Experience to Growing Team at All-Weather Optical Wireless Company.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 22, 2002

Maxima Corp., developer of high capacity optical wireless access and transmission systems, has named Saul Umbrasas as its vice president of marketing.

James Plante, president and founder of Maxima Corp., said that addition of Saul to the Maxima team is a very important step in company's growth as it accelerates the commercialization of its All-weather Optical Wireless (AOW) technology for high speed bandwidth in the last mile access, enterprise and private networks, and backhaul of wireless traffic.

"Saul adds a broad range of experience with both technology companies and our future customers -- telecommunication service providers," said Plante. "He has extensive experience in domestic and international business development, marketing, sales and general management. Saul's skills range from business strategy planning, design and launch of new products to opening new geographic markets. He joins our growing team at Maxima at a perfect time as we move toward launch of the next generation of wireless Free Space Optics (FSO) that solves the problems previously associated with fog, dust and smoke."

Before joining Maxima, Umbrasas was director of marketing and business development at AirFiber, San Diego, a telecommunications equipment provider focused on short wave infrared FSO products. In this capacity, he oversaw the marketing strategies for the company, created and managed the international reseller channel, and negotiated numerous strategic partnerships and alliances.

Previously, Umbrasas served as director of business development and strategy with BellSouth Corp., Atlanta, where he drove the development and launch of several new BellSouth services including wireless data, application service provision and corporate Internet strategies. He joined BellSouth after serving with two strategic consulting services, Braxton Associates (Deloitte Consulting) in London, and Cambridge Strategic Management Group, Boston, where he consulted for companies such as Qualcomm, Nortel Networks and Verizon on marketing and business development issues, including new product and service launches and new market entries. He holds degrees in economics, physics and mathematics from Vilnius University, Lithuania, and a Master of Science degree in international strategy and marketing from Norwegian School of Management, Oslo.

About Maxima Corp.

Maxima was founded in March 2001 to develop and commercialize proprietary all-weather optical wireless (AOW) technology capable of solving the problems associated with the inability of current FSO systems to function in inclement weather. Its management team has collectively developed and launched more than 200 telecommunications and optical products.

AOW and FSO are wireless broadband technologies that can be installed at one-tenth the cost of fiber optics and deployed in one day without construction permits. It does not require spectrum licensing from the FCC and does not cause frequency interference. The technology provides bandwidth from 155 megabits per second to 2.5 gigabits per second and operates without license from the Federal Communications Commission.

Maxima's all-weather wireless (AOW) technology uses long wavelength infrared light (LWIR) between 8-12 microns, which offers much lower atmospheric losses in fog, smoke, dust and scintillation than currently available short wavelength infrared (SWIR) systems operating at 0.7-1.55 micron light. Initial testing shows that Maxima's 10-micron technology can operate with 99.999 percent availability in all weather conditions with the distances 5 to 10 times longer than possible with existing FSO technology. Maxima is the first company in the world to develop enhanced LWIR laser transmitter and receiver technology practical and cost efficient for broad commercial use. The company has both patent protection and exclusive worldwide rights to underlying LWIR components and systems technologies for use in AOW FSO systems.