NextNet and Regional Service Providers Launch NLOS Broadband Wireless Services in Ohio, Michigan and Nebraska.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2004

W.A.T.C.H. TV, SpeedNet and Gryphon Wireless Leverage MMDS/ITFS

Channels to Connect U.S. Subscribers to High-Speed Internet

NextNet(R) Wireless, the industry's most widely deployed provider of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) plug-and-play broadband wireless access systems, announced today that it has launched broadband wireless service in conjunction with three new U.S. regional ISP partners in Ohio, Michigan and Nebraska. NextNet's newest U.S. carrier partners include W.A.T.C.H. TV, a subsidiary of regional telecommunications provider Benton Ridge Telephone Company, with a current subscriber base of over 10,000 digital MMDS pay TV customers in Ohio; SpeedNet, Michigan's largest FCC licensed high-speed Internet service provider, with spectrum covering 500,000 households; and Gryphon Wireless, an ITFS carrier, targeting 87,000 residential and SOHO subscribers in underserved markets across Nebraska.

W.A.T.C.H. TV controls 33 MMDS/ITFS channels covering Northwest Ohio. The company launched NLOS plug-and-play broadband wireless services for business and residential subscribers in Lima, Ohio on May 1. "We needed a vendor partner with a reliable, low-cost solution and a proven track record of carrier reliability," stated Tom Knippen, W.A.T.C.H. TV Vice President of Operations. "NextNet's plug-and-play solution is clearly the leader on all counts. It's fast, it's reliable, it's very affordable, and it comes with a recommendation from other carrier partners," Knippen added.

ISP SpeedNet, Michigan's largest FCC license holder, with MMDS channels covering 500,000 households across Northeast and Mid-Michigan, recently launched NLOS service in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. "We examined numerous vendors and platforms, and selected NextNet for its reliability, price and speed advantages. Those are the features that matter most to our customers," stated John Ogren, SpeedNet CEO and Managing Partner. "We're targeting tier two cities, as well as rural communities and we needed a system with solid coverage and throughput in challenging diverse physical environments."

Gryphon Wireless, a Nebraska WISP, leases ITFS channels from a local educational institution to offer a broadband alternative to SOHO and residential subscribers in Kearney, Nebraska and the surrounding service area, covering 87,000 people. "We are excited to be working on several mobile applications as part of our rollout of the NextNet solution. Our local law enforcement agencies, realtors, construction crews and repairmen are all looking for the ability to be portable with the Internet," stated Leigh Ann Spellman, Gryphon Wireless General Manager. "The NextNet plug-and-play solution is already opening doors for social and economic change in our community. Gryphon is not a cable or phone company; we had no backing or funding of any kind when we began two years ago. We built our business specifically on the NextNet technology, and leasing capacity off of ITFS channels. If we can do it from ground zero, anyone can," Spellman added.

"NextNet is honored to partner with W.A.T.C.H. TV, SpeedNet and Gryphon Wireless," stated Guy Kelnhofer, NextNet President and CEO. "These carriers are among the nation's leading regional ISPs in that they are changing the way people live and work in rural America. They are combining advanced NLOS technology with aggressive business plans, to create new opportunities in their communities. There are folks living in the suburbs of our nation's largest cities that do not have access to the kind of services that W.A.T.C.H. TV, SpeedNet and Gryphon are making available to their customers today," Kelnhofer added.

NextNet's Expedience(R) NLOS broadband wireless system is an IP-based network that supports delivery of all IP-compatible broadband applications. These applications include the delivery of both voice and data services such as IP telephony and video streaming and conferencing. Expedience OFDM system products are available to address the needs of residential, SOHO, SME, and MDU markets. The flexible OFDM-based platform delivers consistent broadband speeds across NLOS cells of up to 30 km, using indoor, plug-and-play (self-installable) subscriber units, as well as convenient outdoor (bracket-mount) NLOS subscriber units. The Expedience base station weighs just 16 kg and mounts easily to a pole, tower, building rooftop or standard indoor rack.

About W.A.T.C.H. TV

Founded in 1991, W.A.T.C.H. TV is a subsidiary of the Benton Ridge Telephone Company. W.A.T.C.H. TV provides wireless cable television to over 10,000 customers in northwest and west central Ohio. The Benton Ridge Farmer's Mutual Telephone Company was founded in 1902, by Peter A. Kemerer and George W. Brown. In 1957, the company was changed from a Mutual "non-profit" organization to the Benton Ridge Telephone Company, a "profit corporation." The Company has expanded its operations through the years and purchased the North Creek exchange in 1978 and the New Bavaria exchange in 1981. Also, on October 26, 1981, the Company updated the AUTOVON equipment with a 2,000 line digital switch. The Benton Ridge exchange was converted to digital on January 8, 1988. Aside from the telephone operations, the Company also formed the B.R. Cablevision Company on March 14, 1983 and began to provide cable television service to the village of Benton Ridge and surrounding area on December 1, 1983. In 1989, B.R. Security was formed to provide a Central Station monitoring service for alarm companies. For more information, visit www.watchtv.net. Contact: Tom Knippen, Vice President and General Manager; [e-mail]; Tel: [phone].

About SpeedNet

SpeedNet LLC is Michigan's largest wireless ISP using FCC-licensed spectrum. Currently serving some 3,000 wireless high speed data customers, the company was founded in December of 2001 by John Ogren and Robert Liggett. Both men have an extensive background in broadcasting, cable television and Internet service companies. SpeedNet's service area extends from the northern Flint suburbs throughout mid-Michigan and Northeast Michigan all the way to Rogers City, at the tip of Lake Huron. Communities served include Alpena, Bay City, Caro, Clio, Flint, Frankenmuth, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, Rogers City, Saginaw and surrounding communities. Currently, SpeedNet provides Internet service through a line-of-sight LOS DOCSIS cable modem platform and plans to convert most of its service areas to NextNet NLOS. The Company's motto is "Go Fast. Save Cash", and to this end, its mission is to provide economical, true broadband service for both its residential and business customers. For more information, contact John Ogren at [e-mail]

About Gryphon Wireless

Gryphon Wireless, L.L.C. is a privately held Wireless Internet Service Provider located in Kearney, Nebraska. Founded in June of 2003, Gryphon provides underserved areas of rural Nebraska with high-speed Internet. Gryphon holds the lease for ITFS Channels to offer a broadband alternative for small businesses, residents, and rural communities covering a population base of 87,000 people. For more information, contact Leigh Ann Spellman, Manager, [phone] or visit www.gryphon.ws

NextNet(R) Wireless, Inc.

NextNet is the industry's most widely deployed provider of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) plug-and-play broadband wireless access systems. NextNet's Expedience system is deployed today in cities throughout Asia, Africa, North America, Latin America, and Mexico, where NextNet is the exclusive NLOS plug-and-play system supplier for MVS Comunicaciones, Mexico's largest MMDS service provider with spectrum covering 67 million potential subscribers. In March 2004, the Canadian joint venture of Inukshuk, Allstream, and NR Communications launched NextNet's NLOS plug-and-play solution in British Columbia, Canada. Inukshuk, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microcell Telecommunications (TSX:MT), holds the MCS licenses (2500 to 2596 MHz frequency band) covering 30 million Canadians. Today, the joint venture is delivering NLOS services to Canadians in British Columbia, Nunavet, the Northwest Territories and Ontario, through several retail ISP partners, including Microcell, Allstream, SSI Micro and Nunanet Worldwide Communications. In the U.S., NextNet's solution is deployed by ISPs in Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio and Nebraska. NextNet is a principal member of the WiMAX Forum(TM). For more information, visit www.nextnetwireless.com. Contact: Barbara Heine, Director, Marketing Communications; [e-mail]; Tel: [phone].