RadioLAN Returns to Market with 10-Mbps In-Building LAN without Wires.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 2, 1996--Silicon Valley startup RadioLAN, which a year ago halted marketing and sales of its 10BaseT-compatible wireless local-area network (LAN) products to solve technical problems encountered in early beta-test sites, last month began volume shipments of a redesigned product.

The company's innovative 10BaseRadio 10-megabit-per-second wireless technology for in-building LANs has been operating at several beta-test customer sites, including Cabletron, the University of British Columbia and the Anchorage telephone utility, ATU.

Michael Clair, RadioLAN chairman and CEO, in September 1995 said that the company had "underestimated the technical challenges associated with high-speed indoor wireless communication." The RadioLAN engineering group now has successfully solved the problems, which were associated chiefly with the "multipath interference" that occurs when radio waves reflect off the surface of physical objects.

"It became apparent that we needed a more sophisticated antenna design, network algorithms and system interface that would adapt dynamically to diverse physical requirements," Clair said. "We've significantly enhanced the software code and have moved complex circuitry into a newly designed ASIC. In spite of the initial delay, 10BaseRadio is available just in time for emerging small-office and branch-office networks which constitute the fastest growing segment of the $12-billion 10BaseT market.

"While attention in this market has been focused on remote access devices, the strongest need is for a simple, fast and economical way to provide these offices with the same high-speed communications available at corporate headquarters. For a 10,000-square-foot office, RadioLAN's solution is an ideal substitute for costly stackable hubs and rigid wiring that force companies to make a painful capital investment in a site that is often leased and temporary."

Simplified installation takes less than five minutes per station, and RadioLAN's wireless networks connect seamlessly into wired Ethernet networks.

The current product supports workgroups of up to 32 stations on Microsoft or Novell networks. Range is 120 feet in a typical office environment and up to 300 feet in an unobstructed, open area. Operating range can be extended further using RadioLAN's relay feature that allows any station to receive and pass on packets to out-of-range nodes.

RadioLAN's 10BaseRadio uses narrow-band signal-frequency transmission in the license-free 5.8-GHz frequency band, the firm's 10BaseRadioLINK wireless network protocol software, and a peer-to- peer network architecture.

Peter Edgar, senior network analyst for the main library at the University of British Columbia, said: "RadioLAN's solution provided the necessary capabilities to meet the library's networking needs."

While installing five computers to be used by students for Internet-based research, the university ran into an obstacle because regulations governing the modification of heritage buildings made it unfeasible to add the 10BaseT wiring needed to network the computers.

"We had tried using other wireless LAN products but the performance was too slow to meet the application's requirements," Edgar said. "We installed the RadioLAN network with its 10-megabit- per-second performance and were able to network the computers and provide the students high speed access to the Internet."

RadioLAN products are ISA bus-compatible and come in two versions. The Wireless Interface Node (WIN) version, priced at $499, has a single wireless connection. For users connecting to a wired 10BaseT backbone network, the Wireless Access Point (WAP) version, priced at $799, has one wireless connection and one 10BaseT connection.

Each version includes a radio transceiver unit, an ISA bus network interface card, 10BaseRadioLINK software, drivers, management software and cables. In 1997, RadioLAN will integrate multiple bus formats beginning with a PCMCIA version of the product planned for April. A PCI version and a generic processor interface (GPI) will follow.

The GPI allows 10BaseRadio technology to be integrated with other networking equipment, including switches, routers and remote access devices.

A white paper on how RadioLAN solved the technical problems and enhanced its product design is available on request.

RadioLAN was founded in 1993 to design and market low-cost wireless LANs that operate at full Ethernet speed (10 Mbps) and interoperate with existing 10BaseT networks. The company currently has 15 employees. RadioLAN products are available directly from the company and will also be sold through distributors, value-added resellers (VARs) and OEM partners. RadioLAN investors include the venture firms Highland Capital Partners, Sequoia Capital, Draper Associates, and a number of individual investors.

CONTACT: RadioLAN, Inc.

Mark Bosse, 408/524-2600

or

Ulevich & Orrange, Inc.

William Orrange or Janis Ulevich, 415/329-1590