SIERRA WIRELESS ANNOUNCES AIRCARD 700 SERIES.

Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ:SWIR) (TSE:SW.), a manufacturer of wireless data modems, has announced the Sierra Wireless AirCard 700 series, the first Wireless PC Cards capable of tri-band operation in GPRS packet mode or for GSM dial-up access.

For the first time, the Sierra Wireless AirCard 700 series will provide "World Wide Wireless for the World Wide Web", compatible with networks in North America, Europe, and Asia. GSM/GPRS subscribers working from anywhere in the world will have reliable, high-speed access to mail, data, corporate applications and the Internet, ensuring that they get the information they need while working away from the office.

"We are very pleased to announce this new Sierra Wireless AirCard series designed specifically for GSM/GPRS networks," said Glen Brownlee, Chief Operating Officer, Sierra Wireless. "The Sierra Wireless AirCard 700 series will be an exciting addition to our lineup of award-winning AirCard products and will offer North American GPRS subscribers complete, compelling high-speed wireless data access from anywhere in the world. There has been significant interest in this new product, and we look forward to working with wireless network operators as we expand our delivery of wireless solutions to new markets." Sierra Wireless is establishing regional teams based at offices in London, England and in Hong Kong, China to provide sales and support to our partners and customers.

One of the first customers for the Sierra Wireless AirCard 700 series will be AT&T Wireless, as part of a recently updated agreement with Sierra Wireless to supply GPRS products. "AT&T Wireless is pleased to extend our relationship with Sierra Wireless to ensure the supply of a broad range of wireless data devices for our newly-announced GPRS network" Amer Husaini, director, product development and subscriber equipment at AT&T Wireless Services said recently. "Our relationship with Sierra Wireless has yielded much success to date and we expect that to continue in the next phase of our data network deployment." Initial shipments of the Sierra Wireless AirCard 700 series are expected to commence later this year.

The Sierra Wireless AirCard 700 series will be used with laptops and handheld computers, allowing users to connect to corporate networks or the Internet wirelessly and without the need for a cellular phone. In GPRS packet mode, the Sierra Wireless AirCard 700 can be "always on", allowing the user to stay connected to his email as if he were in the office, with no need to invoke a dial-up session. GPRS networks work at speeds up to 115 Kbps, depending on the grade of service offered by each GSM operator.