Sierra Wireless Signs a Distribution and Supply Agreement With Wireless WebConnect! For AirCard 400 for Ricochet.Business Editors VANCOUVER, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2001 Sierra Wireless Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR, TSX: SW) is a wireless communications equipment designer and manufacturer, founded in 1993 and currently headquartered in Richmond, BC, Canada. Sierra's products are sold through indirect channels, such as wireless operators (e.g. (Nasdaq:SWIR SWIR Short Wavelength Infrared SWIR Software Inspection Report )(TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :SW.) today announced that is has signed a distribution and supply agreement with Wireless WebConnect! (www.wwc.com) to offer the AirCard(R) 400 for the Ricochet A wireless Internet service from Ricochet Networks, Inc., Denver, CO (www.ricochet.net). Originally developed by Los Gatos, CA-based Metricom, Inc., Ricochet was the first high-speed, wireless Internet service for commuters. 128 kbps network ("AirCard 400 for Ricochet"). Commercial shipments of the AirCard 400 to Wireless WebConnect! are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2001. Sierra Wireless' AirCard 400 is the first wide-area "Always On" wireless network interface card A wireless network interface controller (WNIC) is a network card which connects to a radio-based computer network, unlike a regular network interface controller (NIC) which connects to a wire-based network such as token ring or ethernet. (NIC (1) (Network Interface Card) See network adapter. See also InterNIC. (2) (New Internet Computer) An earlier Linux-based computer from The New Internet Computer Company (NICC), Palo Alto, CA. ) for the Ricochet high-speed mobile access service, providing users with reliable high-speed wireless access to e-mail, enterprise networks, corporate applications and the Internet. The AirCard 400 for Ricochet can be used with laptops, Internet appliances and Pocket PCs with a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, San Jose, CA, www.pcmcia.org) An international standards body and trade association that was founded in 1989 to establish a standard for connecting peripherals to portable computers. PCMCIA created the PC Card. See PC Card. Type II slot. The AirCard 400 for Ricochet works at the speed of an ISDN ISDN in full Integrated Services Digital Network Digital telecommunications network that operates over standard copper telephone wires or other media. line, which is three times faster than a dial-up connection. Connecting to the Ricochet network allows users to connect to a corporate network or the Internet wirelessly and without the need for a cellular phone. "As a long-standing Ricochet Authorized Service Provider An Authorized Service Provider (ASP) is a third party person that has been cleared to work on a product that is still under warranty by another company without voiding the warranty. , Wireless WebConnect! has the experience and expertise to effectively reach new markets for the AirCard 400," said Jason Cohenour, senior vice president, distribution for Sierra Wireless. "We are excited to see the AirCard 400 added to Wireless WebConnect's portfolio of wireless solutions and look forward to working with them to deliver advanced, 'always-on' wireless connectivity to mobile professionals." Wireless WebConnect's customers benefit from the company's long-standing experience with Ricochet through its five-year relationship with Metricom, the company behind Ricochet. Originally involved with the initial launch of the Ricochet 28.8 service as a reseller in 1995, Wireless WebConnect was selected as the exclusive provider to support the original generation Ricochet customers and was signed as an authorized service provider for the new Ricochet 128 kbps service. "As the fastest wireless solution on the market since 1995, Ricochet continually sets the bar for mobile access," said Deac Finn, Chief Executive Officer, Wireless WebConnect. "The AirCard 400 and Ricochet are anchor products in our portfolio and we are excited to be offering our customers the latest in reliable, high-speed service See broadband. ." "The combination of Wireless WebConnect's experience supporting Ricochet and Sierra Wireless' track record delivering top-notch wireless products will service Ricochet WebConnect customers well with a total mobile solution,." said John Wernke, senior vice president of marketing and sales, Metricom. "This partnership will extend Wireless WebConnect's options for mobile professionals and let their users simply slip the AirCard 400 for Ricochet into their laptops and remain connected to information on the go with high-speed always on performance." The AirCard 400 for Ricochet is outfitted with a small antenna that exchanges data with Ricochet micro cell radios mounted on city streetlight and utility poles. As part of the Ricochet network, these "poletop" radios communicate with each other and local wired access points using a meshed frequency-hopping network architecture, which is interconnected to a wired local network and the national Internet backbone (communications, networking) Internet backbone - High-speed networks that carry Internet traffic. These communications networks are provided by companies such as AT&T, GTE, IBM, MCI, Netcom, Sprint, UUNET and consist of high-speed links in the T1, T3, OC1 and OC3 ranges. . In this way, customers can stay connected to data anywhere in coverage areas, without being tied to a wall jack, even while moving at speeds up to 70 miles an hour. About AirCard 400 The AirCard 400 for Ricochet 128 is the first true Type II wireless PC Card for mobile devices supporting Windows CE, 95, 98, 2000, Pocket PC and Windows NT. It operates as a wireless wide area network interface card, and there's no concept of dial-up. Every time the notebook or Pocket PC is turned on, it automatically registers on the wireless network and stays connected in "always on" mode for access to Internet / Intranet, corporate email and databases, and stock information. About Sierra Wireless Sierra Wireless, Inc. is a leading provider of wireless data communications products. Sierra Wireless delivers wireless PC Cards for portable computers, wireless adapters for PDA's, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and modules for embedded applications and rugged vehicle-mounted wireless systems. Sierra Wireless is the founding member of the WirelessReady(TM) Alliance, an alliance of industry-leading hardware, software and service companies committed to the delivery of complete and compelling wireless data solutions. For more information on Sierra Wireless, visit its Web site at www.sierrawireless.com. "AirCard" and "WirelessReady" are trademarks of Sierra Wireless, Inc. All other trademarks or service marks in this news release are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. |
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