Spike Broadband Systems Introduces the Spike Continuum Management System; Industry's Only Automated End-to-End Fixed Wireless Management System Reduces Costs, Increases Revenue Opportunities.

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2001

WCA 2001--Spike Broadband Systems, Inc., a leading provider of carrier-grade, fixed wireless broadband access solutions, today announced at WCA 2001 the Spike Continuum(TM) Management System (Spike CMS). Spike CMS is designed to provide telecommunications carriers cost savings by enabling end-to-end, carrier-grade management of Spike's fixed wireless systems, as well as the seamless management of the entire wireless-wireline service delivery network infrastructure.

With Spike CMS, carriers can better manage both their wireline and wireless networks, increasing network availability and reliability, and reducing operating costs by freeing up resources and automating time-consuming network management tasks. In addition, Spike CMS helps carriers develop and extend Quality of Service (QoS) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) guarantees, enabling service providers to offer robust and differentiated services for more competitive service offerings. Spike CMS also addresses critical fault management, configuration and performance management, security, accounting, authentication and authorization issues.

"Effective management of our fixed wireless network is critical to our overall operational efficiency and ultimate profitability," said Carlos Brutti, Engineering and Technology Director from Spike customer MetroRED Telecomunicaciones SRL in Argentina, a telecommunications company that builds and operates IP-Centric Networks in Latin America. "By incorporating Spike CMS into our network, we can easily scale our management functions to meet the requirements of our existing and future customers."

Spike Continuum products, and the Spike Continuum Management System, will be also used by Siemens A/S in its $400 million fixed wireless broadband deployment for SONOFON, a BellSouth International and Telenor company and Denmark's second largest mobile communications carrier.

Components of the Spike Continuum Management System

Spike CMS is a system-agnostic, industry standard, SNMP-based network management platform. The Spike CMS suite includes the following components:

-- Spike CMS Custom Services for HP OpenView(TM) - seamlessly integrates with and leverages the advanced features of HP OpenView(TM) Network Node Manager (NNM), the industry's leading network management platform, including comprehensive network troubleshooting, enhanced monitoring, robust alarm and event management, network discovery and user-configurable maps, trending and thresholding. This allows Spike's carrier customers to extend manageability across both their wireline and wireless operational network.

-- The Spike Modem Manager - provides comprehensive management for all Spike's network modulation devices. Specific management functions performed include: bit error rate and throughput management; transmitter and receiver management; firmware management; and security access control.

-- The Spike Radio Manager - manages the Spike Continuum base station RF (Radio Frequency) transceivers and enables network managers to securely access the network from any remote location via a Web-based Graphical User Interface (GUI).

According to Cristian Parrino, Vice President, Marketing, Spike Broadband Systems, "The Spike Continuum Management System is the only network management solution in the market that allows carriers to implement a scalable system that will grow as their demand for broadband services grows. Carriers, now more than ever, need to monitor costs and QoS for their customers. Competitive solutions take more of a toolbox approach and do not address the overall long-term network manageability issues that are critical to the operational and financial viability of any carrier. In our most recent deployment with SONOFON, they demanded this higher-level, far-sighted, management requirement. Spike was the only fixed wireless systems provider able to deliver this."

For more details on the Spike Continuum Management System or to receive a demo of the Spike CMS and the Radio Manager component, please visit Spike at WCA 2001, Boston, at booth # 317.

About Spike Broadband Systems, Inc.:

Spike Broadband Systems supplies carrier-grade, fixed wireless broadband access solutions to telecom service providers seeking to deploy high-speed, data, voice and multi-media services at a fraction of the cost and time needed to deploy traditional wireline infrastructures. Spike designs, deploys and supports its own complete, high-capacity systems for licensed frequency bands under 10GHz. With systems operating worldwide, Spike understands the business economics that drive our customers' success and their on-going requirement to satisfy the bottom-line. Our Spike Continuum(TM) systems deliver unrivaled capacity and unparalleled scalability, empowering our customers to maximize the revenue potential from each unit of available spectrum.

For more information about Spike Broadband Systems, or the Spike Continuum(TM) product line, visit www.spikebroadband.net