Vivato Invents World's First Wi-Fi Switch.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Next-Generation Wi-Fi Company Dramatically Increases Capacity and

Reach of Wireless LANs with Revolutionary Technology;

Led by "Wireless Who's-Who" Management Team and Board

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2002

Vivato(TM), a new Wi-Fi infrastructure company, today announced it has created the first Wi-Fi switch with patent-pending PacketSteering(TM) technology. Vivato's invention changes the "physics" and economics of wireless networking deployment by providing dramatically higher capacity at significantly lower costs of ownership than conventional wireless networking, enabling Wi-Fi everywhere.

Wi-Fi switching is a new architecture for wireless local area networks that combines gigabit Ethernet switching, Wi-Fi and smart antenna design. Wi-Fi switches send and receive multiple transmissions simultaneously and extend the range of Wi-Fi from meters to kilometers. Vivato's switches will include planar phased array antennas built into a flat panel with integrated management and security. Three levels of security will be provided: state of the art Wi-Fi encryption and authentication, virtual private networks and a unique rogue access point detector. Vivato's Wi-Fi infrastructure products will support standard IEEE 802.11b, .11a and .11g client adapters.

Vivato is targeting large enterprises and campus environments, such as universities and hospitals, that can benefit from extended range, world-class security and scaled deployment of Wi-Fi. Inside an enterprise, a single Wi-Fi switch can cover an entire floor or, if deployed outside, one switch can cover an entire building or campus. As compared to the tens of conventional access points it would take to cover the same area, the Wi-Fi switches simplifies both deployment and management, resulting in lower total cost of ownership for large Wi-Fi installations.

Wi-Fi switching is also an attractive option for last-mile broadband delivery in metropolitan or suburban areas. The extreme range of Vivato's switches provides coverage to large areas and enables direct communication with standard Wi-Fi clients, improving the economics of broadband service delivery. Vivato expects to ship products to customers in the first quarter of 2003.

"A switch architecture may serve to address several of the primary issues facing large enterprises in 802.11 deployments, such as installation and configuration," said Rajeev Chand, senior equity analyst, Wireless Technologies, Rutberg & Co. "Recently formed companies in this 802.11 sub-sector are exhibiting technology differentiation, which we believe merits investor and corporate attention."

Founded in December 2000 as Mabuhay Networks by Ken Biba and HP/Agilent veterans Skip Crilly, Bob Conley and Jim Brennan, Vivato received $2.5 million seed funding from Leapfrog Ventures and completed a $20 million Series B funding round led by U.S. Venture Partners and Walden International. The company also completed a $3 million debt-funding round led by Silicon Valley Bank and GATX. Vivato is headquartered in San Francisco, with a research and development center in Spokane, Wash.

"We are creating revolutionary products that respond to a real market need," said Vivato CEO and chairman Ken Biba. "While we expect to surprise and disrupt the industry with our new technology, we also expect to hear a collective 'Aha' from enterprises looking for a powerful and safe Wi-Fi infrastructure."

Executive Team

At the core of Vivato is a skilled and experienced executive team composed of veterans of successful companies--Xircom, AirTouch/Vodafone, Hewlett Packard, Agilent, Texas Instruments, Intel, Aironet and Alcatel -- integrating the disciplines of local area networks, high performance packet switching, wireless wide area network deployment, radio frequency and antenna design, and integrated circuit design.

-- Ken Biba, co-founder, CEO and chairman, a Mitre Corporation computer security and networking expert, co-founded and led three successful network systems companies, including Xircom, Agilis and Sytek

-- Phil Belanger, vice president, marketing, a former executive at Wayport, Aironet and Xircom; one of the founders and former chairman of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA is now known as the Wi-Fi Alliance.); co-author of the DFWMAC protocol, the foundation for the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol standard

-- Skip Crilly, chief technology officer and co-founder, responsible for the invention and architecture of Vivato's PacketSteering technology; formerly an engineer at Agilent Technologies and Hewlett-Packard

-- Michael Scullin, vice president business development, previously served as business development executive with Xircom, an Intel Company and Vodafone AirTouch Plc (formerly AirTouch/PacTel)

-- Marcus da Silva, vice president, engineering, holds 10 U.S. patents and managed the development and business efforts for several HP and Agilent test system programs

-- Mike Wilson, chief financial officer, CPA with audit and tax experience at Price Waterhouse and most recently served as vice president of finance and chief financial officer for Advanced Input Devices

Board of Directors

Vivato's board of directors includes Geoff Baehr, general partner U.S. Venture Partners; Mark Dubovoy, general partner Leapfrog Ventures; Mike Pliner, industry consultant and former CEO of Sytek and Verity; Lip Bu Tan, chairman of Walden International; Ken Biba, founder, chairman and CEO, Vivato; and Skip Crilly, founder and CTO, Vivato.

About Vivato

Vivato is the inventor and first manufacturer of Wi-Fi switches for enterprises and service providers designed to enable high bandwidth Wi-Fi wireless networks everywhere: in the enterprise, across campuses and throughout metropolitan areas. Vivato is headquartered in San Francisco with a research and development center in Spokane, Wash. For more information, please visit www.vivato.net or call 415/495-1111.