picoChip and Airspan Announce Strategic Partnership for Delivery of the First Fully Upgradeable WiMAX Basestation Reference Design.

BOCA RATON, Fla. & BATH, England -- Airspan Networks, Inc., (NASDAQ:AIRN) and picoChip today announced a strategic partnership to deliver the first fully upgradeable reference designs for WiMAX basestations. The product, known as SoftMAX, implements the current 802.16-2004 WiMAX standard with future support for mobility.

SoftMAX is a complete, end-to-end software-defined radio solution based on picoChip's massively parallel digital signal processing technology and Airspan's system design, software and hardware expertise. This technology is being used in Airspan's commercial basestations. The companies have entered into an exclusive development and marketing agreement for the new product.

Telecommunications equipment manufacturers entering the emerging WiMAX infrastructure market can reduce cost and time to market by adopting SoftMAX. It provides a standards-compliant, interoperable solution including support for such additional features as diversity, space-time coding, a variety of profiles, adaptive antenna systems and MIMO.

The initial product is based on the 802.16-2004 standard for fixed and nomadic broadband wireless access systems. The software-defined architecture allows for a completely flexible upgrade path to future versions of the standards: in particular to the 802.16e version for mobile broadband access. This flexibility is especially important given that the 802.16e standard is not yet frozen and the critical need for interoperability testing.

Operators will also benefit from this architecture as it will allow them to undertake field software upgrades as the standards develop, avoiding the need for expensive hardware upgrade or replacement programs.

Caroline Gabriel, Research Director at Rethink Research Associates, commented: "Combining Airspan's depth of 'real-world' field experience and systems software understanding with picoChip's upgradeable architecture will deliver a very solid product. Until now, any WiMAX products have been CPE-focused, ignoring the distinct needs of infrastructure OEMs. This combination is the first true reference design for the basestation and as such is very important. SoftMAX will meet the needs of manufacturers working on systems today, dramatically accelerating time-to-market and interoperability -- while the flexibility and commitment to future-proofing make it especially important for those looking ahead to 802.16e."

Airspan developed the MAC and higher layer software, while picoChip is responsible for the PHY, the baseband processor and customer support. Additional software available from Airspan extends well beyond the MAC into services and network management. SoftMAX also includes a hardware reference design and schematics, needing only to be connected to a radio.

Eric Stonestrom, Airspan's president and chief executive officer, stated, "Airspans's goal is to expedite the WiMAX reality and bring the most compelling solution to our customers, and this partnership helps us to do just that. Reference designs and interoperability are two of the most significant issues for the WiMAX community, so standards-based solutions can replace the existing proprietary systems. Reference designs create synergy between implementers and accelerated development cycles - fast tracking the creation of very competitive and sophisticated products. Furthermore, access to both companies' partners and markets generate an instant head start towards interoperability across the industry."

Peter Claydon, co-founder and CEO of picoChip, added, "This partnership between two leaders in WiMAX technology clearly demonstrates the power of a seamlessly integrated WiMAX platform. OEMs and operators need a reference design; together we help implement a complete, upgradeable and interoperable WiMAX basestation saving millions of dollars and years of time-to market."

The two companies are leaders in wireless communication infrastructure: with more than 200 customers in more than 70 countries, Airspan has proven expertise in fixed wireless; while picoChip has rich expertise in PHY development for both cellular and OFDM. This unique combination of world-class expertise provides a robust system that will meet and exceed the requirements of not just the standard but "real world" deployment conditions.

picoChip provides solutions to the key challenges of cost, development time and flexibility for next generation of wireless systems. The company's latest, second generation processor, the PC102 picoArray(TM), delivers world-beating price/performance for reconfigurable wireless signal processing and has achieved design wins with major companies developing wireless infrastructure. Uniquely, the company also delivers complete, standard compliant reference designs for UMTS (including HSDPA) and WiMAX. The team also has man-decades of high-quality, long-range OFDM PHY development experience.

picoArray is a registered trademark of picoChip. All other trademarks and servicemarks are the property of their respective owners.

About picoChip Designs Limited

picoChip, located in Bath, England, is dedicated to providing innovative, flexible wireless solutions to help equipment makers minimize time-to-market, costs, and system power consumption.

At the heart of the company's offering is a scaleable, multi-processor baseband IC that combines the computational density of a dedicated ASIC with the programmability of a traditional high end Digital Signal Processor. The picoChip technology platform includes tools, development boards and reference designs, and proven IP for seamless integration with the radio frequency elements of a base station. Equipment based on picoChip technology will enable telecom operators to remotely re-configure and upgrade their equipment without the high costs of replacing obsolete hardware.

picoChip currently has a development team with a balanced mix of hardware and software engineers of outstanding ability and experience; spanning such diverse fields as communications system design, software development, computer architecture, digital signal processing, RF design, and silicon design.

The company was founded in September 2000 and is backed by both Pond Venture Partners and Atlas Venture. More information on picoChip can be found at http://www.picoChip.com

About Airspan Networks, Inc.

Airspan Networks provides wireless voice and data systems and solutions, including Voice Over IP (VoIP), to both licensed and unlicensed operators around the world in frequency bands between 700 MHz and 6 GHz, including both PCS and 3.5GHz international bands. Airspan has a strong product evolution roadmap that includes offerings compliant with the new 802.16-2004 standard, and with built-in 802.16e capability. Airspan is on the Board and a founder member of the WiMAX Forum. The Company has deployments with more than 200 operators in more than 70 countries. Airspan's systems are based on radio technology that delivers excellent area coverage, high security and resistance to fading. Airspan's systems can be deployed rapidly and cost effectively, providing an attractive alternative to traditional wired communications networks. Airspan also offers radio planning, network installation, integration, training and support services to facilitate the deployment and operation of its systems. Airspan is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with its main operations center in Uxbridge, United Kingdom.

More information on Airspan can be found at http://www.airspan.com

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding Airspan's strategy, future operations, financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "projects," "will," "would" and similar expressions or negative variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Airspan may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in its forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on Airspan's forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements made by Airspan. Investors and others are therefore cautioned that a variety of factors, including certain risks, may affect our business and cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These risk factors include, without limitation, (i) a slowdown of expenditures by communication service providers; (ii) increased competition from alternative communication systems; (iii) the failure of our existing or prospective customers to purchase products as projected; (iv) our inability to successfully implement cost reduction or containment programs; (v) a loss of any of our key customers; and, (vi) specific to this press release, Airspan's ability to successfully develop and sell the SoftMAX product. The Company is also subject to the risks and uncertainties described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003. Readers should read those factors as being applicable to all related forward-looking statements wherever they appear in this press release. Airspan does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.