WiMAX SPECTRUM OWNERS ALLIANCE PREPARES TO CONNECT THE NEXT BILLION BROADBAND USERS

Paris, September 23, 2006 – At an inaugural meeting in Paris, founding members Unwired Australia, Network Plus Mauritius, UK Broadband, Irish Broadband, Austar Australia/Liberty Group, Telecom New Zealand, WiMAX Group- Europe, Enertel, and Woosh Telecom announced today the launch of the WiMAX Spectrum Owners Alliance (WiSOA), the first global organisation composed exclusively of companies that own spectrum and operate services in the WiMAX bands. The work of WiSOA will be fundamental to connecting the next billion users to a worldwide WiMAX broadband network.

WiMAX is the revolutionary, standards-based technology that provides on-line, anytime, anywhere broadband to computers, PDAs and mobile phones. Like GSM and CDMA, its strength lies in the fact that it operates only in specified, licensed frequency bands aligned with WiMAX technology. WiMAX enables fully mobile broadband access at very high speeds to consumers anywhere in the world, and therefore has many advantages when compared to other communications technologies.

WiSOA also announced its intention to sign the first international WiMAX roaming agreement in December. This roaming agreement will cover all WiMAX services and operate in all WiMAX frequency ranges. The agreement will act as the backbone of a future global WiMAX network and adheres to the 802.16e standards. The importance of global roaming has been proven with GSM. Today there are 25,000 roaming agreements worldwide generating over $25 billion in revenue every year.

“WiMAX is a disruptive technological breakthrough in the telecommunications sector, and will deliver personal broadband to enable users to access the Web, make telephone calls, watch videos and play music,” said Steve R. Cosser, chairman of WiSOA. “WiSOA was established to facilitate the adoption of WiMAX globally, and with its exclusive membership of spectrum owners only, is in a unique position to do so.”

WiSOA is an operator-driven alliance with clear commercial goals. It has parallels with similar successful industry alliances such as GSM-A and the cable and telephony industry associations. It will complement the work of the WiMAX Forum and work closely with them to accelerate WiMAX deployment worldwide.

About WiSOA
WiSOA represents the needs of those companies and organizations that own and operate WiMAX spectrum. Its particular focus is on WiMAX networks, most especially on resolving those issues related to the definition and implementation of interoperable network infrastructure, services and agreements. Founding members are: Unwired Australia, Network Plus Mauritius, UK Broadband, Irish Broadband, Austar Australia/Liberty Media, Telecom New Zealand, WiMAX Telecom Austria, Enertel and Whoosh Telecom. WiSOA shares a number of the goals of the WiMAX Forum, however WiSOA specifically exists to work to ensure that the value of the licensed spectrum is fully realised by both government bodies and investment institutions. For further information, please subscribe to WiSOA’s daily newsletter, WiMAX Day, by visiting www.wisoa.com.