BriefingRoom on Connected Planet Online

Alaska Power and Telephone Uses Optelian CWDM
Alaska Power and Telephone (AP&T) has deployed Optelian’s LightGAIN CWDM system to optimize fiber and tie DSL platforms together on a 22-mile point-to-point fiber link between Skagway and Haines, Alaska.

Dave Vogel, Skagway Manager, AP&T commented that the LightGAIN system “is very easy to install and turn up”. While always available to customers, Optelian’s installation and support service was not required; installation and turn-up were completed entirely by AP&T. The system has been up and running for several months.

General Manager, Telephone Operations, Eric Logan stated, “Optelian was easy to work with and equipment delivery was timely.” He also noted “the LightGAIN equipment is simple, transparent, and has very low power consumption.”

About Alaska Power and Telephone
Alaska Power and Telephone is one of the most progressive communications and energy providers in the State of Alaska. For 50+ years, employee owned AP&T has served over 30 communities stretching from the Arctic Circle to the southernmost tip of SE Alaska. Serving over 12,000 households and business customers, AP&T offers an array of services to Alaskans, from energy to cutting-edge voice, video and data communications built on a foundation of fiber-optic, landline and wireless technologies.

About Optelian:
Optelian provides optical transport systems for telecom, multi-service operator (MSO), utility, and enterprise customers worldwide. Since 2002, the world’s largest telecommunications network operators have been choosing Optelian for product reliability, quick delivery, custom designs, and great service.
Optelian’s carrier-grade system, LightGAIN, saves power and is easy to use. Compact LightGAIN systems support a full range of optical transport applications in all segments of the network.
Optelian sales, service, and marketing are based in Marietta, Georgia; development and manufacturing are based in Ottawa, Ontario, with offices, partners, and resellers worldwide.
For additional information regarding Optelian, please go to www.optelian.com.

Optelian is pleased to announce an agreement with JTS Corporation to sell and support Optelian’s LightGAIN optical transport systems and LightPRO test and turn-up tools. JTS is based in Tokyo and has clients throughout Japan.

“JTS is the perfect distribution partner for this market. Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, and as such will have a very high demand for Optelian’s products. With its technical proficiency and wide array of contacts, JTS is ideally placed to make this arrangement an extraordinary success” said Clifford Watson, Managing Director, Optelian International Corporation.

“The Japanese never settle for second best. With a sleek system that is designed for maximum efficiency and durability, from the highest quality Japanese and North American components, we are confident that Optelian’s equipment will be extremely popular in Japan” said Tomoji Kojima, CEO of JTS.

About JTS Corporation
JTS Corporation is an importer and distributor of telecommunications and networking products. Established in 2004, JTS has become the supplier of choice for telecommunications companies seeking the latest in products for triple-play broadband services.

JTS is a distributor for many high tech companies, including Omnitron Systems Technology, Compunetix, and Patton Electronics, with products ranging from media converters and xDSL through to Video/Audio conferencing systems. For all its products, JTS offers comprehensive technical support and maintenance.

For additional information regarding JTS, please go to http://www.j-ts.com/.

About Optelian: Optelian provides optical transport systems for telecom, multi-service operator (MSO), utility, and enterprise customers worldwide. Since 2002, the world’s largest telecommunications network operators have been choosing Optelian for product reliability, quick delivery, custom designs, and great service.
Optelian’s carrier-grade system, LightGAIN, saves power and is easy to use. Compact LightGAIN systems support a full range of optical transport applications in all segments of the network.
Optelian sales, service, and marketing are based in Marietta, Georgia; development and manufacturing are based in Ottawa, Ontario, with offices, partners, and resellers worldwide.
For additional information regarding Optelian, please go to www.optelian.com

Proxim is First to Break the 300 Mbps Speed Barrier for 802.11n Solutions, Enabling WLAN Networks at Half the Cost

Proxim’s 802.11n APs Reduce Cost and Simplify Deployments While Achieving Industry’s Highest Throughput

Silicon Valley, November 17, 2008 – Proxim Wireless Corporation (NASDAQ: PRXM), a leading provider of end-to-end broadband wireless systems that deliver the quadruple play, today announced the availability of the industry’s first 802.11n solution to achieve 320 Mbps of throughput with a dual-radio solution.  In addition, Proxim’s new 802.11n products have been designed to be customer-friendly and overcome the barriers of cost and complexity faced by competing products to deliver 802.11n networks at half the price of existing WLANs. With Proxim’s ORiNOCO® AP-8000 and AP-800 802.11n access points, organizations of all sizes can achieve higher performance than their existing wired and wireless LANs while avoiding the costly controller upgrades, deployment challenges, and additional network planning that have deterred enterprises from upgrading to 802.11n.

Realizing the Truly Unwired Enterprise

IEEE 802.11n is the next generation of the Wi-Fi standard.  The primary advantages of 802.11n-compliant products are significantly higher throughput and longer range. With the advent of 802.11n technology, the truly unwired enterprise is possible – yet many organizations cite the high cost of migration and the complexity of deployment as barriers to moving to 802.11n.

Proxim’s ORiNOCO AP-8000 dual-radio and AP-800 single-radio APs overcome the challenges hindering adoption by achieving numerous key industry firsts:

• First 802.11n solution to achieve greater than 300 Mbps throughput performance, with dual-radio throughput rates tested at 320 Mbps
• First 802.11n solution to work within the 802.3af (POE) power requirements in both single- and dual-radio 3×3 MIMO 11n configurations, eliminating the cost and hassle of additional wires and power injectors to each AP that are typically required with competitive 802.11n products
• First solution to support Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) globally in all 5 GHz bands, which eliminates the worry of network interoperability and interference and provides 10 times the number of channels available at 2.4 GHz
• First solution to support both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz operation on each 802.11n radio, providing the flexibility for deployment in various environments
• First 802.11n solution that utilizes the same mounting hardware as existing Proxim 802.11a/b/g APs, greatly simplifying upgrades unlike competitive 802.11n products which often require new mounting hardware

“802.11n is the most important development in wireless LANs since the original standard of 1997,” said Craig Mathias, a Principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. “Proxim has been building wireless LANs since before there was 802.11 and Wi-Fi, and their experience shows with new .11n products that allow for simplified upgrades to existing installations and also appeal to those just getting started with wireless LANs. 802.11n offers better performance than most wired networks, along with the flexibility and convenience of mobility - Proxim’s announcement clearly shows that the era of the unwired enterprise has truly arrived.”

Proxim ORiNOCO AP-8000 and AP-800

Proxim’s ORiNOCO AP-8000 and ORiNOCO AP-800 access points enable the industry’s highest performance, easiest to use, and most cost-effective 802.11n networks for enterprises of all sizes. Proxim 802.11n solutions have achieved the industry’s highest performance to date with throughput exceeding 170 Mbps with a single radio and 320 Mbps with a dual radio solution. However, Proxim focused on more than just introducing a product with the industry’s leading throughput – Proxim engineered its products to be simple for its customers to use.  Many competitive products require substantial investment in additional infrastructure before they can be installed. These real-world costs can quickly deter enterprises from upgrading to enjoy the benefits offered by 802.11n products.  Proxim’s AP-8000 and AP-800 provide an 802.11n solution that enables customers to quickly, easily and cost-effectively deploy the highest-performance 802.11n network available.

“Proxim has been responsible for deploying and managing our Wireless LAN for the past 7 years at each of our Microsoft TechEd EMEA conferences. This year we had 4300 connected wireless users at the IT Professionals conference in Barcelona where Proxim had installed 5 of their brand new 802.11n access points. The access points performed flawlessly at the conference with a peak usage of 70 users per radio and peak throughput of 175 Mbps,” said Luca Balbo, Group Manager, Event Marketing at Microsoft Corporation. “We have added an additional 2 access points for this week’s Developers Conference and will also be using the AP-8000 at next week’s Microsoft Convergence conference in Copenhagen. These events have a very large number of power users and the performance of Proxim’s new 802.11n access point has been remarkable.”

Higher Performance than Existing Wired LANs/WLANs

Proxim’s ORiNOCO 802.11n products enable enterprises of all size to finally unwire the wired LAN by providing greater performance than existing Ethernet networks.

• Highest throughput with single radio rates of over 170Mbps and dual radio rates of 320Mbps
• Substantially higher throughput than typical 10/100 wired LANs
• No need to run new cable to add stations to a LAN
• 7x the throughput of existing typical WLANs
• High reliability for quad play applications
• The only solution to provide dual 2.4 GHz and dual 5GHz operation
• The first solution certified to work for the entire 5 GHz spectrum worldwide

Half the Cost of Existing WLANs

Proxim’s 802.11n solution drastically reduces the cost of WLAN deployments using 802.11a/b/g products.

• With the added range and throughput, ORiNOCO 802.11n deployments cost only half of today’s 802.11a/b/g networks when deployed to achieve the same capacity
• Proxim’s 802.11n solution provides two times the range of standard 802.11a/b/g APs to ensure enhanced signal strength to hard-to-reach clients in the office, which simplifies deployment

Reduced Cost of Upgrading to 802.11n

Proxim’s ORiNOCO 802.11n products are the first to overcome the deployment challenges and the associated costs of competitive 802.11n products by eliminating the need for forklift upgrades, additional wiring, or additional network planning.

• Because Proxim does not require costly WLAN controllers, Proxim 802.11n networks can cost-effectively scale to meet increasing bandwidth demands in the future
• ORiNOCO 802.11n APs are the only APs on the market that are completely 802.3af compliant in all configurations, which avoids the cost of additional wiring or power injectors as required by 802.3at compliant APs
• Proxim’s 802.11n APs utilize the same mounting hardware as existing Proxim 802.11a/b/g APs, enabling simple swap out of old APs and making upgrades a snap

Distributed WLANs with Centralized Management

To provide centralized management of Proxim 802.11n networks, the ProximVision ES network management system supports the ORiNOCO AP-8000 and AP-800 products. The ProximVision ES network management system provides rapid network deployment and mobile configuration – providing a complete view of the wireless network and comprehensive device configuration. The product installs on Windows XP, Windows 2003 and Windows Vista and supports SNMPv1, SNMPv2 and SNMPv3. Primary benefits include:

• Rapid Network Deployment – ProximVision ES automates configuration processes for faster, more efficient deployment of Proxim Wireless networks.
• Mobile Configuration Capabilities – ProximVision ES gives network managers a mobile option for exhaustive device configuration with a software-based tool.
• Greater Ease of Use and Upgradability – ProximVision ES can support a greater number of APs than competitively priced solutions and provides the simplest path to configuration and upgrade.

Pricing and Availability

Proxim’s ORiNOCO AP-8000 (dual-radio) and AP-800 (single-radio) products are available immediately for $1,099 and $799 respectively. For more information on how to buy, please visit: http://proxim.com/buy/default.aspx.

Wavesat Wireless Broadband Solutions Central to Successful Launch of Remote Research Collaboration Facility for Canadian and Chinese Companies

Montréal, Canada, November 12, 2008 – Wavesat Inc., a leading supplier of Broadband Wireless semiconductor solutions announced today that it has participated in a multi-partner initiative that launched a new Remote Research Collaboration Facility (RRCF) on November 7, 2008. The initiative was spearheaded by Prompt Inc. and the Shanghai Research Center for Wireless Communications (WiCO) The RRCF is a transcontinental virtual laboratory that will provide researchers in Montréal, Canada and Shanghai, China with remote access to microelectronics and telecommunications equipment. Wavesat provided funding, research and development expertise as well as products for the set up of the RRCF. ZTE, the world’s leading telecommunications device supplier, also actively participated in the demonstration.

With leading researchers, government, academic and industry leaders watching on, the successful live demonstration took place at WiCO’s world-class research and development facility located in Shanghai. It was the first intercontinental experiment between researchers at the Montréal-based École de technologie supérieure (ETS) and WiCO. The successful live demonstration proved that microelectronics equipment located in Shanghai could be managed by students located more than 11 thousand kilometers away. The demo showcased both the research capability available through the RRCF and how it will benefit innovators in both countries. Wavesat’s Odyssey™ 8500 WiMAX USB device was central to both the demonstration and future collaboration at the RRCF.

Throughout the project, the Wavesat Odyssey-based broadband wireless devices will be used as the platform for research with the goal of improving realistic deployment models as well as antenna technology algorithms. Further to the initial collaboration, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between ZTE and Wavesat in September 2007 engaging both companies to continue to support the project towards establishing a real-life WiMAX field environment. The Wavesat Odyssey 8500 chip is ideal for such a project given its unique multimode and programmable architecture.

In addition to facilitating new research and development collaboration, the RRCF creates a cost-effective and efficient means for Canadian and Chinese companies to demonstrate new wireless technologies to prospective customers across the globe. Wavesat intends to showcase its latest broadband wireless technologies supporting multiple protocols at the RRCF facilities.

“The RRCF creates an international customer interaction centre for Wavesat, enabling us to demonstrate and promote our innovative broadband solutions to prospective customers in China’s telecommunications industry,” said Mr. Raj Singh, President and CEO at Wavesat. “We look forward to the positive impact on our product development and the opportunity for greater reach into lucrative Asian markets.”

“We have helped to create a virtual research environment that promises to stimulate practical–and profitable–research results for both university researchers and companies such as Wavesat and ZTE,” said Dr. Charles Despins, President and CEO of Prompt. “It demonstrates how the Prompt partnership model can directly impact the growth of Québec-based companies, by stimulating new commercial opportunities and facilitating access to new global markets.”

About Wavesat

Wavesat is a global leader in mobile broadband, providing advanced semiconductor solutions to the world’s leading carrier and mobile device manufacturers to deploy future-proof broadband services and products. With award winning technology, Wavesat delivers silicon that enables customers to deploy multiple Broadband Wireless technologies such as WiMAX Wave2 and XG-PHS today and to migrate seamlessly to future 4G technologies such as LTE. Wavesat is a principal member of the WiMAX Forum®. Wavesat was awarded the 2008 Frost and Sullivan Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Excellence in Technology Award and was recognized as one of Canada’s Top Ten Technology companies for 2009. For more information, please visit www.wavesat.com.

About Prompt Inc.

Prompt is a non-profit corporation that stimulates industry-university R&D partnerships to increase the competitiveness of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector in Québec. With financial support from the Government of Québec and the private sector, Prompt aims to enable new R&D initiatives that add value to Québec-based companies, increase the benefits of public investments in research, and bolster the provincial innovation system. The partnerships facilitated by Prompt are financed by the private sector, the Government of Québec and the Government of Canada. As these initiatives often receive additional funds from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and other granting agencies, and scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED) tax credits from provincial and federal governments, the value of every dollar invested by a company can generate a return of more than seven. For further information, please visit www.promptinc.org.

© Copyright 2008 Wavesat All rights reserved. Information subject to change without notice.

Wavesat, Odyssey and Odyssey Broadband Everywhere are trademarks of Wavesat Inc. */ ® registered by Wavesat Inc. in the U.S. WiMAX, WiMAX Forum and WiMAX Forum Certified are trademarks of the WiMAX Forum. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

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For more information:

Mike Newsom
President, LouVan Communications, Inc.
louvanpr@comcast.net
Tel. +1 508 541 9036 / Fax +1 508 541 9051
GSM / text msg: +1 617 803 5385
SMS: 6178035385@txt.att.net
AIM: louvanpr

Wavesat

Veronica Farmer

Marketing Communications

M +1 613.862.3346

vfarmer@wavesat.com

PR Canada

Capital-Image Inc.
Miriam Lauzon
T +1 514.739.1188, ext. 235

mlauzon@capital-image.com

Prompt Inc.

Sonya Shorey

Communications Strategist

T: 613.851.9416

sonyashorey@rogers.com

Rounds Out Gigabit Ethernet PoE Media Converter Portfolio

Las Vegas, NV — September 29, 2008 – BICSI Fall Conference — Transition Networks Inc., the switching and conversion technology expert, a wholly owned subsidiary of Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JCS), today announced the introduction of a new Gigabit Ethernet Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) media converter. This product expands Transition Networks’ portfolio of PoE copper-to-fiber media converters enabling customers to power wireless access points, voice over IP phones and IP security and surveillance cameras.

These new converters are capable of handling speeds up to Gigabit Ethernet and can be located more than 100 meters from the main PoE Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) without the expensive replication of the PSE. The new devices are fully compliant IEEE 802.3af media converters providing 10/100/1000Base-T to 100/1000Base-X conversion and can be powered by an AC outlet anywhere in the world.

“In addition to helping overcome the challenge of linking remote IP cameras and Wi-Fi access points located beyond the 100 meter distance limitation of PoE over UTP cabling, our PoE copper-to-fiber media converters also help to reduce capital expenditures and installation costs by providing the benefits of PoE at the remote sites,” said Patrick Schaber, Director of Marketing at Transition Networks. “As we expand our PoE product portfolio to accommodate higher bandwidth devices and customer applications, the addition of the new gigabit Ethernet device offers customers the utmost in flexibility for integrating fiber into their PoE networks.”

Product Features
Transition’s AC powered PoE media converters utilize an external AC power supply allowing for a reduced form factor when compared to devices with an internal power supply. These converters combine the data received over a fiber optic link with up to 15.4 watts of power and insert the combination on either the “A” or “B” pairs of unshielded twisted pair cabling to interface with Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) Power Devices (PD). The media converters also include PD signature sensing and power monitoring features compliant with the IEEE 802.3af standard, such as Over-Current Protection, Under-Current Detection and Fault Protection Input. In addition, these products include Transition’s premium selectable features such as Automatic Link Restoration, Auto-Negotiation, Autocross, Link Pass Through, Far End Fault and Pause.

Transition also integrated the following innovative and industry-unique features into these new gigabit Ethernet media converters:

Power Device Reset - With the PSE/LPT switch enabled, a loss of fiber RX will disable PSE power output on the UTP port for 2 seconds to allow remote device to re-initialize. It will then resume power output to the PD device and will automatically re-establish the UTP communication link once the fiber RX is restored.
Redundant, dual speed SFP ports – The 110 model includes two SFP ports that support both 100Base-FX and 1000Base-X SFPs providing the ability to utilize this converter to support a fast Ethernet link today and simply move to gigabit Ethernet in the future by changing out the SFP. These dual speed ports can also be set via dip-switch to provide a redundant fiber path between a mission critical PD and a PSE or to function as traditional three port switch.

Product Configuration and Availability
Transition’s new gigabit Ethernet PoE media converters are offered in three distinct models:

Product Description
SGPOE10xx-100 10/100/1000Base-T (RJ-45) PoE to 1000Base-X (fixed fiber port) offered in either multimode and single mode SC
SGPOE1040-100 10/100/1000Base-T (RJ-45) PoE to 100/1000Base-X (dual speed SFP port)
SGPOE1040-110 10/100/1000Base-T (RJ-45) PoE to (2) 100/1000Base-X (dual speed SFP ports) offering fiber redundancy

These new gigabit Ethernet PoE media converters expand Transition’s already extensive portfolio of PoE products. Transition also offers external AC powered 10/100-base models as well as 10-base and 100-base PoE media converters with internal power supplies in either AC powered or DC powered configurations. In addition, PoE injectors and PoE splitters are available under Transition’s MILAN brand offering.

All models are available immediately. Please contact Transition Networks at (800) 526-9267 or www.transition.com for the latest information.

About Transition Networks Products
Transition Networks’ conversion products are known for their ruggedness and reliability. They have a 99.4 percent customer acceptance rating, meaning that approximately one in 1,000 experience failure in the field. All Transition Networks brand of media converters and switches carry a lifetime warranty.

About Transition Networks Inc.
Transition Networks Inc. offers networking connectivity solutions that make networks perform better, faster and more reliably while helping companies leverage their existing networking infrastructure. The company’s Transition Networks brand of media converters make conversion between disparate media types possible, providing conversion technology solutions that offer the necessary adaptations without affecting the performance, nature or appearance of the network. Its complete MILAN portfolio of multilayer switching products is designed to facilitate low-cost network evolution with unique solutions, easing the stress on networks caused by high-bandwidth applications. Based in Minneapolis, Transition Networks distributes hardware-based connectivity solutions exclusively through a network of resellers in 50 countries, including Ingram Micro and Tech Data. Transition Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Communications Systems, Inc., a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: JCS).

Statements regarding the Company’s anticipated performance in 2008 are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: competitive products and other factors discussed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.