20th January,2004

WiMAX Telecom GmbH, a subsidiary of the Swiss WiMAX Telecom AG, has acquired the nationwide frequencies for WiMax in Austria. WiMAX Telecom was founded by Werner Kastzler, the former CEO of Telekom Austria and Ericsson Austria, together with Dov Bar-Gera, the founder of surfEU, RSLCom Austria and Airpage. All activities will, in the future, be steered by WiMAX Telecom AG, Switzerland, which already has concrete plans for a rollout among others in Switzerland. Provided the frequencies are made available by OFCOM (Swiss Federal Office of Communications), customers in Switzerland will be able to benefit from WiMax as early as end of 2005.

WiMAX Telecom GmbH was the sole provider to obtain the nationwide rights to the WiMax frequencies in Austria at the auction of October 4, 2004. With a range of 25 kilometers and transmission rates of up to 70 Mbps, this new radio technology is expected to become standard for wireless broadband internet access and mobile telephony. WiMAX, which provides a throughput rate 30 times faster than UMTS 3G, is the first technology offering both realtime and unlimited mobile services. The voice-over-IP technology, set to be incorporated in mobile phones during 2005, will enable customers to make mobile phone calls throughout Switzerland at far lower rates and without paying horrendous roaming fees.

The far-reaching range of WiMAX now makes it possible, for the first time, to extend broadband technology to rural areas, and the high transmission rates make it possible to cover urban areas with just a few WiMAX antennae. "Concrete plans are now in place for Switzerland as well as Austria. Provided we get a license from OFCOM, we plan to erect the first WiMAX antennae in Switzerland towards the end of 2005," explains Dov Bar-Gera. And Werner Kastzler adds: "Lower installation costs and the determination with which the telecom and IT industries support this technology will enable us to complete the Switzerland-wide rollout by 2008." Setting up the Austrian network is scheduled to start in mid 2005, and the introduction of this technology in Eastern Europe is already in the planning stages.