MILPITAS, California, and NEW YORK, - Value of Mobile-Wi-Fi Convergence Becomes a Reality for Enterprises Based on Extricom's Wireless LAN Solution

Kineto Wireless, Inc., the key innovator and leading supplier of Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology, and Extricom, a designer and manufacturer of high-performance, next generation wireless LAN infrastructure solutions for the enterprise, today announced the companies have completed interoperability testing between Kineto's UMA solution and Extricom's enterprise wireless LAN infrastructure. Through this testing effort, the companies demonstrated how mobile operators can extend their UMA service offerings into the enterprise and commercial hot-zone markets.

The testing validated what is believed to be an industry first: seamless handover and continuity of active UMA voice calls and data sessions between Wi-Fi access points in an enterprise wireless LAN environment. Seamless mobility across access points truly unlocks the value of mobile/Wi-Fi convergence for all enterprises, enabling superior in-office coverage, single-number convenience, and overall cost efficiencies that cannot be achieved with today's fragmented network situation. Thanks to Extricom's unique Wi-Fi infrastructure, UMA-based sessions can transparently move between access point radios, without any interruption in service. All-the-while, Wi-Fi level security is maintained as well as the IPSec tunnel used to secure UMA services. The tests were conducted with multiple commercially-available UMA-enabled handsets, clearly illustrating the handset-agnostic benefits of the system.

"As more and more employees use their mobile phone as their main phone, the overall cost and performance of mobile service becomes an increasing concern for enterprise IT departments," said Ken Kolderup, vice president of marketing for Kineto. "The traditional challenge of Wi-Fi mobility has been overcome through our collaboration with Extricom, enabling mobile operators to now confidently extend their UMA services into the enterprise market and offer those enterprises the combination of superior mobile performance and lower costs."

Extricom's award-winning Interference-Free(TM) WLAN system represents the next generation of enterprise Wi-Fi, with a fundamental shift in architecture from "cell-planning" to a "channel blanket" topology. The technology eliminates the co-channel interference that plagues traditional WLAN systems, to deliver seamless and zero-latency mobility, robust, 'wire-like' client connections, and the ability to design for a guaranteed and predictable level of service for all users. All this, without the iterative and costly RF cell-planning of traditional solutions. The result is a high-performance yet simple solution for powering the enterprise triple play of data, voice (VoWLAN), and video.

"With this proven interoperability, Kineto and Extricom are reaching another major milestone in the evolution of mobile/Wi-Fi convergence, bringing the increasingly popular benefits of UMA technology - high performance, low-cost mobile services - to enterprise wireless LANs," said David Confalonieri, vice president of marketing for Extricom. "This collaboration will help expand the UMA opportunities for mobile operators, as well as unlock new operational benefits for enterprises across all vertical industries."

About UMA Technology

Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology is the 3GPP global standard for fixed/mobile convergence. UMA enables secure, scaleable access to mobile voice, data and IMS services over broadband IP access networks. By deploying UMA technology, mobile operators can deliver a number of compelling fixed-mobile convergence services. The most well known application of UMA technology is dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets, which enable subscribers to automatically roam and handover between cellular networks and public and private WLANs. Leading operators around the world have embraced UMA technology as part of a fixed-mobile convergence strategy, including Telecom Italia, France Telecom/Orange and TeliaSonera.