Super-Fast Broadband Possible For Everyone, Anywhere, As Bluwan Launches High-Speed, High-Capacity Backhaul And Access Solutions

BARCELONA, Spain, February 14, 2011 - 2011 is shaping up to be the year of super-fast broadband, as numerous
providers enhance their offerings in an attempt to bridge the digital divide.
Research from Point Topic (point-topic.com) highlighted the extent of
the divide, with urban areas of Britain scoring 67% on the Broadband
Infrastructure Index in mid-2010, whereas rural areas scored only 25%; a
figure that is set to increase(1). To reduce this gap, Bluwan
(www.bluwan.com), today announced its carrier grade, super-fast,
high-capacity Fibre Through The Air (FTTA(TM)) solution, enabling service
providers to dramatically increase network capacity and deploy next
generation services to areas where fibre cannot go.

Bluwan's FTTA(TM) technology has two main applications: mobile backhaul
and high speed broadband access, and is set to give consumers and businesses
reliable, consistent and cost-effective speeds of up to 100 Mbps in both
urban and rural areas. Bluwan's FTTA(TM) technology provides a high-capacity
solution for 3G and 4G networks, as well as wireless hotspots, enabling
superior download capacity(2) compared to existing broadband solutions.

Whilst Bluwan's technology offers a solution to the digital divide
problem, it also addresses the saturated urban mobile networks that require
more capacity to handle increased demand caused by consumers' use of
smartphones and multimedia applications. Music streaming, online gaming,
participating in a video conference and watching HDTV whilst downloading
large files puts a huge strain on operators' networks. By using new
technologies, such as FTTA(TM), network operators can immediately increase
their bandwidth, and future proof networks for ever-increasing usage and
growth, at a greatly reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

In addition, Bluwan's technology can also benefit businesses,
particularly those in the technology sector, which rely on higher capacity
broadband and reliable speeds to expand. 2010 highlighted the desire of
European governments to grow this sector, which is already worth an estimated
100 billion pounds Sterling to the UK economy,(3) with plans to invest a
further 200m pounds of equity finance for businesses. "Bluwan is really
exciting because it means emerging technology and media startups can access
true high-speed broadband - whether they're based in the Scottish Highlands
or a major city like London," said Elizabeth Varley, co-founder and CEO,
TechHub (www.techhub.com). "By providing a fast, wireless and reliable
alternative to fibre, Bluwan can help bridge the digital divide for small
businesses in a faster, greener and more cost-effective way."

Bluwan currently has two existing trials taking place with the City of
Paris (Paris Gigacom) and Orange Slovakia. Both trials use Bluwan's FTTA(TM)
technology to provide large areas with high speed broadband, demonstrating
long-range coverage, value for money, and fast deployment. By using FTTA(TM),
an operator doesn't need to dig up roads or trench fibre, thus saving costs
and time. They can install and deploy services within a six-month timeframe.
According to research by Trova Consulting (www.trovaconsulting.com),
commissioned by Bluwan, the cost of FTTA is significantly less than laying
fibre and compared to a 'Fibre to the Home' (FTTH) proposition, can cost up
to ten times less per subscriber.

"Currently, operators are unable to make an adequate profit when
deploying super-fast broadband in areas with insufficient demand. Solving
this problem requires government intervention, which can be seen with
initiatives like Digital Britain, as well as a disruptive force to enable a
change in economic models," said Jean-Francois Galey-Sand, CEO, Bluwan.
"Bluwan aims to be this force, disrupting the economics of broadband, making
it a viable solution for service providers, resulting in a healthy return on
investment, whilst ensuring consumers receive a more reliable, robust and
high-speed service in return."

Figures from Mobile Insights Europe in 2010 showed that by using a
solution like Bluwan's(4) for backhaul, savings in comparison to fibre
leasing will equate to around $2.8 billion per year by 2014. This figure will
likely rise to an incredible $248 billion in comparison to current widely
used broadband solutions.(5)

If you would like more information, Bluwan will be at
Mobile World Congress in Hall 2, stand #2F33 at the Fira from the 14th - 17th
February. We will also be hosting cocktails and canapes on the stand every
evening from 5pm onwards, so please come and join us. For more information on
Bluwan, please go to www.bluwan.com, and check out our demonstration
video here
(www.bluwan.com/info-centre/videos/bluwan-ftta-overview.html).

About Bluwan

Established in 2005, Bluwan was co-founded by Francois Magne, Pierre
Lagoutte and the Thales Group (www.thalesgroup.com), a world leader in
mission-critical information systems for defence and security, aerospace and
transportation. A privately owned company, Bluwan's solutions are the
culmination of several years of research and development.

Bluwan delivers a paradigm shift by providing carrier-grade multi-gigabit
wireless solutions with fibre-like speeds and capacity, allowing service
providers to increase existing network capacity (42 GHz and 12GHz spectrums)
and deploy multimedia services at a fraction of the cost of deploying optical
fibre in those hard to reach areas. Bluwan's FTTA technology has two main
applications: mobile backhaul and high-speed broadband access.

Bluwan has deployed several pilots in France and in Europe, and has been
awarded sizeable subsidies in government sponsored competitive programs, to
develop very compact radios and antennas for CEPT 12 GHz and 42 GHz radio
frequencies.

    (1) point-topic.com/content/dslanalysis/BBAbbi101124.html
    (2) Multiples of 100 Mpbs per link, 12 GBps total capacity
    (3) Research from Google and Boston Consulting Group
        www.connectedkingdom.co.uk, October 2010
    (4) Point to Multiple Point technology
    (5) This is a comparison between FTTA and PTP (Point to Point) microwave
        technology

Sarah Jennings, Ballou PR for Bluwan, sarahj at balloupr.com, +44-(0)7725-989-594, at sarahejennings