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SOMA Networks Partners with France Telecom to Maximize Performance of Cutting-Edge Wireless Broadband System Doubling Capacity of Its Air Interface, ‘Last-Mile’ Systems Company Licenses France Telecom’s Turbo Codes San Francisco – May 6, 2002 – SOMA Networks and Spectra Licensing Group, the North American licensing agent for France Telecom, announced today that the two companies have signed a royalty-bearing patent licensing agreement for the use of France Telecom’s Turbo Code technologies in SOMA Networks’ revolutionary “broadband anytime, anywhere” wireless system. By leveraging the advantages of Turbo Codes, invented in 1993 by France Telecom’s research division, SOMA Networks has more than doubled the capacity of its proprietary SOMA Air Interface™ to deliver carrier-grade voice, multi-megabit data, and advanced multimedia services to the residential and small-office market, increasing the value proposition for its customers. “The key to success for any wireless broadband ‘last-mile’ system is a profitable business case for the service provider,” said Greg Caltabiano, SOMA Networks’ Senior Vice President for Worldwide Markets. “Utilizing France Telecom’s Turbo Coder forward error correction codes, SOMA’s Amosphere™ system enables service providers to reach double the number of subscribers that they would have reached using conventional coding schemes, increase delivery of revenue-generating voice, data, and multimedia services, and therefore substantially bolster their bottom line.” Eliminating the need for expensive leasing or installation of wired facilities as required by DSL, cable modems, and Fiber to the Home (FTTH), the SOMA Air Interface overcomes the economic barriers to mass deployment of competitive and profitable broadband “last-mile” services. Earlier generation wireless local loop systems for data rely upon line-of-sight engineering with expensive customer equipment and costly installation, while offering limited network capacity. Leveraging key strengths of third-generation wireless standards, including 3GPP2 (W-CDMA), and incorporating France Telecom’s Turbo Codes as the heart of its forward error correction system, SOMA Networks’ innovations provide for higher peak data rates, higher aggregate capacity, higher spectral efficiency, multimedia “Quality of Service” (QoS), and service convergence on IP. The SOMA system provides non-line-of-sight access, enabling subscriber self-installation of the SOMAport™ customer premises equipment and eliminating the need for costly “truck rolls” and custom installations. Its large cell radiuses require only one-tenth the number of base stations as the competition – and therefore significantly decrease the upfront capital costs – to roll out the system. Turbo Codes are a form of forward error correction, one of the fundamental building blocks of any type of digital communication, which enables reliable communications with power efficiencies close to the theoretical “Shannon limit.” In October 2001 France Telecom – acting on behalf of France Telecom R&D, Telediffusion de France (TDF, a national broadcasting subsidiary of France Telecom), and Groupe des Ecoles des Telecommunications (GET), which own a number of patents and patented applications related to Turbo Codes – began its Turbo Code Licensing Program (TCLP), establishing a single licensing scheme for virtually all communication applications. France Telecom designated Spectra Licensing Group LLC as its North American licensing agent, and TurboConcept SAS is managing the program in Europe. “SOMA Networks’ use of Turbo Codes to increase the capacity of its ubiquitous wireless broadband system is a clear validation of their flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and high level of performance,” said Jean-Luc Chativat, TCLP program manager for France Telecom R&D. “We are pleased to welcome SOMA Networks, as an early participant of the Turbo Code Licensing Program, into the France Telecom family.” About SOMA Networks: About Spectra Licensing Group About France Telecom
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