Subject: [NEXTEL-1] California Amplifier Develops Smart Antenna Technology to Enhance 802.11 Performance

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 03:00:37 -0500

California Amplifier Develops Smart Antenna Technology to Enhance 802.11
Performance

CAMARILLO, Calif., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
California Amplifier, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAMP) announced today that it has
developed an adaptive digital beamforming smart antenna technology for 802.11
applications.  The Company has applied for patent protection on its
beamforming technology and is evaluating incorporation of this technology into
a next generation Wi-Fi chip, under a licensing agreement with an 802.11
integrated circuit developer.
"We are very pleased with our progress in applying our extensive RF design
and wireless systems expertise to a widely deployed standard like 802.11,"
said Fred Sturm, Chief Executive Officer.  "We believe this is a major step
towards diversifying our Wireless Access business unit beyond our traditional
MMDS video and data markets."
In typical 802.11 systems, an access point acts as a hub station,
coordinating communications between many client stations.  The Company's smart
antenna technology, called RASTER(TM), resides at the access point to
significantly enhance the coverage and data throughput, particularly in areas
where poor signal quality is an issue.  Unlike other approaches to increase
throughput and coverage, products based on RASTER technology will not require
any changes to the 802.11 standard, and are expected to work with commercially
available network interface client cards.
California Amplifier's RASTER beamforming technology, which was initially
targeted to MMDS applications, has been in development since calendar year
2000.  RASTER uses multiple antennas and powerful digital signal processing to
dynamically form an antenna pattern optimized to a desired client at any given
instant, based on interference and other wireless channel conditions.  The
Company has integrated RASTER with 802.11 physical layer and media access
control processing, allowing an access point to form transmit and receive
beams, cancel interference and better utilize high multipath,
non-line-of-sight channels, thus substantially improving performance.
Development of RASTER-enhanced products that are cost-competitive with
standard access points will require integration of this technology into a next
generation 802.11 chip, which the Company expects will occur over the next
12 months.
"Smart antennas are the next frontier in wireless communications," said
Kris Kelkar, Senior Vice President of Wireless Access Products.  "We have
achieved signal quality improvements that are expected to double the burst
data rate and increase overall throughput by approximately 50% in weak signal
conditions, while dramatically increasing the coverage of a single access
point.  When combined with the inherent interference cancellation ability of
RASTER, this advancement brings a higher level of performance and robustness
to a very cost effective, standards-based wireless solution."
Gemma Paulo, a senior analyst with technology research company
In-Stat/MDR, commented, "Interference, limited range and data throughput
continue to be issues that drag down the widespread deployment of 802.11
wireless networks.  Smart Antenna technology, such as California Amplifier's
RASTER, has great potential for driving the broader implementation of 802.11
products in Enterprise, Hot-Spot and Campus environments.  These hardware
markets had revenues of $1.4 billion in 2001, and are expected to grow to
$2.7 billion in 2004."
802.11 refers to a family of specifications for wireless local area
networks (WLANs) developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE).  It specifies an over-the-air interface between a wireless
client and a base station or between two wireless clients.  There are
currently four specifications in the family: 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, and
802.11g.

About California Amplifier, Inc.
California Amplifier designs, manufactures and markets a broad line of
integrated microwave solutions used primarily in conjunction with satellite
television and terrestrial broadband wireless applications.  The Company's
satellite business unit designs and markets reception components for the
worldwide Direct Broadcast Satellite television market as well as a full line
of consumer and commercial products for video and data reception.  The
wireless access business unit designs and markets integrated wireless
solutions for video, voice and data applications.  California Amplifier is an
ISO 9001 certified company.  For additional information, visit California
Amplifier's web site at http://www.calamp.com .

Statements in this release about the Company's future financial
performance, customer relationships, initiatives to develop innovative
wireless solutions, and the market potential of new products are
forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations.  Words such
as "may," "will," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "anticipates,"
"seeks," "could," "evaluates," "estimates" and variations of these words and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Factors that could impact California Amplifier's future results include
changes in product demand and market growth rates, the effect of competition,
pricing pressures, supplier constraints, manufacturing yields, market
acceptance of new products and the viability and market acceptance of new
technologies.  Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in
such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can
give no assurance that its expectations will be attained.  The Company
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  More
information about California Amplifier's risks is available in the Company's
annual report on Form 10-K and other filings made from time to time with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

For further information, please contact: Crocker Coulson, Partner, Coffin
Communications Group, +1-818-789-0100, [email-masked] , for
California Amplifier, Inc.; or Kris Kelkar, Senior Vice President, Wireless
Access Products of California Amplifier, Inc., +1-805-987-9000.

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