PROX Proxim (MM)

EZ Wireless Selects Proxim Wi-Fi and Broadband Wireless Equipment for Country's Largest Public Safety Wireless Deployment Nine-City Wireless Network Covering 700 Square Miles in Oregon and Washington Enables Innovative Public Safety and Emergency Management Applications SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Proxim Corporation (NASDAQ:PROX), a global leader in wireless networking equipment for Wi-Fi and broadband wireless networks, today announced that its Tsunami Broadband Wireless Access Systems and ORiNOCO Wireless Access Points have been deployed in one of the country's largest and most innovative regional broadband wireless networks. EZ Wireless, an industry leader in the design and construction of city-wide wireless networks, selected Proxim's solutions for a wireless network that spans nine cities in Northeastern Oregon and Washington State, and brings new public safety and emergency response applications to the region's police, fire and medical first responders. Spanning multiple counties and covering 700 square miles, the network enables a new generation of public safety and emergency management applications for the region's police, fire, port authority and military operations. EZ Wireless first designed the network in 2003 to meet the needs of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Umatilla, Oregon, which stockpiles and incinerates chemical weapons. The area's small community police forces and other emergency responders were ill-equipped to transmit data. They had disparate voice systems across jurisdictions making it impossible to have any visibility into the locations and movements of dangerous chemical plumes resulting from accidents at the Depot. First responders were unable to track emergency situations adequately, let alone organize critical evacuations. EZ Wireless solved this problem by designing the Incident Response Information System (IRIS), a Geographical Information System (GIS) application that combines layers of information on key locations throughout the cities served in the region and transmits the data using Proxim's wireless data networks. The system allows emergency responders to view high-resolution satellite images of locations such as government buildings, schools and crops. Using handheld devices, emergency responders can drill down to view maps, GPS data, floor plans and chemical plume locations with dispersion models from the Chemical Weapons Depot. This allows the emergency personnel to respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations such as the accidental release of hazardous materials. Since the initial design of the network, public agencies in Washington and Oregon have discovered and deployed many additional applications for the wireless network. For example, by installing cameras along major transport routes in the region, they can now monitor the key intersections used for emergency evacuations. Video surveillance is backhauled via the wireless data network. In other areas, the network is being used for emergency responder drills and routine police work such as traffic flow and accident monitoring. The cities are already experiencing significant benefits as a result of the new wireless network. For example, Morrow County has reduced paperwork by 65% in its annual federal drill. The Hermiston police department will soon use the system to allow officers to write reports while they patrol -- an expected time savings of 50% or 2,000 hours. Proxim's Tsunami Broadband Wireless Access Systems and ORiNOCO AP-2000 Access Points were instrumental in designing the EZ Wireless network and providing the high reliability, ease of management and cost efficiencies required for the critical applications the network supports. According to Brad Kincaid, Manager of Technology for EZ Wireless, the fact that Proxim could provide a full range of wireless networking equipment was a significant benefit. "Unlike many wireless vendors, Proxim has decades of proven wireless expertise. In addition, they were the only vendor who could provide us with both enterprise-class Wi-Fi access points and carrier-class broadband wireless systems," Kincaid commented. "The dual radio architecture, robust functionality including VLAN support, and manageability of the access points were big selling points for us -- as were the reliability and cost efficiencies of the Tsunami systems. Using Proxim's Wi-Fi and broadband wireless products in combination, we were able to build the kind of wireless data network that reliably supports important public safety and emergency response applications." "The EZ Wireless deployment is a perfect example of how Proxim's Wi-Fi and broadband wireless solution, together, can deliver high speed connectivity and high network reliability for the public safety market," said Ben Gibson, senior vice president of marketing for Proxim. "These applications require secure, high-speed broadband networks. The combination of our access points for metro Wi-Fi coverage and Tsunami systems to backhaul traffic is a successful model that many of our customers are deploying." EZ Wireless plans to expand its network to address new applications including variable message signs and reverse flow traffic, both of which support evacuation scenarios. About EZ Wireless EZ Wireless is a division of IRZ Technologies, a leading provider of turn-key, high-speed mobile data solutions for emergency management agencies, industries and communities. EZ Wireless creates innovative wireless networks using standard 802.11 and 802.16 technologies. Using IRZ's software, hardware and services, EZ Wireless engineers, builds and runs its networks, giving users cost-effective, high-speed wireless access and enabling a host of public safety and emergency management applications. http://www.ezwireless.us/ About Proxim Proxim Corporation is a global leader in wireless networking equipment for Wi-Fi and broadband wireless networks. The company is providing its enterprise and service provider customers with wireless solutions for the mobile enterprise, security and surveillance, last mile access, voice and data backhaul, public hot spots, and metropolitan area networks. This press release and more information about Proxim can be found on the Web at http://www.proxim.com/. Safe Harbor This press release may contain forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from Proxim's expectations in these statements. For additional information regarding risks relating to Proxim's business, see Proxim Corporation's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and Forms 10-Q for quarters ended April 2, 2004, July 2, 2004 and October 1, 2004, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other relevant materials filed by Proxim with the SEC. Proxim assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Proxim Corporation CONTACT: Lori S. Hultin of LSH Communications, +1-818-879-4651, or , for Proxim Web site: http://www.proxim.com/

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