Vancouver, Canada - June 4, 2002 - fSONA announces at SUPERCOMM the release of the SONAbeam™ 52-M - a carrier-class Free Space Optical (FSO) system that addresses the needs of wireless carriers today and into the future.

The SONAbeam™ 52-M is the first scalable-bandwidth FSO product to be offered in a carrier-class housing. It provides datarate-transparent transmission from 1.5 to 52 Mbps including NxT1/E1, DS3, E3, OC-1/STM-0 and SONET/SDH standards.

As mobile wireless networks migrate from second-generation (2G) to third-generation (3G) technologies, bandwidth requirements will grow dramatically. Predictions are that the worldwide number of cell sites will nearly triple over the next 5 years. Backhaul for these networks will need to be scalable to adapt to this growing demand for bandwidth. SONAbeam™ FSO technology offers a rate-adaptable, carrier-class solution that is a perfect fit for backhaul applications.

"By listening to our customers we discovered that wireless carriers are facing two challenges - the first is to minimize capital and operating expenditures in their current network, the second is to build that network to support an incremental migration to next-generation services." said Theresa Carbonneau, President and CEO, fSONA Communications. "Because the SONAbeam™ 52-M is able to multiply capacity as needed, carriers can update their network with FSO today and be ready to provide next-generation services in the future."

Replacing leased lines with FSO allows a mobile operator to install a scalable-bandwidth solution that is owned rather than leased. Bypassing the incumbents means wireless carriers are not tied to a recurring monthly expense that grows with each upgrade. The time and cost to secure licensing and address interference issues associated with microwave can also be circumvented by FSO - it is an unlicensed technology and, even in dense mesh configurations, there is no interference.

According to a September 2001 report by Strategis Group, FSO sales for backhaul are expected to grow from $34 million in 2000 to $627 million in 2006. Also, a November 2001 report issued by Bear Stearns, predicts Fixed-Wireless sales for backhaul are expected to grow from $4,150 million in 2000 to $6,482 million in 2005.

SONAbeam™'s FSO technology uses invisible light beams to deliver high-speed wireless communications that are reliable and secure. Rugged and robust, SONAbeam™ provides more power output than any other FSO product on the market. More power translates into greater availability and longer distance transmission.

About fSONA
fSONA Systems is recognized as the preferred provider of optical wireless solutions for government, enterprise and service provider markets around the globe. Leveraging leading edge advancements in 1550nm optical transmission, the SONAbeam™ family of systems, based on free-space-optics (FSO), use a globally unlicensed, wireless technology to provide speeds up to 2.5 Gbps over distances up to 7km. For more information visit www.fsona.com or www.free-space-optics.org

Further Information
For more information about fSONA, SONAbeam or Free-Space Optical Wireless, please contact:

604-273-6333
media@fsona.com

fSONA and SONAbeam® are trademarks of fSONA Networks. All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies.