Boston, MA - October 14, 2002 - fSONA Communications, designer and manufacturer of the award-winning SONAbeam™ family of FSO products, today announced at Next Generation Networks in Boston the commercial availability of the fastest reacting active-tracking FSO system yet - the SONAbeam™ AT or AutoTrack series. The first product to be offered with the innovative tracking system will be the SONAbeam™ 1250-AT for Gigabit Ethernet.

Using highly agile beam steering technology licensed in an exclusive OEM agreement with Moog, a worldwide manufacturer of precision control components and systems, fSONA has developed the fastest beam steering mechanism in the FSO industry. Moog’s high performance actuation products are used in military and commercial aircraft, satellites and space vehicles, launch vehicles, automated industrial machinery and now, telecommunications equipment.

The integration of AutoTrack technology into the SONAbeam™ product line will open up applications to include links that span longer distances, need active stabilization, or require high security. AutoTrack allows SONAbeam™ to track both low frequency movements caused by thermal expansion and contraction, as well as high frequency movements caused by environmental disturbances such as heavy winds and earthquakes.

“We are pleased to have worked with fSONA to develop the precision steering mechanism for their FSO product line,” said R.T. Brady, Chairman and CEO of Moog. “It’s rewarding to see our extensive experience in high performance motion control translated to a new industry where we can provide real advantages in telecommunications products that have long range or difficult stability requirements.”

Although tracking systems are not new to the FSO marketplace, this does mark a new direction for such systems. Unlike gimbals or motors used to compensate for slowly varying movement, this new technology also compensates for high frequency vibrations and impulsive wind gusts that can effect transmission integrity. fSONA’s AutoTrack technology uses a frictionless fine steering mirror with a demonstrated 100Hz closed loop bandwidth through 5 degrees of motion in two orthogonal axes. Even the latest micro-mirror technology cannot compete with the beam diameter and range of travel specifications of this FSM. This is also the first time (patent applied for) a single FSM has been used in a dual-aperture FSO system eliminating the need to split the transmit and receive wavelengths.

“Our mission at fSONA is to strive for the highest quality in our products,” says Theresa Carbonneau, President & CEO of fSONA Communications. “To that end, we are delighted to have been able to work with Moog, the world’s leader in high performance motion control, in developing the SONAbeam AutoTrack products.”

The SONAbeam™ product family also includes fixed-pointed systems. These products use a wider beamwidth to compensate for building sway and wind disturbances, and have field-proven effectiveness around the world.

SONAbeam™ FSO technology uses invisible light beams to deliver high-speed wireless communications. By transmitting through the atmosphere, SONAbeam™ dispenses with the substantial costs of digging up sidewalks and streets to install fiber. SONAbeam™ also eliminates costly radio frequency (RF) spectrum licenses and fees, and it is immune to electro-magnetic/RF interference. An additional benefit is that it is nearly impossible to eavesdrop or intercept the narrow-beamwidth SONAbeam™ FSO transmissions.

About Moog
Moog Inc. is a worldwide manufacturer of precision control components and systems. Moog’s high-performance actuation products control military and commercial aircraft, satellites and space vehicles, launch vehicles, missiles and automated industrial machinery.

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.