Maywood Schools Deploys Exalt Microwave Radio Systems for District-Wide Network

CAMPBELL, CA--(Marketwire - October 19, 2009) - Exalt Communications, the company that is reinventing microwave backhaul, today announced that Maywood School District 89 in suburban Chicago has deployed its EX-5r-c and EX-5i microwave radio systems to enable a 100-megabit per second (Mbps) Ethernet network that serves 5,500 K-8 students at multiple locations.

The District's facilities include schools in Maywood, Broadview and Melrose Park, Illinois. The microwave network carries traffic for approximately 1,200 computers located at schools, a data center and district offices. While the district has used microwave radio links since the late 1990s to handle administrative applications and e-mail, it has recently upgraded its network with Exalt microwave radio systems to triple the available bandwidth, reduce management overhead and improve overall reliability.

"Our previous microwave radio systems limited us to about 30 megabits-per-second and we had to call in our consultant whenever we needed a configuration change," said Bob Hodges, director of technology at Maywood School District 89. "With the Exalt systems, we have 100 megabits on tap and we can use their excellent management interface and built-in spectrum analyzer to adjust frequency bands or handle other maintenance activities."

The Exalt systems were deployed on the recommendation of Wireless Information Networks (WIN), an RF engineering, design, deployment and management firm in nearby Burr Ridge, Illinois. "Given the numerous interference sources present throughout the school district, the Exalt radios' interference mitigation capabilities were the key features that allowed our engineers to design a reliable, carrier-class backhaul network for Maywood School District 89," said Thomas Pedergnana II, senior project manager at Wireless Information Networks.

WIN deployed EX-5r-c radio systems as a backbone that connects the district's data center in Melrose Park with two key schools, and then it added EX-5i radio systems to link four other school locations. The average network hop distance is one mile. Thanks to the additional capacity available, the district has now implemented new applications such as video surveillance on its network.

"We like the ability to add applications as needed without worrying about whether the network will handle it," said Hodges. "In fact, we can go to 200 Mbps with a simple license key upgrade -- that's a really great concept."

With their simplified management, the EX-5r and EX-5i Series radios allow Hodges and his team to perform most routine maintenance themselves, saving the cost of calling in WIN consultants for a site visit. In addition, all Exalt radio systems deliver 99.999 percent link and throughput availability, making them much more robust than the previous systems.

"Schools across America are using computerized applications not only to improve the educational process, but also to improve safety through video surveillance," said Amir Zoufonoun, president and CEO of Exalt Communications. "Like other school districts we serve, Maywood Schools has reduced its costs and improved its ability to educate students efficiently and safely by deploying our high-capacity, high-availability radio systems."

All Exalt radio systems -- licensed and license-exempt -- are carrier-class systems offering guaranteed link availability, guaranteed throughput and low, constant latency. Systems are available in frequencies from 2 to 40 GHz and in capacities from 10 Mbps to more than 700 Mbps per channel, providing a range of options to fit countless network applications. Designed to enable a smooth transition to IP, they offer native support for both TDM and Ethernet, and are fully software configurable and upgradeable. For easy and secure management using third-party network management systems, Exalt systems support SNMP v1, v2c and v3. Data security is provided by available FIPS 197-compliant AES 128-bit and 256-bit encryption that adds zero latency to the transmission. To simplify installation and maintenance, all Exalt systems feature an embedded manual and most include a built-in spectrum analyzer.

About Exalt Communications

Exalt Communications provides next-generation licensed and license-exempt microwave systems to service providers, government organizations and enterprises worldwide. Exalt products are designed to solve the network bottlenecks associated with the growing demand for IP-based voice, data and video applications and the resulting migration from TDM to IP-based networks. With a flexible architecture and universal product platform covering multiple market segments, Exalt provides a full range of carrier-class microwave radio systems that meet the demand for cost-effective and flexible alternatives to fiber and leased lines. www.exaltcom.com

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Pamela Valentine VP, Marketing, Outbound & Channel Exalt Communications pvalentine@exaltcom.com 408-871-1804 x351 Michael Schoolnik Story Public Relations michael@storypr.com 415-674-3816