Walker Wireless installs leading network tech.

For immediate release

Walker Wireless installs leading network technology

AUCKLAND, April 4, 2000 - Broadband wireless company Walker Wireless Limited today announced it has chosen Cisco to drive its networking infrastructure and will be one of the first New Zealand companies to install new generation fast networking technology.

Walker Wireless, which offers wireless access to businesses wanting high speed Internet access, secure data transfer or services like Virtual Private Networking (VPN), will use the new equipment to increase its network capabilities.

'Wireless technology is about providing low cost high speed data transfer,' said Walker Wireless chief executive Paul Ryan.

'Cisco is a world leader in developing the technology that powers networks like ours and the new Cisco routers are a vital link giving us the strongest broadband wireless system in New Zealand.'

Ryan added that one of the key features of broadband wireless was the ability to quickly increase the scale of service as customer numbers grew and as individual customers increasingly used the system.

'The new routers give us increased flexibility to grow our network and let us deliver on our customer promise of better and faster services,' he said. The network upgrade, based on technology from Cisco Systems, together with integration services provided by Datacraft, will provide Walker Wireless with state of the art services for customers.

Datacraft Asia managing director Ron Cattell said the new technologies will allow Walker Wireless greater control over its network when compared to other traditional router / switched networks. Traffic can be controlled based on the traffic type and then matched against the best possible path. Generally this means the fastest path. Instead of lighter email traffic competing against larger traffic types such as full streaming video, the network will intelligently interrogate the traffic and the network and select the most suitable traffic flow.

This process, known as Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), is the emerging standard for fast network switching and Walker Wireless is the first New Zealand operation to deploy it.

The bottom line benefit of this new class of networking is that Walker Wireless customers will have their information delivered faster and at lower costs than on alternative networks.

The decision to install Cisco equipment follows the announcement by Walker Wireless that it had concluded arrangements with TVNZ subsidiary BCL to use that company's broadcast towers. Walker Wireless will site its broadcast antennae on BCL towers and other high points giving it a national network covering the major metropolitan areas and key smaller centres.

Ends

Editors' Notes:

About Walker Wireless

Walker Wireless connects companies to the Internet, to other companies, and to multiple sites within one company by fast wireless links. As computer speeds increase, businesses need to transfer more information quickly and cheaply. While computer speeds have increased 50-fold in the last decade, modem and data speeds have generally only increased six-fold. And while telecommunications networks have upgraded to transfer data at many gigabits a second, most businesses are only connected to these networks via a twisted-pair copper pipeline that considerably slows the transfer of data.

Walker Wireless provides broadband wireless access that is faster to install than fitting new cable connections, flexible enough to be adjusted to allow varying amounts of data to flow along it, and reduces its customers' data communications costs by 50%.

About Cisco

Cisco Systems is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, with a growing range of networking solutions connecting people, computer devices and computer networks. Founded only 15 years ago the company has quickly become one of America's greatest corporate success stories. Since going public in 1990 it has become the fastest growing IT company in the world with a record revenue of US$12.2 billion to July last year. In December Cisco's market capitalism reached US$300 billion, making it the second most valuable US stock market company. In March the company overtook Microsoft to become the most valuable US stock market company.

For further information contact

Walker Wireless Paul Ryan Telephone: 09 522 3678 Mobile: 021 981 821 Email pryan@walkerwireless.com

Botica Conroy & Associates Michael Bartrom Telephone: 09 303 3862 Mobile: 021 403 503 Email michaelb@bca.co.nz

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