IN THIS ISSUE• Step Aside, Fiber – ExploreAir is Here!

• The Exalt All Star Line-Up: Platforms for Every Network, Application, and Budget

• Mission-Critical Backhaul: How CAL FIRE Fights Fires with Exalt

• customEr spotlight A Cutting-Edge WISP Makes All the Right Moves

Volume 2, Number 7 – July/August 2010Reinventing microwave backhaul™

(Cont’d on back)

Step Aside, Fiber – ExploreAir is Here!ExploreAir will revolutionize the way you think about network backhaul.Exalt has done it again. Just when backhaul networks need it most, Exalt announces the ExploreAir platform, delivering speeds up to 1000 megabits per-second full-duplex per carrier for all Ethernet packet types and sizes. With their fiber-like performance and jaw-dropping prices, systems built on the ExploreAir platform are ideal for building all-microwave gigabit Ethernet backbone and last mile access networks for next generation mobile and fixed applications.

Now you can slash deployment time, reduce total cost of ownership, and relieve network congestion without turning to fiber – and at a fraction of fiber cost. Systems built on the ExploreAir platform are ideal for:

Mobile operators building next generation 4G/LTE mobile and WiMAX networks to support bandwidth-hungry devices such as air cards, smartphones, and the Apple iPad

Fixed-line operators, cable operators, and tower companies building new high capacity metro Ethernet backhaul and access networks

WISPs, enterprises, and government agencies building new ring or mesh mixed-mode fiber/microwave networks.

The first ExploreAir systems, available now, support world frequency bands from 2 to 40 GHz in a compact, lightweight all-outdoor configuration, delivering the highest value with the lowest cost per megabit-mile (CPMM) – and the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) – of any systems in their class.

(Cont’d on inside)

The Exalt All Star Line-Up: Platforms for Every Network, Application and BudgetBecause Exalt doesn’t believe “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to microwave backhaul.

No two baseball players use the same equipment. Each chooses among different-sized caps, uniforms and shoes. Different bat lengths and weights. Different glove styles, sizes, and types. It’s the same with backhaul networks. No two network infrastructures are the same, applications are many, and budgets vary from constrained to substantial. That’s why Exalt offers three frequency-independent, configuration-independent microwave backhaul platforms, offering customers the ultimate in flexibility and customization

Designing platforms from a customer perspective is in our DNA. From the very beginning, Exalt recognized that every customer and every infrastructure is unique. So we designed a unique firmware architecture, first used in the Exalt EX platform, that has enabled Exalt to build the largest portfolio of microwave backhaul systems in the industry.

Exalt Unveils ExploreAir™

4G/LTE-Ready PlatformFiber Speed at a Fraction of Fiber Cost

ExploreAir™ PlatformFiber performance. lowest tco.ExploreAir breaks records by delivering the highest guaranteed single carrier Ethernet throughput available – up to 1 Gbps – in sub-60 GHz frequency bands. Designed to support Gigabit Ethernet, PDH, SDH, and SONET interfaces in bands from 2 to 40 GHz, systems built on the ExploreAir platform are packed with advanced features.

With speeds up to 1000 megabits per-second full-duplex per carrier for all Ethernet packet types and sizes, ExploreAir systems offer the highest capacity in their class. As with all other Exalt systems, ExploreAir systems include native TDM circuits for customers who prefer a hybrid approach as they transition to all-IP.

move over, Fiber.ExploreAir systems are ideal for building all-microwave gigabit Ethernet backbone and last mile access networks for next generation mobile and fixed applications. They are also the most economical choice for lateral extensions and true back-up redundancy to existing fiber.

For additional information on the first available ExploreAir systems, visit: www.exaltcom.com/exploreair-all-outdoor.aspx

ExtendAir® Platformoptimized for last mile and Backbone Applications up to 100 mbps.Designed to operate in frequency bands from 2 to 40 GHz, systems built on the ExtendAir platform support both Fast Ethernet and PDH interfaces, and deliver a wide array of features and capabilities previously unavailable in their price range.

With speeds up to 100 megabits per-second full-duplex, ExtendAir systems offer network designers a highly reliable, secure alternative to fiber and leased lines at an unheard of cost per megabit-mile (CPMM). And like all Exalt systems, ExtendAir systems support native TDM and Ethernet to support any TDM to IP migration timeline.

No trade-offs Necessary.Systems built on the ExtendAir platform are the most economical choice for building next-generation Fast Ethernet last mile and backbone networks for mobile and fixed applications.

For additional information on ExtendAir systems, visit: www.exaltcom.com/extendair.aspx

EX Platformrock-solid performance. industry leader.The one that started it all – the Exalt EX platform – is the engine behind the EX-Series of all-indoor, all-outdoor, and split-mount microwave backhaul systems. The 2 to 40 GHz EX lineup boasts the most widely used sub-6 GHz mobile backhaul radios in North America, the fastest all-outdoor 5 GHz radios in the world, and the only licensed radios that offer network operators an exciting alternative to the high cost of link redundancy.

When Exalt designed the EX platform, the company chose to approach microwave backhaul from a different perspective – that of the customer. Until the EX platform, customers had to force-fit other microwave systems into their infrastructures.

All configurations. All Bands. All interfaces. Systems built on the Exalt EX platform have met public and private network application needs from edge to core, and have been deployed by hundreds of Exalt customers from Tier 1 carriers to WISPs, utilities, pubic safety agencies, and enterprises throughout the world.

For additional information on Exalt EX systems, visit:

www.exaltcom.com/EX-i-series.aspx for all-indoor systemswww.exaltcom.com/EX-r-series.aspx for all-outdoor systemswww.exaltcom.com/EX-s-Series.aspx for split-mount systems

Exalt delivers exactly what customers want.

More options. Higher performance. Greater functionality.

All backed by world-class service and support.

First-responders count on mission-critical networks.Mission-critical networks count on Exalt.

Public safety agencies everywhere – from police and fire departments, to backup EOCs, DOTs, and more – trust Exalt for their network backhaul. Here’s how one such agency, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, has put Exalt to work.

With a mission to protect 31 million acres of privately owned land in California, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has a difficult job. CAL FIRE employees are dedicated to fire protection and, in addition, the Department provides emergency services response in 36 of the State’s 58 counties. CAL FIRE firefighters, fire engines,

and aircraft respond to an average of more than 5,600 wild land fires each year. Those fires burn more than 172,000 acres annually.

Facing drought conditions every summer, along with California budget issues that have reduced the number of staffed fire lookout towers, CAL FIRE needed to devise a system to obtain fire information because of the loss of staffed lookout towers. Exalt microwave backhaul systems have become a key part of a new solution that reduces costs and delivers more accurate information so CAL FIRE personnel can respond to wild land fires more quickly and efficiently.

lines of sightHistorically, forestry agencies have used staffed lookout towers to monitor for fires and assist response crews in determining fire size and direction of travel. But budget cutbacks have left organizations like CAL FIRE with fewer eyes in the forest, leaving them to rely on 911 caller reports for information about fire locations.

“It’s not an ideal situation for us to only use information from 911 calls,” says Justin Sanders, Battalion Chief at CAL FIRE’s Amador / El Dorado Unit, Emergency Command Center (ECC), “911 callers often do not know exactly where a fire is located.”

As a result, CAL FIRE has had to dispatch aircraft to assist in determining the location, size, and direction of fires. With such flights costing thousands of dollars each, CAL FIRE decided to find a better, more cost-effective solution.

The result is a system that uses high-resolution video cameras mounted on unstaffed lookout towers. Two years in development, the system relies on Exalt microwave backhaul systems to connect the cameras with monitors and personnel at the Amador / El Dorado Unit, Emergency Command Center (ECC) in Camino, California.

the Exalt solutionFunded under a State of California Grant, the video surveillance system in El Dorado County is the largest in the United States. Exalt all-outdoor microwave radio systems deliver video content over links ranging from 18 to 26 miles in length. Each radio system is configured for 200 Mbps of aggregate Ethernet throughput and Exalt throughput symmetry control allows CAL FIRE to adjust the amount of uplink and downlink capacity, so that 80 percent of the traffic is aggregated from the cameras to the ECC. The Exalt microwave backhaul links have been completely reliable in all weather conditions, prompting CAL FIRE to plan for further expansion.

CAL FIRE’s video surveillance system now serves as a model for other fire protection districts across the nation, many of which face similar challenges. Using video cameras and Exalt microwave backhaul systems to replace manned lookout towers, CAL FIRE has proven that it’s possible to deliver outstanding fire protection even when manpower budgets are constrained.

CAL FIRE Big Hill Lookout

Meet Cruzio: A Cutting-Edge WISP Makes All the Right Moves

When it comes to building a profitable service provider business, Cruzio is a cut above the rest. Headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, this WISP is staying ahead of the curve by building one of the most advanced backbones in the United States for service providers of its size. Cruzio’s edge? Exalt microwave backhaul – including the new ExploreAir zero-footprint system – to drive Cruzio’s wireless Internet access business on both sides of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

WISPs go where the big Telcos refuse to go because there’s not enough profit in it. WISPs operate on very tight budgets, keep their operations lean and mean, and try to guard against the day when the subscriber bases they have worked so hard to grow and serve become attractive prey for the aforementioned Telcos. If you’re a WISP like Cruzio, you’re making all the right decisions to ensure that day doesn’t come.

One of those decisions is choosing Exalt for backhaul. WISPs like Cruzio understand that they need carrier-grade microwave links throughout their network to ensure quality delivery of bandwidth. And for Cruzio, those links are Exalt.

“We are building one of the most advanced backbones in the United States for service providers of our size, and we have chosen Exalt for our network backhaul because the company is consistently ahead of the curve, delivering

products that forward-thinking customers need,” says Chris Neklason, CEO of Cruzio. “We’re not only interested in using Exalt for primary backhaul of end-to-end wireless customer traffic, but also as secondary backhaul for our fiber in Santa Cruz. That is one reason we are so pleased with the Exalt microwave backhaul systems – they just work, have great management and diagnostic interfaces, and scale beautifully and cost-effectively.

“And we just recently added one of the new Exalt ExploreAir systems to increase capacity on one of our links,” Neklason continues, “The throughput is amazing, truly fiber speed, and the low latency has given our network a performance boost to support our enhanced services.”

Working directly with Exalt, Cruzio has deployed Exalt systems that use the 18 GHz, 23 GHz, and 5 GHz frequencies to reliably deliver Ethernet traffic over distances exceeding 20 miles.

Chris Neklason sums it up best, “Exalt just keeps producing systems that deliver on their promises, and that helps us continue to grow our business, lower our operating costs, and increase our profitability.”

Exalt Communications, Inc., 580 Division Street, Campbell, CA 95008

Produced in the United States of America.

More details on Exalt point-to-point microwave radio systems may be found at:

www.exaltcom.com© 2010 Exalt Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Exalt Communications, ExploreAir, ExtendAir and the Exalt logo are trademarks of Exalt Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

They feature: Pay-as-you-grow scalability. You can scale up to 500 Mbps full-duplex plus 4T1/E1 via software license key upgrades, as your network requirements grow.

With a built-in compression option, and depending on the traffic type, these systems can deliver up to 1000 Mbps full-duplex in a single channel.

Exalt-exclusive errorless and jitterless adaptive modulation with integrated QoS. This extends link distance, reduces antenna size, and dynamically allocates priority to TDM and IP traffic on the same link, significantly lowering overall CAPEX costs.

Exalt-exclusive, field-replaceable diplexer technology resulting in zero lead-time for licensed radios and allowing single-unit sparing for an entire band, reducing the cost of spares by 50% to 90% compared to split-mount or other all-outdoor systems.

For information on the first available ExploreAir systems, visit www.exaltcom.com/exploreair-all-outdoor.aspx

ExploreAir (Cont’d from front page)

customEr spotlight

When you’re a successful WISP like Cruzio, business is a lot like riding the

Big Dipper roller coaster in Santa Cruz – a really great ride!