Airspan Networks Selected by AfriConnect for 4G Network in Zambia

BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwire - Jan 11, 2012) - Airspan Networks Inc., a leading provider of broadband wireless access networks, announced today that AfriConnect Zambia, an Internet Solutions Provider in the Vodacom Group of companies, has selected Airspan 4G equipment to deliver broadband services to the capital of Lusaka and several other major cities in Zambia.

AfriConnect offers wireless-based Internet solutions throughout Zambia that are resilient to the environments in which they are deployed and quick and easy to install. Their solutions provide quality, high-speed communication for all key markets including residential, the rapidly expanding business community, and key sectors such as Healthcare, Government, Agriculture, and NGOs. The Company will now be able to better serve these markets with advanced 4G connectivity powered by Airspan infrastructure.

The deployment, operating in the 2.5 GHz band, employs Airspan's flagship Air4G compact, macro base station, suiting the AfriConnect deployment with technology that enables wide area coverage and extremely high capacity. The first phase of the project includes several thousand subscriber terminals to be deployed in the capital, Lusaka, and is expected to expand coverage into additional towns and cities.

"AfriConnect focuses on delivering high quality products and service to our customers," commented Mark Bennett, Managing Director of AfriConnect. "There is a lot of new international fibre optic capacity coming into Zambia at present, and we knew we needed a means to get this additional bandwidth out to our clients. We conducted extensive testing with several vendors and subsequently selected Airspan, whose products demonstrated superior technology and the best results in our environment. Airspan's leadership in 4G technology will give us a competitive advantage in the field and will enable us to deploy the first 4G network in Zambia."

Zambia had gained a reputation for having slow connectivity, but that is changing rapidly. AfriConnect is driven to bringing affordable and dependable broadband connectivity to the Zambian community.

"Innovative service providers like AfriConnect are rapidly growing their businesses to expand connectivity throughout the typically underserved regions of Zambia," commented Amit Ancikovsky, President of Products and Sales at Airspan. "AfriConnect uniquely leverages its local presence and the Airspan powered 4G network will help take its customer offering to the next level."

Airspan products provide 4G WiMAX and LTE solutions operating in the 700 MHz up to 5.9 GHz bands.

About AfriConnect

AfriConnect is Zambia's largest ISP. They offer a range of data solutions to the corporate, SME and residential markets. The corporate client list includes multinationals, banks, government, embassies, professional services and Zambia's prolific mining companies. AfriConnect Zambia is headquartered in Lusaka with over 20 offices elsewhere around the country. The company was established in Zambia in 2005 and was proud to become part of the Vodacom group in 2010.

About Airspan Networks Inc.

Airspan (PINKSHEETS: AIRO) is a leading 4G wireless solution provider. With over 500 customers in over 100 countries and as a top vendor for carrier-class broadband wireless solutions, Airspan is recognized as a leader and pioneer in 4G and broadband wireless technologies. Providing an expansive product portfolio, Airspan offers customers the widest selection of 4G products in the industry with an unsurpassed level of technology to benefit their business case. Airspan has solutions spanning the 700 MHz to 6 GHz frequency bands. www.airspan.com.

Oak Investment Partners XI, Limited Partnership holds a controlling interest in Airspan. Airspan is not subject to the informational reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and, accordingly, does not file reports, financial statements, proxy statements, information statements or other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "projects," "will," "would" and similar expressions or negative variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. Investors and others are therefore cautioned that a variety of factors, including certain risks, may affect our business and cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.