Staccato's Ripcord2 Single-Chip UWB Solution Achieves Industry-first Milestone with WiMedia PHY Certification

Enabling worldwide operation, Staccato’s 65nm all-CMOS implementation is the first and only single-chip solution to earn PHY certification for WiMedia Spectrum Extension Release (SER) in Band Groups 1, 3 and 6

San Diego -- November 4, 2008 -- Staccato Communications, an Ultra Wideband (UWB) wireless technology pioneer and leader in Wireless USB from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), today announced that its Ripcord2™ family is the first and only single-chip, all-CMOS device offering a 65nm implementation to earn official WiMedia PHY certification for the newly released Spectrum Extension Release (SER) specification. Solidifying the company’s leadership position in the UWB market, Ripcord2 is also the first single-chip solution to obtain this certification for Band Group 6. In addition, the WiMedia Alliance also announced that Ripcord2 has been qualified as an official PHY test beds for Band Groups 1 and 3, which will enable Independent Test Labs (ITLs) to conduct WiMedia Certification testing in the near future.

The recently ratified WiMedia SER specification adds additional features to address certain worldwide regulatory requirements which allow even broader deployment of the WiMedia common radio platform. Among these new features supported by Ripcord2 are:

• Band Group 6 (BG6) – operating from 7.4GHz to 9.0GHz, the newly defined BG6 allows 3-band hopping on a global basis. With support for Band Groups 1 (3.1GHz to 4.8GHz) and 3 (6.3GHz to 7.9GHz) as well, Ripcord2 enables OEMs and ODMs to offer a worldwide compatible solution in a single SKU design.

• 2-band hopping channels – 3 new channels of operation have been introduced allowing WiMedia radios to hop between 2-channels within a Band Group. The addition of these new operating modes provides increased range (compared to single band operation) and greater flexibility to deploy a worldwide compatible solution.

• Support for Detect and Avoid (DAA) – various regions require that certain services (such as radar and mobile networks) are protected from interference. DAA supported by Ripcord2 allows the UWB radio to detect these protected services and move to an interference free mode of operation allowing even more flexibility.

In order to track the latest regulatory status by region, Staccato has provided a spectrum regulations chart on its website at: http://www.staccatocommunications.com/technology/wimedia.html

“Being the first company to achieve WiMedia SER PHY certification with a single-chip solution is a significant milestone for Staccato and the UWB market. We are uniquely positioned to offer OEM customers a single-chip device that leverages the inherent advantages afforded by CMOS technology, while offering worldwide regulatory compliance,” said Marty Colombatto, chairman and CEO for Staccato Communications. “Our development team has achieved something that many said couldn’t be done, namely designing a single-chip multi-band UWB solution in 65nm CMOS that meets the specifications and requirements of the market. As a market enabler, Ripcord2 has the features to make UWB a viable technology for mass market deployment.”

Designed to meet and exceed the rigorous power, size, performance and system cost requirements associated with enabling mass deployment, Ripcord2 is ideally suited for high volume consumer applications including handsets, DSC/DVC, printers, PMP, wireless audio/video and mass storage. Leveraging software development on the fully certified Ripcord1 family, Staccato’s Ripcord2 supports multiple protocols, including Wireless USB, High-Speed Bluetooth, Wireless IP and Wireless Audio/Video.

Based on the Wireless USB 1.0 Specification and the WiMedia UWB Common Radio Platform, Ripcord2’s high-level of integration minimizes design risk, lowers system cost and accelerates customers’ time-to-market by consolidating all hardware and software components necessary to implement a complete solution. For a product brief and images of the Ripcord2 family, please visit www.ripcord2.com.

About the WiMedia Alliance

The WiMedia Alliance is a not-for-profit open industry association that promotes and enables the rapid adoption, regulation, standardization and multi-vendor interoperability of ultra-wideband (UWB) worldwide. The basis for the industry’s first UWB standards (published by Ecma International), WiMedia UWB is optimized for wireless personal-area networks delivering high-speed (480Mbps and beyond), low-power multimedia capabilities for the PC, CE, mobile and automotive market segments. Emphasizing peaceful coexistence with other wireless services, the WiMedia UWB Common Radio Platform is designed to operate with application stacks developed by the Certified Wireless USB Promoter Group, the Bluetooth-SIG and proprietary implementations. WiMedia board members include Alereon, CSR, Intel, Nokia, ST-NXP Wireless, Samsung Electronics, Staccato Communications, Stonestreet One, and Wisair. Further information on the WiMedia Alliance and its certification program is available at www.wimedia.org.

About Staccato Communications

Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Staccato Communications is an Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology pioneer with applications expertise in Wireless USB, High-Speed Bluetooth and Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity. The fabless semiconductor company serves the personal computing, mobile phone and consumer electronics industries with small form factor, single-chip, all-CMOS high-speed wireless solutions. Staccato’s WiMedia Platform Certified products include PHY, MAC, drivers, application software, development kits and reference designs. The Team Staccato Partner Program enables total solutions through alliances with industry leaders throughout the value chain. For more information, please visit www.staccatocommunications.com.