ELSA Enters the New Age of Wireless PC Connectivity

February 18, 1999 - ELSA AG of Aachen, Germany, in cooperation with Siemens, has developed a new communications system for the wireless networking and interconnection of PCs. This revolutionary technology, broadly comparable with that used in domestic cordless phones, even makes wireless Internet access possible. The first fruits of this cooperation, the I-Gate, will be presented by Siemens at the Hannover CeBIT 1999 in March. Within the framework of this cooperation, ELSA will implement the resulting technologies as an extension to the LANCOM family of routers for small and mid-sized companies and demanding consumers.

According to IDC, an annual growth of 50-60% in the demand for wireless networks with worldwide sales reaching around $US 840 million in the year 2000 alone is forecasted. In addressing the SOHO and consumer markets, even higher sales are feasible.

According to Theo Beisch, President and CEO of ELSA, PC networks and the Internet will be accessible without expensive new cabling which is replaced by small cellular networks. He went on to say that prices could be below 50% of systems on the market today. This would make wireless communications viable for completely new applications and groups of customers, so ensuring high growth rates. A logical consequence would be the convergence of PCs and domestic electronics, e.g. as TVs, alarm systems and the like. Together with Siemens and this new technology, ELSA will partner with especially small and mid-sized companies.

ELSA was founded in 1980 and today has around 550 employees. In addition to its headquarters in Aachen, Germany, it also maintains subsidiaries in Santa Clara, California, as well as Taipei, Taiwan and Tokyo, Japan. ELSA develops, manufactures and markets PC hardware and software components for the data communications and computer graphics sectors. Its product range includes modems, ISDN adapters, videoconferencing systems, ISDN routers, graphics boards and monitors. ELSA AG shares have been traded on the "Neuer Markt" stock exchange in Frankfurt since June 15, 1998.

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