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WiDeFi, Inc. Names Al Petrick VP of Marketing and Business Development

Wi-Fi® Industry Pioneer Al Petrick to Spearhead Development of OEM Relationships to Deliver WiDeFi’s Innovative Wireless Repeater Solutions

Melbourne, Florida –– February 14, 2005 –– WiDeFi, Inc. a fabless semiconductor company focused on enabling ubiquitous coverage for standards-based wireless networks has appointed wireless industry pioneer and vice-chairman of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard Working Group, Al Petrick to the position of Vice President, Marketing and Business Development.

Petrick will spearhead WiDeFi’s marketing and business development efforts as the company launches the Xtender™ family of 802.11 repeater chipsets. In this role, Petrick will continue to build relationships with industry-leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) to deliver innovative wireless repeater solutions based on WiDeFi’s unique, patent-pending technology.

“Visionary is a word often used by Al’s colleagues to describe him,” said Jim Proctor, WiDeFi president and CEO. “Al Petrick has been an integral contributor to the development of the 802.11 standard and the wireless LAN industry from the beginning. His familiarity with both the technology and the people who make up the wireless industry will be a tremendous asset to WiDeFi as we transition the company from development to product launch.”

Petrick brings to WiDeFi over 20 years experience in strategy, business development, marketing and radio systems engineering design in the OEM product development and semiconductor wireless markets. Prior to WiDeFi, Petrick served as vice president of business development for IceFyre Semiconductor, where he was responsible for developing customer relationships and strategic technology partnerships in the consumer electronics Wi-Fi® market. Previously, at Intersil Corporation, (now Conexant) Petrick led the development of the highly successful PRISM Wireless LAN product line which is a leading chipset technology in the Wi-Fi® market. Petrick currently serves as the vice-chairman of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard Working Group and has published and co-authored various marketing and technical papers on wireless voice and data communications as well as the book IEEE 802.11 Handbook, A Designers Companion. Earlier, Petrick held a series of increasingly senior positions with Direct2Data™ Technologies, American Neuralogix, Mnemonics and Lockheed/Sanders.

“I am thrilled to join the WiDeFi team. The timing is ideal as the company transitions into commercializing its chipset solutions. WiDeFi’s unique and innovative approach to solving the critical whole home coverage issue while cost-effectively preserving security, ease of use, quality of service and maximum throughput will transform this industry,” said Petrick. “As emerging applications demand higher data rates for multi-media and more consistent connections for VoIP, WiDeFi’s solution will only become more important to the industry.”

WiDeFi offers chipsets and software solutions that enable products which improve wireless network coverage without performance degradation. The company’s patented “Reflector” architecture is the world’s-first repeater technology to complement and operate not only with Wi-Fi®, but also with so called “time division duplexed” (TDD) wireless networks such as 802.11n – MIMO, Wi-MAX and cellular technologies such as PHS in China. These networks are the basis of a new wave of packet based wireless networking which enable next generation applications including voice, data and multimedia capabilities. WiDeFi’s products enable the quality of connection required for these applications to satisfy customer expectations.

“Al is a recognized leader and visionary in the Wi-Fi® industry. Al’s presence at WiDeFi is a huge validation of our approach to this market,” said Kevin Negus, Chairman of the Board of WiDeFi and former CTO of Proxim.

About WiDeFi
WiDeFi is a fabless semiconductor company developing unique, standards-based wireless solutions for rapid-growth, mass-market applications. Our chipset and software innovations enable cost-effective enhancements to wireless network coverage, performance, QoS, capacity, security and ease of use. WiDeFi’s flagship product, the WLAN Xtender™, is a new, fundamental wireless network element that doubles the range of WLAN networks with twice the throughput and a lower cost than the best competing solutions. WiDeFi also offers reference designs and a Technology Transfer and New Product Introduction Program to support the introduction of OEM and ODM customer reference designs. WiDeFi is a privately held company headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, and is ventured-backed by The Aurora Funds, and Axiom Ventures, Draper Richards, Inflexion, Camp Ventures, and Grace Venture Partners.


For more information on WiDeFi and its products, visit www.widefi.com or call (+1) 321-725-1520.

Media Contact:
Leslie Drohan
Boldbrook Marketing & Public Relations, Inc.
Ldrohan@boldbrook.com
+1.508.836.4300

WiDeFi Contact:
Todd Johnson
WiDeFi Inc.
tjohnson@widefi.com
+1. 321.725.1520  ext.203

For Immediate Release WiDeFi Inc.
1333 Gateway Drive, Suite 1012
Melbourne, FL 32901
www.WiDeFi.com
February 14, 2005

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