Maxima Corp. Wins Annual UCSD CONNECT 
Most Innovative Product Competition SAN 

Winning Technology Illustrates Maxima's Breakthrough Innovation 
and Success in Developing Last-Mile Wireless Connectivity Solutions

    Maxima Corp., developer of high capacity optical wireless transmission systems for telecom & enterprise networks, was the winner of the Most Innovative Products (MIP) Awards program presented by UCSD CONNECT in the category of Technology R&D.

    Winners were selected based on their ability to demonstrate the technology's innovation, technological advancement, and its potential for commercial success. The judges selected Maxima as the winner in its category in recognition of the innovation of its all-weather optical wireless technology, based on long wave infrared free space optics (FSO). By utilizing longer wavelength light signals, Maxima can provide up to 10x improvement in distance over traditional FSO technologies while achieving carrier-class availability and performance. Maxima's innovations will enable service providers and enterprises to solve the "last mile" problem in telecommunications.

    The winners were announced at the MIP Awards Ceremony held Wednesday, December 11 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. The ceremony drew a sell-out crowd of approximately 900 participants.

    Since 1988, the CONNECT MIP Awards program has served as a benchmark for predicting the region's most successful emerging technologies. From early stage biotechnology companies to the first products generated by the region's telecommunications boom, the awards program has been an indicator of the industries and technologies that have fueled the San Diego economy. Previous winners have ranged from Qualcomm in the early stages of its development of CDMA technology to local biotechnology companies pursuing drug discoveries and later succeeding, such as IDEC.

    The winners of the MIP Awards were selected by a panel of judges from business, law, accounting, technology, academia, finance, public relations, consulting and venture capital. This panel of distinguished judges -- leaders from throughout the technology and business communities -- evaluated the more than 130 entries across all categories to determine the finalists and eventual winners.

    Sam Smookler, Maxima's CEO, commented, "We are pleased to receive this recognition from UCSD CONNECT for our pioneering innovation of harnessing 10 micron long wavelength infra-red technology for use in ultra high speed optical wireless communications systems. The Maxima team has done an outstanding job of developing this new architecture in record time. While we still have our work cut out for us to achieve our goal of launching this new product platform into the market, we are encouraged by this achievement and by the enthusiasm of our customers to have this new class of wireless fiber technology as a solution for last mile access, fiber extension and high capacity backhaul in cellular networks of the future."

    About Maxima Corp.
    Maxima Corp. (www.maximacorporation.com) was founded in March 2001 to develop the new All-weather Optical Wireless (AOW) technology as the next generation of wireless Free Space Optical (FSO) communication systems. Maxima is the first company in the world to develop enhanced long wavelength infrared LWIR laser transmitter and receiver technology practical and cost efficient for broad commercial use.
Maxima's AOW technology uses long wavelength infrared (LWIR) light between 8-12 microns, which offers much lower atmospheric losses in fog, smoke, dust and scintillation than traditional FSO technologies. As a result, Maxima can provide to its customers up to 10x improvement in distance. The technology provides bandwidth from 1.5 megabits per second to 2.5 gigabits per second, can be installed at one-tenth the cost of fiber optics, and does not require spectrum licensing from the FCC. The company has both patent protection and exclusive worldwide rights to underlying LWIR components and systems technologies for use in AOW FSO systems.

    UCSD CONNECT
    UCSD CONNECT (www.connect.org) is a university-based non-profit organization fostering entrepreneurship in the San Diego region by catalyzing, accelerating, and supporting the growth of the most promising technology and life sciences businesses. Focused on assisting growth companies in the San Diego region, CONNECT has been directly involved with over 900 companies since its inception in 1985, helping them raise more than $11B in capital. CONNECT is entirely self-supporting and receives no funding from the University or the State of California. The organization is supported by membership dues, course fees, and corporate underwriting for specific programs.

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             CONTACT: 
             Maxima Corp., San Diego
             Saul Umbrasas, 858/643-1700, ext. 117
             sumbrasas@maximacorporation.com