Novatel Wireless Announces Additional OEM Design Win; Company's Embedded 3G Wireless Technology Now Available Through Leading Laptop Manufacturer

SAN DIEGO, Apr 04, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVTL), a leading provider of wireless broadband access solutions, today announced that it continues to lead the OEM market for next-generation 3G wireless technology, with the notification of an additional OEM design win for its HSDPA technology and the current initial availability of its embedded technology through one of the world's leading laptop manufacturers. Currently, the company is working with a total of nine mobile computing platform providers who are bringing to market wirelessly-enabled devices based on the company's PCI Express Mini Card products.

"Last week was another important milestone for Novatel Wireless, with another design win and the first initial availability of our embedded wireless solutions through one of the world's premier laptop manufacturers," stated Peter Leparulo, chief executive officer at Novatel Wireless. "According to In-Stat/MDR, laptop manufacturers are projected to ship over three million laptops with embedded wireless modems by the end of 2007. To lead this market, Novatel Wireless is in the midst of one of the most disciplined research and development efforts in its history -- an effort that we believe will dramatically expand the company's addressable market. While we have recently started shipping our first OEM products in limited quantities, the real impact of our investments won't be felt until the second half of the year, as we roll into volume with our initial partner and make our first shipments to other Tier-1 OEM partners."

"The company is now in various stages of commercializing our OEM technology into a total of 20 different laptop models, most of which are currently scheduled for final certifications and wide commercial launches beginning in the second half of 2006 and continuing through the beginning of 2007," stated Dr. Slim Souissi, chief technology officer and vice president of research and development at Novatel Wireless. "Our research and development team is commercializing multiple technologies across many of these laptop models, bringing the total to 35 different wireless laptop configurations that Novatel Wireless currently has in various stages of development, integration and certification with our OEM partners and at leading carriers worldwide."

The Company's design wins include several generations of both HSDPA and EV-DO standards, including HSDPA 1.8 Mbps, HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, EV-DO Phase 0 and EV-DO Rev A technologies.

"Our ability to win business on next-generation HSDPA and EV-DO technologies points to our distinct competitive advantages and strategy for leading the OEM market," added Mr. Leparulo. "Over two years ago, we focused the Company on offering both UMTS/HSDPA and EV-DO based technologies and building proven relationships with leading operators in Europe and the United States. We expected that Tier-1 OEMs planning worldwide launches would select a technology partner who had not only development expertise in both UMTS/HSDPA and EV-DO standards, but also experience in certifying and supporting both North American and European operators. In PC Cards, we have certified UMTS/HSDPA technologies at approximately 24 operators worldwide, mostly in Europe and North America, and in EV-DO we believe we have the dominant market share at North American operators. Our success in accomplishing these goals places us in a unique market position with a unique value proposition to laptop manufacturers, and has been a crucial factor in establishing our leadership in the OEM market. We believe this competitive advantage will continue through the near term and are working hard to leverage our current market position and initial supplier advantage by best serving our customers, forming next-generation technology partnerships and customizing our integration efforts to each of our OEM partners."

About Novatel Wireless

Novatel Wireless, Inc. is a leading provider of wireless broadband access solutions. Novatel Wireless' Merlin(TM) PC Cards, Expedite(TM) Embedded Modems, Freedom Box(TM) Ruggedized Modems, MobiLink(TM) Communications Software Suite, Ovation(TM) 3G Multimedia Application Consoles and Conversa(TM) Software Suite enable high-speed wireless access to personal, corporate and public information. The company delivers innovative 3G solutions to operators, distributors and vertical markets worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Novatel Wireless is listed on NASDAQ:NVTL. For more information, visit www.novatelwireless.com.

(C) 2006 Novatel Wireless. All rights reserved. The Novatel Wireless logo, Merlin, Expedite, Expedite EV620, Freedom Box, MobiLink, Ovation and Conversa are trademarks of Novatel Wireless, Inc. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

his release may contain forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended to date. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained herein. These factors include risks relating to technological changes, new product introductions, continued acceptance of Novatel Wireless' products and dependence on intellectual property rights. These factors, as well as other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, are discussed in more detail in Novatel Wireless' filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (available at www.sec.gov) and other regulatory agencies.

SOURCE: Novatel Wireless, Inc.

Novatel Wireless, Inc.
Catherine Ratcliffe, 858-812-3400
[email protected]

Copyright Business Wire 2006

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