SANTA CLARA, California, June 22 /PRNewswire/ --

- Patent Call is Critical Step to Create Fair and Transparent IPR 
Licensing Structure to Drive Global 4G Adoption

- Via Licensing Corporation Selected as Patent Pool Administrator

The Open Patent Alliance (OPA), a group dedicated to offering 
intellectual property rights (IPR) solutions that support the development and
widespread adoption of WiMAX, today announced a call for patents, with the
intention of creating a patent pool of essential WiMAX patents. The OPA has
selected Via Licensing Corporation to facilitate the formation and
administration of the pool on behalf of the OPA.

A WiMAX patent pool can enable companies of all sizes to access needed
patent licenses in a simple and cost-effective manner. Establishing this pool
is an important part of the OPA's plans to create a fair and transparent IPR
licensing structure with reasonable royalty rates. By lowering the "barriers
to entry" for companies wishing to develop innovative products & services,
the patent pool will accelerate the global adoption of WiMAX, simultaneously
driving innovation, fostering broader choice and lowering costs for WiMAX
technology, devices and applications.

"Today's patent call is a major milestone in our quest to create an
innovative and truly open WiMAX ecosystem," said OPA President Yung Hahn.
"Through the patent pool approach, not only will the OPA be able to drive
down the costs of adopting WiMAX, we will be able to create a more
predictable cost structure that can be accessed by infrastructure vendors,
device manufacturers and application developers worldwide."

WiMAX, a 4G IP-based wireless broadband technology based on the IEEE
802.16e specification, provides low-cost, multi-megabit speeds and greater
throughput for the mobile Internet era of video-rich content and
bandwidth-intensive applications.

OPA members include Acer, Alcatel-Lucent, Alvarion, Cisco, Clearwire,
Huawei Technologies, Intel Corporation, and Samsung Electronics, as well as
newly announced associate members Beceem, GCT Semiconductor, Sequans, and UQ
Communications, underscoring broad 4G ecosystem support - from semiconductors
to consumer devices to service providers.

A WiMAX patent pool will help ensure product differentiation and
interoperability at a more predictable cost through a more competitive
royalty structure. This is critical to the long-term success and broad
adoption of WiMAX, enabling a wider array of devices from the smart phones,
consumer electronics and PC industries to more quickly integrate wireless
broadband into their products.

An independent third-party reviewer or "patent evaluator" will evaluate
submitted patents to determine whether or not they are essential. Any entity
that believes it has patents or pending patent applications that are
essential to WiMAX is invited to contact Via Licensing to receive information
about how to submit patents for essentiality review by the independent patent
evaluator.

Parties interested in discussing the opportunity to participate in a
WiMAX patent licensing program can contact Via Licensing at
wimax@vialicensing.com. For complete submission information, interested
parties can also email submissions@vialicensing.com. Interested parties can
also visit the OPA Web site at www.openpatentalliance.com/patent-submission.

While the OPA will initially focus its efforts on the WiMAX standard, it
may work with other industry groups in the future.

About the Open Patent Alliance

Members of the WiMAX ecosystem formed the OPA in June 2008. Current OPA
members include Acer, Alcatel-Lucent, Alvarion, Cisco, Clearwire, Huawei
Technologies, Intel Corporation, and Samsung Electronics, as well as newly
-announced associate members Beceem, GCT Semiconductor, Sequans, and UQ
Communications. The diversity of member companies demonstrates broad support
throughout the entire 4G ecosystem - from semiconductor makers, to consumer
device manufacturers, to network equipment companies, to service providers.
The OPA's primary goal is to foster a global ecosystem focused on broader
choice, competitive equipment and service costs for WiMAX technology, devices
and applications. More information can be found at
www.openpatentalliance.com.