Alvarion® Selected by Mobitel Nigeria for $7 Million First Phase Nationwide 802.16e Deployment

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alvarion Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALVR), the world’s leading provider of WiMAX™ and wireless broadband solutions, today announced it was chosen by Mobitel to provide 802.16e WiMAX™ services for under-served areas throughout Nigeria. Using Alvarion’s BreezeMAX® solution in the 2.0 GHz, 2.2 GHz and 2.3 GHz frequency bands, Mobitel will begin to offer voice and high-bandwidth data services to thousands of residences and businesses nationwide, with the key cities of Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Warri and Abuja being start points.

“We are very pleased to be selected by Mobitel for this contract. This win reiterates Alvarion’s leading position in the WiMAX market with a strong portfolio of WiMAX solutions”

Initial rollout of the WiMAX network is planned for Q3 2009, with 20,000 subscribers expected on the network during initial launch. Alvarion will also provide a range of professional services including system integration, network deployment, field maintenance, configuration, training and local support services to ensure successful delivery of the network.

“This is a great opportunity for Mobitel to bring broadband services to remote parts of the country. The use of WiMAX technology together with our existing fixed line network allows us the possibility to offer converged services to our customers,” said Johnson Salako, President of Mobitel. “WiMAX provides a very good business case to roll out broadband infrastructure with a much lower upfront investment when compared to other technologies available in the market. Given our ambitious goal for Nigeria we need a strong and reliable partner with a proven track record to ensure our success and we believe Alvarion is best suited to accomplish this.”

During the second phase of the project, Mobitel and Alvarion will expand coverage to 18 other states in the country, including Kano, Kaduna, Oyo and Edo. The current population of Nigeria is estimated at 150 million people in 66 provinces with a very low internet penetration rate of less than 1%.

“We are very pleased to be selected by Mobitel for this contract. This win reiterates Alvarion’s leading position in the WiMAX market with a strong portfolio of WiMAX solutions,” said Tzvika Friedman, President and CEO of Alvarion. “Being selected by an innovative operator as Mobitel is another proof point of Alvarion strength in emerging markets as we continue to focus on abundant opportunities in these underserved regions. Our proven WiMAX solution and feature rich offering will enable a sound business case for Mobitel to bring advanced broadband services to consumers and businesses in Nigeria.”

About Mobitel

Mobitel is a pioneering provider of telecommunications services in Nigeria. Wholly acquired by a consortium led by Omni Ventures in 2008, Mobitel offers fixed and wireless voice, data and value-added services focusing on small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and high-end consumers across Nigeria. Mobitel maintains nationwide frequency spectrum allocations and a set of licenses that can be converted into a unified access service license. Powered by leading-edge WiMAX technology and a rigorously engineered network enabling the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective solutions, Mobitel provides a tailored service offering through an innovative sales-channel and customer-care strategy.

About Alvarion

Alvarion (NASDAQ: ALVR) is the largest WiMAX pure-player with the most extensive WiMAX customer base and over 250 commercial deployments around the globe. Committed to growing the WiMAX market, the company offers solutions for a wide range of frequency bands supporting a variety of business cases. Through its OPEN WiMAX strategy, superior IP and OFDMA know-how, and ability to deploy end-to-end turnkey WiMAX projects, Alvarion is shaping the new wireless broadband experience (www.alvarion.com).

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current expectations or beliefs of Alvarion’s management and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: potential impact on our business of the spread of the U.S. credit crisis and current global recession; the failure of the market for WIMAX products to develop as anticipated; Alvarion’s inability to capture market share in the expected growth of the WiMAX market as anticipated, due to, among other things, competitive reasons or failure to execute in our sales, services provisioning, marketing or manufacturing objectives; inability to further identify, develop and achieve success for new products, services and technologies; increased competition and its effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; as well as the inability to establish and maintain relationships with commerce, advertising, marketing, and technology providers, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s 20-F Annual Report Risk Factors section as well as in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Information set forth in this press release pertaining to third parties has not been independently verified by Alvarion and is based solely on publicly available information or on information provided to Alvarion by such third parties for inclusion in this press release. The web sites appearing in this press release are not and will not be included or incorporated by reference in any filing made by Alvarion with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which this press release will be a part of.

You may request Alvarion's future press releases or a complete Investor Kit by contacting Kika Stayerman, kika.stayerman@alvarion.com or +972.3.767.4159.

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