Altitude Purchases Wi-LAN’s Secure, Reliable, Non-Line-of-Sight LIBRA Products for Cost-Effective Network Deployments in Paris and Normandy

CALGARY, Canada and MONT SAINT AIGNAN, France - October 23, 2003 - Wi-LAN Inc. (TSX:WIN), a global provider of broadband wireless communications products and technologies, and Altitude Telecom, a multi-service telecommunications service provider, today announced Wi-LAN’s W-OFDM based LIBRA fixed wireless access products will be deployed in the regions of Normandy and Paris, France. Altitude’s initial purchase order of Wi-LAN’s industry-leading non-line-of-sight (NLOS) LIBRA products has been filled. Additional sales of Wi-LAN products are expected to follow as Altitude moves into further phases of its fixed wireless network deployment.

"After extensive trials, we chose Wi-LAN’s LIBRA 3000 products because of their throughput, non-line-of-sight capability, ease of installation, robustness and reliability. LIBRA will enhance our secure, reliable and high-speed telecommunications services to our customers," said Jean-Paul Rivière, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Altitude Telecom. "Our 3.5 gigahertz broadband wireless networks will offer various services including high-speed Internet access, data transmission services and voice telephony over secure high-speed links. Wireless service represents a real alternative to ADSL offers. With LIBRA products, Altitude Telecom is going to complete its range of services."

"It is a very positive step forward for Wi-LAN to be working with Altitude," said Adrian Wheeler, Regional Director, Europe, Wi-LAN Inc. "Altitude is a very innovative and forward-thinking organization and they require Wi-LAN’s reliable, high-performance equipment to meet their wireless telecommunications requirements in challenging non-line-of-sight environments. This is our first contract with a major telecommunications service provider in France, and we expect France will be a very fertile market for our products as both urban and rural customers there are demanding high-capacity telecommunications access."

LIBRA, based on Wi-LAN’s patented W-OFDM (Wide-band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) technology, provides NLOS capability, which significantly increases fixed wireless access subscriber coverage. NLOS also makes installation much simpler and less costly, reducing the service provider’s required investment. Installation and network set-up is further simplified with quick start menus and PDA support eliminating the need for a laptop computer. LIBRA also offers tiered service management through CIR/MBR (Committed Information Rate / Maximum Burst Rate). The lightweight single unit design eliminates the need for expensive accessories and coaxial cable, is faster and less expensive to install, and can be mounted indoors or outdoors without the need for any climate control. These characteristics combine to significantly improve the service provider’s business model by providing an improved return on a smaller required investment and a much shorter investment payback period.

"Wi-LAN’s very reliable, high-performance 3.5 GHz LIBRA product series will meet Altitude’s wireless data and voice telecommunications requirements. As well, our LIBRA products are very cost-effective for Altitude’s applications, affording them a short payback period," said Nico Roelofsen, Vice President, Global Sales, Wi-LAN Inc. "This contract gives us an opportunity to showcase the capabilities of LIBRA 3000 in France, one of Europe’s largest telecommunications markets. As an added bonus, customers who install our LIBRA 3000 equipment will have the ability to make their networks compliant with IEEE Standard 802.16 WirelessMAN* and the emerging ETSI BRAN HiperMAN standard. This is one of the many advantages that only choosing Wi-LAN can provide."

Wi-LAN Key Product Characteristics

Wi-LAN has been providing market-leading fixed wireless access products since 1995, and OFDM-based products since 1999, so Wi-LAN customers are buying products from the most experienced company in the fixed wireless access equipment business. Wi-LAN’s current line includes the following key products:

Notes:

(1) The W-OFDM Advantage
Wi-LAN’s patented Wide-Band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (W-OFDM) technology is a variation of OFDM that further improves its characteristics. The signal reception is corrected for distortions, allowing greater transmission speeds, and the signal is processed to maximize the range and multipath resistance. W-OFDM allows spectrally efficient, non-line-of-sight, point-to-multipoint wireless networks to be implemented while minimizing interference with adjacent networks.

(2) The MC-DSSS Advantage
Wi-LAN's patented Multi-Code Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum technology (MC-DSSS) makes it possible to multiply the carrying capacity of traditional spread spectrum systems by as much as ten times.

(3) The VINE Advantage
Wi-LAN's patent-pending Versatile Intelligent Network Environment (VINE) technology permits the implementation of long distance, medium subscriber density, broadband Internet access networks a node-at-a-time. VINE networks deal with Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) limitations in a cost-effective manner by using an anypoint-to-multipoint topology. Established network nodes can be used as repeaters for other nodes that do not have either Line-of-Sight (LOS) or direct connectivity to the base station node.

(4) An ISP (Internet Service Provider) is an organization that provides Internet access to its customers. Other services, such as voice communication and video broadcast, may be bundled with the Internet access service.

(5) NLOS (Non-Line-of-Sight or Non-LOS) capability allows fixed wireless access networks to be configured without the requirement that antennas at the customer premises locations be visible from the base station antenna. This capability increases fixed wireless access subscriber coverage, from conventional levels of 50% or less, to levels that can exceed 90%, making the wireless service provider’s business model much more compelling, particularly in high-density urban areas.

(6) CPE (Customer Premise Equipment) is the equipment that resides at the customer premise location.

About Altitude Telecom

Altitude Telecom, established in 1995, is a French nation-wide multi-service telecommunications service provider that invests in broadband technologies to provide data/image/voice solutions - namely internet access, web hosting, security engineering solutions and network engineering - to its market. Altitude is France’s leader in the 26 GHz wireless market and serves many large companies with a broad range of services, including IP VPN MPLS and LAN-to-LAN links, using various wired and wireless telecommunications technologies.

About Wi-LAN Inc.

Wi-LAN is a global provider of broadband wireless communications products and technologies, offering businesses, including telecom service providers, and government enterprises effective, economic and secure wireless solutions for provision of high-speed communications. Wi-LAN specializes in high-speed Internet access, data network extension, and wireless data and telephony backhaul, utilizing its high quality products and industry-leading technologies. Wi-LAN believes its W-OFDM patents are necessary for the implementation of devices using the IEEE standards 802.16 WirelessMAN*, 802.11a or 802.11g, the ETSI BRAN HiperLAN/2* Standard or the current draft of the proposed ETSI BRAN HiperMAN* Standard. Wi-LAN licenses its W-OFDM technology and has executed non-exclusive W-OFDM license agreements with semiconductor companies. Wi-LAN is the Chair Company of the OFDM Forum (www.ofdm-forum.com) and an active member of the WiMAX Forum (www.wimaxforum.org). Wi-LAN's common shares trade on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WIN." Detailed information on Wi-LAN can be found at www.wi-lan.com.

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, may include forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties. These may include, without limitation, statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties related to all aspects of the wireless data communications industry. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not restricted to, continued increased demand for the Company's products, the Company's ability to maintain its technological leadership in the field of high-speed data communications, the Company's ability to attract and maintain key employees, the enforceability of the Company's patents, and the availability of key components.
These uncertainties may cause actual results to differ from information contained herein. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.
* All trademarks and brands mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners.

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