Burnaby, B.C., Canada, November 14, 2003. Spectrum Signal Processing Inc. has announced that flexComm software defined radio (SDR) platforms have been shipped to Elektrobit, a European R&D partner for companies that use wireless technologies, for the baseband processing subsystem of the Finnish Software Defined Radio Demonstrator. Elektrobit has a 12 million euro contract to develop this SDR demonstrator for the Finnish Defense Forces, of which Spectrum's SDR-3000 products will form a core component.

The SDR platforms, based on the flexComm SDR-3000 family, use Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and PowerPC-based signal processing engines, as well as Wind River's VxWorks Real-Time Operating System (RTOS).

"Spectrum's integrated SDR platforms provide an ideal solution for our Software Radio Demonstrator Program for the Finnish Defence Forces," stated Harri Romppainen, System Engineering Manager at Elektrobit. "The availability of a commercial-off-the-shelf SDR platform, combining the necessary hardware and software development tools, will significantly shorten our development cycle and lower our project risk."

"Spectrum's SDR platform strategy is paying dividends as illustrated by this announcement. There is a demonstrated need for integrated platforms, incorporating both hardware and software, to address applications of this complexity," said Sean Howe, Vice President and General Manager of Spectrum's Wireless Systems Group. "A critical part of our platform offering is our software stack, which includes Wind River's POSIX-compliant RTOS. This announcement demonstrates the tangible success associated with our partnership."

"Wind River is pleased to be working with Elektrobit and Spectrum to demonstrate the technological feasibility of SDR," stated Steve Blackman, Wind River's Director of Marketing & Business Development for the Aerospace & Defense Business Unit. "The combination of Spectrum's SDR platforms and Wind River's RTOS and development environment provide an ideal platform for rapid prototyping and development."

Elektrobit will be using Spectrum's flexComm PRO-3100 FPGA processing engine, PRO-3500 G4 PowerPC processing engine, transition module reference design, and quicComm(tm) Hardware Abstraction Layer. The hardware tightly couples the processors and I/O through the communications infrastructure, which includes the use of flexFabric(tm) based on Serial RapidIO(tm). quicComm greatly simplifies programming the hardware by tying together all the platform resources and abstracting the user through the use of a common application programming interface. Wind River's VxWorks RTOS and Tornado(r) Integrated Development Environment will be used to develop and manage the real-time application software.

About Elektrobit

Elektrobit Ltd. is part of the Elektrobit Group's Contract Research and Development business unit. Elektrobit Ltd. provides various services for demanding electronics and wireless communications with more than 500 employees. The Contract Research and Development business unit works as a product development partner for companies that use wireless technologies and need high tech solutions and outsourcing services. Elektrobit Group's main customer group is the telecommunications industry. The company's objective is to be the leading supplier of productization solutions within this industry and a leading technology partner behind the best brands. The Group operates in 15 countries and employs approximately 1,100 experts within its field, including 800 R&D engineers. The Group recorded pro forma net sales 2002 MEUR 136. Elektrobit Group Plc. is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

For more information on Elektrobit, visit www.elektrobit.com

More information on Spectrum is available at www.spectrunsignal.com

Miiitary & Aerospace Electronics

http://mae.pennnet.com