FIRST ZigBee CERTIFIED PRODUCTS now available

Alliance Testing Program Ensures Quality from Beginning to End of Supply Chain

Munich, Germany and San Ramon, Calif. – November 14, 2006 – The ZigBee™ Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in residential, commercial and industrial applications, today announced the first group of ZigBee Certified Products, marking a major milestone in the Alliance’s ultimate vision of creating an open, global, wireless sensor and control networking solution. Member companies earning ZigBee Certified Product status include MaxStream, NEC Engineering, S3C and Software Technologies Group.

The ZigBee Certified Product testing program offers original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and others, a process proving the robustness of their ZigBee products at testing facilities with known ZigBee network implementations. Upon successful test completion, approved products earn the right to display the ZigBee logo. The ZigBee logo signifies to consumers, business and industrial users that they can safely purchase ZigBee Certified Products and be assured of networking performance.

“With the ZigBee Alliance’s focus on creating interoperability and proving the capabilities of ZigBee products via the ZigBee Certified Product testing program demonstrates why In-Stat believes ZigBee will be the dominant wireless mesh networking technology,” says Chris Kissel, In-Stat analyst. “In-stat expects a river of ZigBee products to hit the market in the coming years not only because of the technology, but because the ZigBee Alliance is an open community actively promoting the technology.”

“ZigBee Certified Products answer a global need for a variety of commercial and industrial sensor and control networks based on a recognized wireless networking standard,” said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. “In the coming year, we expect the availability of many more ZigBee Certified Products to exponentially increase and provide answers to a variety of needs such as energy management, m-commerce, building management, home convenience and security. ZigBee is the only wireless technology in the market today designed with the lowest-power consumption rates and highest security, convenience and reliability.”

All ZigBee Certified Products are designed on one of the Alliance’s more than 30 approved ZigBee Compliant Platforms, and have passed stringent independent lab tests conducted by NTS and TUV Rheinland Group.

“The testing program developed by the ZigBee Alliance is a robust and reliable process which will ensure the ability of certified ZigBee products to perform in ZigBee networks as promised,” said Osman Sakr, Chief Technology Officer of NTS.

Dr. John Lin, Wireless Business Development Manager of TUV Rheinland Group added, “Independent testing plays a key role in any technology standard’s development and ZigBee has taken stringent steps to assure home, commercial or industrial users that ZigBee products offer wireless control that works.”

The first group of ZigBee Certified Products address a variety of commercial and industrial needs.

Maxstream - XBee:
The XBee line simplifies adding ZigBee technology into any OEM’s or systems integrators existing electronic products/systems. XBee is tailored towards industrial and commercial applications requiring robust, reliable wireless communications in harsh environments. The XBee and XBee-PRO OEM RF modules are interchangeable and allow for customizable networks that yield desired performance needs. The XBee product line is available now at http://www.maxstream.net/products/xbee/xbee-oem-rf-module-zigbee.php

NEC Engineering - ZB24FM-Z:
The ZB24FM-Z family of embedded modules from NEC Engineering, provides a PC-hosted human presence management solution. This product allows for the monitoring and communication with any person voluntarily carrying the device as they enter or exit a defined location. The system allows facility managers to gain accurate headcounts at private events or locati ons and improve emergency response planning. The ZB24FM-Z family's bi-directional communication function uniquely allows facility managers to send commands indicating an alert to each device in case of emergency, dramatically improving safety communication. The ZB24FM series is available now at http://www.nec-eng.com/pro/zigbee/.

S3C - XM2400:
The XM2400 from S3C is a new ZigBee-based differential pressure sensor for measurement of pressure, temperature, flow and humidity. It is tailored for sensor applications without compromising radio performance and is easily adaptable to different form factors at just 10cm2. The XM2400 interfaces with S3C’s proprietary gateway package, SensGate, allowing seamless integration with open data base connectivity compliant data base management systems. The XM2400 can turn virtually any sensor into a wireless node using its built-in analog, digital or serial interfaces. Benefits include superior operational control, negligible installation cost and ease of maintenance compared with existing wired sensors. The XM2400 enables applications that provide access to data that would never have been possible with a wired network. The XM2400 will ship in the first quarter of 2007. www.s3cinc.com

Software Technologies Group - Sensor Network Infrastructure (SNI):
SNI products enable rapid development of ZigBee-based sensor network products for a variety of commercial and industrial applications. This line of products allows users to install sensors and other control mechanisms wirelessly and connect to a remote master control area. SNI products include a variety of network infrastructure devices including central gateways, routers and sensor interface products. SNI products have been tested in various real-world sensor applications, including a 250 node deployment of a wireless fire extinguisher monitoring system. See www.stg.com/wireless

ZigBee Certified Testing Programs:
Manufacturers, OEMs and developers can qualify for one of two test programs: the “ZigBee Compliant Platform” testing program is for chip suppliers or platforms that are intended to be used as building blocks for end products; the “ZigBee Certified” testing program applies to modules and end products built on a ZigBee Compliant Platform. All testing programs ensure that ZigBee devices delivered to the market will coexist in ZigBee network environments designed by the end user.

ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works
The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance membership comprises technology providers and original equipment manufacturers worldwide. Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at www.zigbee.org.

About NTS
National Technical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of engineering services to the defense, aerospace, telecommunications, automotive and high technology markets. Through a world-wide network of resources, NTS provides full product life-cycle support, offering world class design engineering, compliance, testing, certification, quality registration and program management. For additional information about NTS, visit our website at www.ntscorp.com

About TUV
TUV Rheinland Group, headquartered in Cologne, Germany with offices and laboratories worldwide, provides third party testing and certification of products ranging from consumer goods to heavy machinery. TUV offers safety, and regulatory certification services, including FCC TCB, EU Notified Body, Japan Wireless Regulatory approvals for a wide range of wireless products. TUV also brings a wealth of experience from other wireless standards to the ZigBee Alliance, being appointed BQTF of Bluetooth SIG and a WiFi Alliance accredited Testing Facility for Logo certification. Visit our website at www.tuv.com.
 

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