ALAMEDA, Calif., Jan. 4 -- UTStarcom, Inc.(Nasdaq: UTSI), a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutionsand services, today announced the debut of its F1000 portable Wi-Fi handsetfor the U.S. market.

(Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031229/UTSLOGO )

(For more information on the F1000 Wi-Fi handset, please visithttp://www.utstar.com/Solutions/Handsets/WiFi/ )

In addition, the company also announced today a partnership with Vonage toprovide the handset to Vonage customers nationwide beginning in theSpring/Summer 2005. The phone will be on display at the UTStarcom PersonalCommunications booth (Booth #30306) and Vonage booth (Booth #36163) at the2005 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from January6-9, 2005.

(For more information on the UTStarcom/Vonage partnership, see the jointannouncement "Vonage and UTStarcom Partner to Introduce Portable Wi-FiHandset," also released today.)

UTStarcom's F1000 Wi-Fi handset untethers consumers from their traditionalphone lines, allowing them to make calls from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi hotspot -- at home, at work, around the town; in airports, coffee shops, andhotels; and even internationally. The F1000 handset, which has received U.S.regulatory approval, provides all the features and functionality of a VoIPterminal adapter together with a standard cordless telephone, but has theadvantage of letting the user talk from any available Wi-Fi access pointinstead of just the base that they have at home. The F1000 features a sleekform factor similar to today's cellular phones, has increased talk and standbytimes, and is priced significantly lower compared to other models on themarket today.

"UTStarcom believes that the features and price point of the F1000 Wi-Fiportable handset will be disruptive in the local telephone service market,"said Howard Frisch, product manager, UTStarcom. "Consumers with Wi-Fi accessin their home can replace their traditional home phone with the F1000 andstart reaping the benefits of wireless VoIP phone service right away. VoIPservice providers that have seen the F1000 have been interested in itscapabilities and impressed by its competitive pricing. Now they can offermobile VoIP services with a handset that supports the features they need, at aconsumer-based price point."

Unique power management features, combined with an energy efficientdesign, give the F1000 handset a standby time of up to 80 hours while typicalWi-Fi phones have a standby time of about 8 hours. At three to four hours,talk time is 6 to 8 times longer than the 30-minute talk time of other Wi-Fiphones. And when the battery runs low, the F1000 recharges in only 2 to3 hours.

The F1000 Wi-Fi portable handset supports a wide variety of VoIP featuresand functions, based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Serviceproviders can offer high-value call features, such as three-way calling, callwaiting, and call transfer, and more, based on the capabilities of their callservers. The F1000 also enables voice processes, including comfort noisegeneration, voice activity detection, and echo cancellation, as well as IPprotocol features such as Real-Time Transfer Protocol (RTP), SessionDescription Protocol, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), andPoint-to-Point over Ethernet (PPoE) authentication.

Vonage First to Introduce New Handset

UTStarcom will offer the F1000 through service providers and operators,similar to the way cell phones are offered. Vonage, North America's leadingbroadband telephony company, will be the first company to offer the new phoneas part of their home broadband communications service during 2005.

"UTStarcom and Vonage collaborated closely on the development of thishandset to incorporate advanced feature sets and applications that Vonagecustomers desire. UTStarcom's F1000 Wi-Fi handset offers Vonage subscribersthe ability to take advantage of the cost-effectiveness of broadband telephonyservice, without having to be tethered to a traditional home phone line ormodem," said Jeffrey Citron, chairman and chief executive officer for VonageHoldings Corp. "The consumer-friendly look and feel to UTStarcom's F1000, whencompared with other competing Wi-Fi handsets, coupled with its advancedfeature set and competitive pricing, made it the obvious choice forintroduction to our subscribers."

"Until now, Wi-Fi phones have been considered to be capital equipment thatenterprises purchased with a PBX or LAN," said Frisch. "The F1000 is pricedand sold as a consumer product. People can buy one, use it like they use acell phone, and replace it when a more advanced phone comes on the market."

UTStarcom expects that the major markets for the F1000 Wi-Fi portablehandset will be North and South America, where many consumers already haveWi-Fi capability bundled into their home computers and can use the handsetwithout having to purchase more equipment.

F1000 Leverages UTStarcom's PAS Expertise

UTStarcom has built on its experience with its Personal Access System(PAS(TM)) solution in China, which was also a disruptive technology, to createa new market segment with the F1000 handset. PAS wireless access networksolutions enable network migration from wireline to wireless so serviceproviders can offer consumers mobile wireless voice and data services within acity or community. As of November 2004, the company had more than 36 millionPAS subscribers in China alone. The F1000 is designed to leverage UTStarcom'slow cost design and manufacturing skills from PAS handsets as well as somepower management features originally developed for UTStarcom's PAS handsets tohelp achieve its long battery life.

In addition, the F1000 benefits from UTStarcom's experience in buildingWi-Fi Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) and Wi-Fi access points. The companywas also able to leverage its extensive experience in high-volume handsetmanufacturing to achieve a price breakthrough for the F1000.

Pricing and Availability

The F1000 Wi-Fi handset will be available for shipping in the firstquarter of 2005. For further information on pricing and availability, contactyour regional UTStarcom office.

About UTStarcom, Inc.

UTStarcom is a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutionsand international service and support. The company sells its wireline,wireless, optical and switching solutions to operators in both fast growth andestablished telecommunications markets around the world. UTStarcom enablesits customers to rapidly deploy revenue-generating access services using theirexisting infrastructure, while providing a migration path to cost-efficientend-to-end IP networks. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Alameda,California, the company has research and design operations in New Jersey,China, and India. UTStarcom is a FORTUNE 1000 company.

For more information about UTStarcom, visit the company's Web site athttp://www.utstar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The foregoing statements regarding, without limitation, those regardingthe anticipated availability of UTStarcom Wi-Fi mobile handsets configuredwith Vonage's VoIP phone service in Spring/Summer 2005, ability of F1000handsets to allow calls from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi hot spot, prices atwhich F1000 handsets will be sold and the relation of such prices to existingmarket, disruptiveness of the F1000 handset to local telephone servicemarkets, ability of VoIP service providers to offer consumer handsets withfull functionality and at a consumer-based price point and the expectedpopularity of the F1000 handset in the North and South American Markets areforward-looking in nature and are subject to risks and uncertainties that maycause actual results to differ materially. These factors include rapidlychanging technology, the changing nature of the telecommunications market ingeneral and the Wi-Fi and handset markets in particular, the possibility ofslower than expected growth in the telecommunications market, evolving productand application standards, changes or delays in product introductions anddeployments (including, but not limited to, the introduction of Wi-Fi mobilehandsets configured with Vonage's VoIP phone services), the termination ormaterial amendment of significant contracts, partnerships or alliances,including those with Vonage, and other uncertainties, such as changes ingovernment regulation and licensing requirements in relevant markets.UTStarcom also refers readers to the risk factors identified in its AnnualReport on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports onForm 8-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.