Ofidium Secures A$6M Series A Funding for 100 Gigabit-per-second Telecommunications

MELBOURNE, Australia--(Business Wire)--
Ofidium, a pioneer in increased bandwidth and reduced costs for
telecommunications networks, has secured A$6 million Series A investment from
Starfish Ventures. Ofidium will use the funds to commercialize its unique
optical OFDM technology, to enable 100 Gigabit-per-second transmission over
existing telecommunications infrastructure.

"Telecommunications carriers face a major challenge to support continued growth
in bandwidth demand throughout the network without a cost explosion. Ofidium`s
optical OFDM technology solves this challenge," said Jonathan Lacey, Ofidium`s
Chief Executive Officer.

Ofidium`s unique optical Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
technology provides highly cost-efficient capacity growth for new optical fiber,
and dramatic performance improvements for existing network infrastructure. OFDM
is the dominant technology in a range of other communications applications, and
Ofidium is leading the application of OFDM to optical data transmission for
telecommunications. Ofidium`s optical OFDM transceiver modules for dense
wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) systems are set to become the technology
of choice for 100 Gbit/s telecommunications.

Ofidium`s patented optical OFDM technology was pioneered by Professors Jean
Armstrong and Arthur Lowery of Monash University. Professor Armstrong is a
leading innovator in OFDM systems, and Professor Lowery, Ofidium`s founder and
Chief Technology Officer, is a leading innovator in optical technology. Ofidium
maintains a close relationship with Monash University via a research contract.

"Optical OFDM will have a global impact on telecommunications. Monash University
is proud to be supporting Ofidium in taking this ground-breaking Monash research
to market," said Professor Edwina Cornish, Monash University`s Deputy Vice
Chancellor (Research).

"We believe Ofidium`s optical OFDM technology is a major leap in technology
development. Its application in optical networks will revolutionize the way the
telecommunications industry increases bandwidth," said Michael Panaccio,
Investment Principal at Starfish Ventures, "and we are delighted to support
Ofidium`s strong management team to commercialize this breakthrough technology."

About Ofidium

Ofidium delivers increased bandwidth and reduced costs for telecommunications
networks. Ofidium`s unique optical OFDM technology enables 100
Gigabit-per-second transmission over existing telecommunications infrastructure.
This provides highly cost-efficient capacity growth for new optical fiber, and
dramatic performance improvements for current networks. Ofidium`s optical OFDM
is set to become the technology of choice for 100 Gbit/s telecommunications. For
more information, visit www.ofidium.com

About Monash University

Established more than 50 years ago, Monash University is Australia`s largest
university with 58,000 students at its six Australian campuses and its
international campuses in Malaysia and South Africa. Monash delivers impact from
its innovation to industry and society, through commercialization and contract
research. It has spun out more than ten companies, with particular focus on life
sciences, advanced materials, and telecommunications. For more information,
visit www.monash.edu

About Starfish Ventures

Established in 2001, Starfish Ventures is a venture capital fund manager seeking
superior returns through active investment in innovative technology companies.
Starfish Ventures has $400 million in funds under management and has made
investments in over 35 companies to date. Starfish Ventures seeks investments in
emerging businesses across all technologies sectors, including information and
communications technology, biotechnology and life sciences, industrial
technology, and cleantech. For more information, visit www.starfishvc.com

Ofidium
Jonathan Lacey, Chief Executive Officer, +61 3 9024 3084 (Media)
j.lacey@ofidium.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009