ALAMEDA, Calif. -- UTStarcom, Inc. (Nasdaq: UTSI), a leading provider of wireless, wireline, and broadband access equipment, today announced the appointment of Taher Behbehani as vice president of business development and strategy.

In his new position, Behbehani will be responsible for establishing and managing UTStarcom's relationships with the company's existing blue-chip carrier customers and technology partners worldwide. Behbehani also will drive UTStarcom's strategy in technology investments, M&A activities, and OEM alliances that will accelerate UTStarcom's recent operations and sales expansion in the European and North American markets.

"UTStarcom continues to have tremendous success in the global broadband and wireless access markets because its technology provides carriers with simple, revenue-generating IP solutions with impactful services," said Behbehani. "The CommWorks product portfolio complements UTStarcom's existing offerings, and I look forward to creating new opportunities with technology partners and the world's top service providers."

"Taher will be a key member of our team as UTStarcom continues its expansion into markets outside of China," said Hong Lu, chief executive officer of UTStarcom, Inc. "Taher has been instrumental in the structuring of the sale of CommWorks to UTStarcom, and has worked closely on the transition and integration of the two companies. His broad experience and extensive knowledge in the telecommunications industry will help solidify UTStarcom as a global leader in wireline and wireless access technologies."

Formerly the vice president and general manager of wireless solutions for 3Com's CommWorks Corporation, Behbehani oversaw products, research and development, marketing, revenues, profitability, technical communications, and management functions. UTStarcom completed the acquisition of selected assets of CommWorks from 3Com on May 27, 2003.

Prior to his position to CommWorks in September 2002, Behbehani served as vice president of advanced technology for 3Com's local area network (LAN) infrastructure division and vice president of business development for 3Com's business connectivity company (BCC). He was a member of the corporate executive team responsible for identifying new technology platforms, and spearheaded the formation of a BCC patent licensing team.

Before joining 3Com in 2001, Behbehani helped launch several companies in the high technology sector. He was the founder and CEO of ioWave, one of the first wireless infrastructure vendors to implement synchronous code division multiple access (CDMA) products for wireless local area networks (WLAN) and wireless broadband deployments. Earlier, Behbehani worked on Latin American telecommunications deregulation and privatization projects. In the early 1990s, he advised multinational telecom companies, financial institutions, and government agencies on satellite communications, spectrum allocation, and deployment of broadband services.

Behbehani earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and a master's degree in engineering from Yale University. He has also completed post-graduate work in business management at Yale University, and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

UTStarcom Inc.