Ceragon Networks Ltd (CRNT)

[midastouch017]

Ceragon's Eastern momentum

As mentioned earlier, I am returning Ceragon to my portfolio, after it emerged bruised and battered from its recent offering, and had to make do with a price of $13.50 per share, as opposed to the high of almost $22 it reached not so long ago. I feel that all the talk about Ceragon being harmed by Sprint Nextel Corp's (NYSE: S) decision to scrap its WiMAX roll-out is far-fetched. I am not sure at all whether this project even featured in Ceragon's guidance for 2008 and if it did then it probably was be a nominal sum.

One important fact should be borne in mind here. Ceragon provides wireless backhaul equipment in the US to companies that build telecommunications relay stations and lease these to telephony companies. It does not concern itself with the type of communications these stations transmit, be it WiMAX, 2G, 2.5G, 3G or 4G. It is highly likely that Ceragon will still be in the picture should Sprint decide to upgrade its existing networks, instead of rolling out a new WiMAX network.

It is my belief that the launch and runaway success of Apple's latest handset, the iPhone, has had a positive and immediate impact on Ceragon's US business in a far greater measure than the much-vaunted WiMAX project, since this revolutionary handset and its counterparts have prompted the telecommunications companies to upgrade their networks. In addition, Ceragon is also enjoying strong growth in markets in the East, most notably India, where millions of cellular subscribers join local operators every month, requiring the company to deploy tens of thousands of relay stations across this massive country.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 13, 2007

http://globes-online.com/serveEN/globes/docView.asp?did=1000274434&fid=1176