Jo-Carroll Energy Selects Westell SmartCom Cabinets

AURORA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Westell Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: WSTL), a leading provider of broadband products, outside plant telecommunications equipment and conferencing services, today announced that Jo-Carroll Energy, a member owned cooperative that provides electricity, natural gas, broadband and associated services to its consumers/members in Jo Daviess, Carroll and Whiteside counties in Illinois, has selected Westell's SmartCom, a fully integrated power cabinet, for use in its Sand Prairie Wireless broadband offering. This solution will provide Sand Prairie Wireless with an intelligent back-up power system for their mesh network in support of their wireless broadband initiative.

"As we continue to expand our wireless broadband service throughout our rural counties, it is imperative that we have the infrastructure in place to provide highly reliable and dependable broadband service to our customers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," said Jeff Harrelson, Manager of Broadband Services, Jo-Carroll Energy. "Westell's SmartCom power cabinet complements our systems by providing an integrated intelligent battery backup solution with remote monitoring that is impervious to extreme climate conditions. It uses a robust and reliable cabinet which is extremely easy to install, and it offers real-time detailed status of the power conditions feeding our wireless radios and repeaters."

"The Westell SmartCom power cabinet is a perfect solution for providers like Jo-Carroll Energy, who are seeking intelligent, robust and easy to install power system solutions for their rollout of wireless broadband and Smart Grid services," said Brian Powers, Vice President and General Manager, OSPlant Systems, Westell.

About Jo-Carroll

Jo-Carroll Energy is a not-for-profit distribution cooperative owned and controlled by the members it has reliably served since 1939. Headquartered in Elizabeth, Ill., the cooperative currently serves nearly 26,000 electric and natural gas accounts in Jo Daviess, Carroll and Whiteside counties. For more information on Jo-Carroll Energy, visit the cooperative's web site at www.jocarroll.com.

About Westell

Westell Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, is a holding company for Westell, Inc. and ConferencePlus, Inc. Westell, Inc. designs, distributes, markets and services a broad range of broadband customer-premises equipment, digital transmission, remote monitoring, power distribution and demarcation products used by telephone companies and other telecommunications service providers. ConferencePlus, Inc. is a leading global provider of audio, web, video and IP conferencing services. Additional information can be obtained by visiting http://www.westell.com and http://www.conferenceplus.com.

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Certain statements contained herein that are not historical facts or that contain the words "believe", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "plan", "should", or derivatives thereof and other words of similar meaning are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, product demand and market acceptance risks, need for financing, economic weakness in the United States economy and telecommunications market, the impact of competitive products or technologies, competitive pricing pressures, product cost increases, new product development, excess and obsolete inventory, commercialization and technological delays or difficulties (including delays or difficulties in developing, producing, testing and selling new products and technologies), the effect of Westell's accounting policies, the need for additional capital, the effect of economic conditions and trade, legal social and economic risks (such as import, licensing and trade restrictions), retention of key personnel and other risks more fully described in the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009 under the section entitled Risk Factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect current events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.

    Source: Westell Technologies, Inc.

Released December 1, 2009