APION AND SYMMETRY COMMUNICATIONS CO-OPERATE TO DELIVER WAP-BASED SERVICES OVER GPRS

PCS �99 Show, New Orleans, September 22, 1999

APiON Ltd, the Northern Ireland based WAP Infrastructure provider and Symmetry Communications Inc., the California based GPRS Infrastructure company have co-operated to successfully demonstrate WAP-GPRS interworking.

The use of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) over General Packet Radio System (GPRS) trials took place between APiON�s BinnianTM WAP gateway situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Symmetry Communications� GPRS lab in San Jose, California. The WAP/GPRS interworking successfully demonstrated banking, e-mail and entertainment applications on mobile devices.

GPRS provides high speed packet data access to the next generation of GSM mobile handsets. APiON and Symmetry�s successful demonstration of WAP content delivery over GPRS utilizes the air interface more effectively to provide up to 144 kbit/s of data services direct to the mobile handset. The successful interworking shows that the air interface need no longer be a bottleneck in delivering mobile Internet content. This WAP-GPRS interworking is being demonstrated live at Symmetry�s booth (no 838) at the PCS �99 Show in New Orleans this week.

Symmetry�s GPRS system will be one of the first to be commercially available, being based on a Sun Microsystems SPARCengineTM platform operating in the SolarisTM environment. The use of a �computing� platform makes for high reliability, capacity and throughput, compared with special-to-type �telecoms� hardware, and has greatly shortened the development cycle.

Mr Denis Murphy, APiON�s Managing Director said �APiON is committed to ensuring that our WAP infrastructure products provide the best possible mobile internet solutions for both today and tomorrow. With the roll out of GPRS networks across the world next year, APiON is already preparing to offer our customers WAP capability over this optimal packet switched backbone.�

Mr John Baker, President, Symmetry Communications said �APiON�s WAP software proved to be very simple and straightforward to link through our GPRS system, with complete transparency. GPRS and WAP together demonstrate the end to end capability needed to place powerful network applications at the end user�s fingertips.�

In August 1999, APiON was the first company in the world to commercially launch a gateway product that complies with Version 1.1 of the WAP specification.

Mr Michael Curran, Apion�s Business Development Director said �Working with Symmetry Communications has been hugely productive. Symmetry�s corporate GPRS infrastructure products form part of our shared vision of an internet-enabled mobile corporation.�

NOTES TO EDITORS

About WAP
WAP is the de-facto world standard for wireless information and telephony services on digital mobile phones and other wireless terminals. The WAP Forum (http://www.wapforum.org) is the industry association comprising over 180 members.

About GPRS
A GSM mobile network enhanced with GPRS provides a packet data service between a mobile station and a packet network such as the Internet or a company's intranet. GPRS standards define protocols that provide a highly reliable, high-speed logical link from the edge of the IP network to the mobile station. WAP content is tunnelled through the mobile network reliably and quickly.

About APiON
APiON is a world-leading provider of infrastructure into the wireless Internet marketplace and was responsible for delivering the world�s first commercial WAP service. APiON�s products and services allow customers, using any wireless technology, to access a wide range of Internet and advanced telephony services. APiON�s underlying technologies converge IP, intelligent networking and wireless data, and position carriers for the explosion of data-based value added services expected in third generation wireless systems. APiON is headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Visit us at http://www.apion-tss.com

About Symmetry
Symmetry Communications Systems is a venture capital funded company based in San Jose, California focused on providing high-speed wireless data solutions to mobile operators. Symmetry�s product, the UWS-GSN, comprises SGSN and GGSN, which are the new elements to be overlaid to the existing GSM or IS136 (TDMA), and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GPRS Revolution) networks for introduction of wireless packet data services to these networks.

For further information about Symmetry Communications:

John Baker, President, tel +1 408 456 5558
Email [email protected]

Martin Greenwood, Managing Director, Europe
tel +44 7747 806036
email: [email protected]

For further information about APiON:

Michael Curran,
Business Development Director,
tel +1 408 370 5281,
email: [email protected]

Richard McConnell,
Research & Development Director,
tel +44 (0) 1232 269102,
email: [email protected]