Most mobile prepaid service providers only allow credit top-ups using prepaid phone cards which are expensive to produce and distribute. These cards are also subject to a high degree of fraud through theft and misuse and have to be resold through merchants who are paid a commission. Alternative forms of top-up are available including ATM and POS terminal top-up but these do not address the key issues raised by service providers.

Features of Prepaid top-up with mzone avatar:

� Convenience for the customer of top-up direct from their phone
� Branding of the top-up experience by the service provider
� Elimination of costs and lack of security associated with traditional top-up methods
� Access to mCommerce services for prepaid customers
� Prepaid top-up from home network whilst roaming
� Customers can top-up phones other than their own

When a customer buys a prepaid mobile phone from an operator offering Prepaid top-up, they will be given the option of creating a mobile wallet for their mobile phone. They can do this automatically from their phone, over the web or with a call to the service provider. The wallet can include their shipping, billing and payment details. Once the wallet is set up, the customer can make payments from their mobile device for prepaid top-up and for advanced services at the touch of a button.

Prepaid top-up with mzone avatar allows the operator to send an alert to the customer reminding them that their account is low and needs to be topped up. There is no need to queue for call cards or at ATMs as the top up is performed directly from the mobile phone. Payment is automatically processed by the customers wallet using secure industry-standard encryption protocols and their prepaid account credited accordingly. A roaming feature allows the customers to top-up their prepaid account with their own service provider regardless of where they are in the world. Customers can also use the service to top-up phones other than their own, for example , the mobile phone of a family member, friend or work colleague.

For operators and service providers, prepaid top-up with mzone avatar eliminates the costs associated with other top-up methods such as commissions, service charges, production and distribution costs. The costs of fraud associated with call cards are eliminated by allowing the customer to top-up directly from their mobile phone. Based on an innovative, modular design, implementation is quick and efficient facilitating first mover advantage for the service provider.

Network365 is building a strong reputation as a company delivering innovative technologies which are flexible, easy to deploy and enable operators to deliver added-value services to their customers. Prepaid top-up with mzone avatar is the latest example of our ability to steal a march on our competitors and deliver technologies which are enabling the development of the mobile lifestyle worldwide, said Denis Hennessy, Chief Technology Officer, Network365. This innovation will make 2001 the last year in which we will see prepaid top-up cards in our Christmas stockings, added Mr. Hennessy.

The launch of Network365s Prepaid top-up service is the latest in an impressive list of industry-firsts for the company. In addition to Prepaid top-up, Network365 industry firsts include the launch of:

- the First transactional system based on WAP,
- the First B2B application deployed across all three Japanese networks,
- the First use of mobile wallet for Internet commerce,
and
- participation in the First 3G trial in Europe, currently being conducted by mmO2 in the Isle of Man.

Prepaid top-up with mzone avatar has been developed by Irish engineers working at Network365s corporate headquarters in Wicklow and at its R&D Centre in Letterkenny, Donegal. Network365s application platforms enable telecoms operators and businesses worldwide to offer financial, entertainment, information and lifestyle services to people on the move. Digifone in Ireland, part of mm02, Cesky Mobil Oskar in the Czech Republic, CSL in Hong Kong, which was voted Best Asian Operator 2001 and Celltel in Sri Lanka are just some of the operators who have recently deployed Network365s mzone product suite and a number other deployments are currently in prospect. Since its foundation, Network365 has garnered worldwide acclaim for its broad yet focused wireless product strategy and has developed unique skills by concentrating exclusively on the requirements of the mobile market. Both Time Magazine and Infoconomist Magazine in the UK have listed the company as one of Europes hottest technology companies.

mzone avatar supports a wide range of applications that can take advantage of the emerging 2.5G and 3G networks, as well as leveraging the benefits of existing networks, introducing new revenue streams and increasing customer loyalty. Service providers benefit from a reduced time to market thanks to the proven modular design of mzone avatar.

mzone avatar is a secure wallet that enables access to new value-added applications and services, allowing customers to pay easily and securely for goods and services using a range of payment options including pre and post-pay billing, micro-payments and stored value accounts, as well as the traditional debit account and credit card instruments.