Press Release

Ericsson signs commercial WAP contract with Telenor Mobil in Norway

29th June 1999 - Ericsson has signed an agreement with Norwegian operator Telenor Mobil to deliver WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) services.

Under the agreement, Ericsson and Telenor Mobil will cooperate to develop a range of new WAP-based services. Telenor Mobil will be one of the first operators in the world to supply WAP services to their customers.

The agreement further emphasizes Ericsson's commitment to build the use of mobile Internet and bring easy-to-use communications solutions to consumers. Many current WAP services are about receiving information, but in the near future, there will be a range of interactive services, where consumers can input and receive information, get answers to their questions or have products delivered.

Ericsson has delivered WAP test systems to GSM network operators since November last year and is now ready to deploy commercial systems based on the WAP 1.1 specification.

"We selected Ericsson to supply our WAP solutions after careful consideration of all the alternatives," said Knut Oppegaard, Director of Telenor Mobil. "There is a tremendous amount of information on the Internet and Intranets, and WAP makes it much easier to access all that information quickly and easily, completely independent of time and place."

"Norwegian consumers are very sophisticated and adept at acquiring the latest technology, " says Steinar Svalesen, Sales Director for Ericsson in Norway. "Telenor Mobil is a leading-edge operator, and our cooperation with them in developing WAP applications will help us to develop a broad range of services for all kinds of consumers."

Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

James Borup, Ericsson Corporate Communications
Phone: +46 70 590 9261;
E-mail: [email protected]

Staffan Pehrson, Director, Ericsson WAP Program
Ericsson Radio Systems AB
Phone: +46 70 560 5769; E-mail: [email protected]

Anne Rod, Information Director, Ericsson AS
Phone: +47 66 84 12 88, +47 91 18 60 65
E-mail: [email protected]

Ole Tom Nomeland, Information Manager, Telenor Mobil AS
Phone: +47 22 78 46 20, +47 90 10 85 90

About WAP
WAP, Wireless Application Protocol, is the de facto world-wide standard for providing Internet communications and advanced mobile telephony services on digital mobile phones, pagers, personal digital assistants and other wireless terminals. WAP is compatible with GSM900, 1800 and 1900, CDMA, TDMA wireless standards, as well as all of the proposed 3G communication systems. Ericsson, together with Nokia and Motorola, has introduced a new marketing initiative to simplify recognition of mobile Internet applications. The Mobile Media Mode (WWW:MMM) will enable users, content providers and operators to recognize services, Internet sites and devices, such as smart phones, which provide access to these services.

Additional information about WAP is available at http://www.wapforum.org

To promote Internet access using a mobile phone, Ericsson was part of establishing the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Forum. The general objective of the forum was to enable the wireless industry and content developers to provide compatible products and services across a wide variety of platforms. WAP-compatible devices are capable of translating the incoming Internet data to match the capabilities of the mobile device. The specific goal of the WAP Forum is to create a global wireless Internet protocol for small screen mobile terminals that are unable to display HTML-based Web pages.

Ericsson's Mobile Internet portal can be found on:
http://mobile.ericsson.se/mobileinternet

Ericsson supports companies who want to start WAP-sites and services with its' WAP-Aid service.

Images of the concept can be viewed at:
http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom/phli_pco.shtml and at:
http://www.sgb.se/www/wape