Worldwide
leaders join WAP Forum to further the development of a global specification for advanced
wireless Internet and telephony services
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (7 May 1998) - The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
Forum today announced that its membership has increased from four to 37 companies in the
short time since the Forum opened for general membership in January of this year. Along
with the four founders - Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Unwired Planet (now Phone.com) -
the new members form a solid core to expand the efforts of the Forum.
WAP Forum membership includes leading industry companies and provides the basis for
substantial growth and broad industry commitment to the creation of a worldwide open
specifi-cation. The WAP Forum is currently represented by wireless network operators,
infrastructure and terminal manufacturers, smart card manufacturers, information
technology and software companies worldwide.
Members have already been contributing to the draft specifications that was published
for review and announced on February 17, 1998. Based on this feedback, the WAP Forum has
now published version 1.0 of the specifications as announced today.
WAP specifies Internet content and advanced telephony services access on digital
cellular phones and other wireless terminals. The WAP Forum has published a global
wireless protocol specification for all wireless networks that will be contributed to
appropriate standards bodies. WAP will enable manufacturers, network operators, content
providers and application developers to offer compatible products and secure services on
all digital devices and networks resulting in greater economies of scale and universal
access to information.
WAP Forum membership is open to all industry participants. The specifications and
membership details are available at http://www.wapforum.org.
Membership Companies
Alcatel designs, manufactures and
markets complete telecommunications systems. Activities include fixed switching networks,
transmission systems, access systems, mobile communications infrastructure and terminals,
business networking, submarine cable networks, as well as radio communications, space and
defense systems. With operations in over 130 countries, Alcatel is a leading-edge supplier
in the majority of its business. In 1997, the Telecom segment of Alcatel Alsthom
registered total sales of FF 82.9 billion. For more information, please visit Alcatel's
Web site at http://www.alcatel.com.
Alcatel press contact: Jean-Christophe Huertas, Alcatel Alsthom Press Office
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 40 761179, Fax: +33 (0) 1 40 761416, Email: [email protected]
Apion Ltd. employs 130 staff and
is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The company specializes in telecommunications
infrastructure software and has developed excellent competencies in Switching, Signaling,
Intelligent Network Design, Wireless Data, Network Management and Billing. It is the
company strategy to leverage these competencies to supply world class, first to market
product and solutions to Telecommunications Operators and Equipment Suppliers. Visit
Apion's Web site at http://www.Apion-TSS.com.
AT&T Wireless Services. The
Wireless Data Division of AT&T Wireless Services is a recognized leader in the
development of wireless data communications networks designed to meet the entire spectrum
of business data communications requirements. For more information on AT&T Wireless
data solutions, check the AT&T Wireless Web site at http://www.attws.com
and click on the wireless data icon.
AT&T press contact: Brad Stevens, Director of Marketing, Wireless Data Division
Tel.: +1 (425) 803-4020, Email: [email protected]
BellSouth Cellular Corp.
companies, BellSouth Mobility and American Cellular Communi-cations Corporation, provide
wireless communications services to over 5 million customers in 13 states. BMI operates
with its partners in eight southeastern states. ACC markets operate under a variety of
names in California, Texas, Virginia and Hawaii and as Cellular One in Indiana.
Certicom Corp. Information Security
Architects. Certicom is the only company to offer a commercially available
elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) toolkit that supports any platform-software, firmware,
or IC. With its optimized ECC implementation offering the highest strength-per-bit of any
known public-key system, Certicom is the world leader in integrating strong, fast,
efficient public-key crypto into solutions for constrained environments such as wireless
devices, electronic commerce, and smart cards. Certicom is a publicly owned company with
cryptographic research and product development based in Toronto, Canada and worldwide
sales and marketing operations in San Mateo, California. Visit Certicom's Web site at http://www.certicom.com.
DDI Corporation, established in
1984, is the second largest telecom carrier in Japan providing long-distance telephone,
cellular-phone, PHS (Personal Handy-Phone System) services and Internet access service. It
will also launch the commercial service of IRIDIUM (satellite-based global
telecommunications system) in September 1998. The DDI Cellular Group has decided to
introduce cdmaOne system and will start the commercial service in 1998.
DDI press contact: Tel.: +81-3-3221-9541, Fax: +81-3-3221-9539, Email: [email protected]
De La Rue Card Systems, part of
the De La Rue "cash to cards" group, supplies almost 400 million magnetic stripe
and microprocessor based smart cards each year. It specializes in solutions for banking,
telecoms, PayTV, ID, loyalty, transport and health. Offering total end-to-end solutions
for electronic commerce applications, the company's vision is that by 2005, 10% of the
world's population will possess a De La Rue smart card. Visit http://www.delarue.com.
De La Rue Card Systems press contact: Margaret Rice-Jones, Marketing Director
Tel.: 44 (0) 1256 329 122, Email: [email protected]
Ericsson is a co-founding member
of the WAP Forum. Ericsson's 100,000 employees are active in more than 130 countries.
Their combined expertise in fixed and mobile networks, mobile phones and infocom systems
makes Ericsson a world-leading supplier in telecommunications. Find out about Ericsson on
the Web at http://www.ericsson.se.
Ericsson press contact: Joakim Nelson, Sr. Manager, System Coordination, Ericsson Mobile
Communications, Tel.: +46 46 193 015
Fujitsu Software Corporation (FSC)
is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, a $36 billion international leader in
computers, telecommunications, software and other electronic devices. Founded in 1991,
Fujitsu Software Corp. focuses on key technology markets including wireless technology,
Internet/Intranet groupware and workflow. FSC is headquartered in San Jose, California.
Visit http://www.fsc.fujitsu.com and http://www.byedesk.com.
FSC press contact: Timo Salomaki, Director of Wireless Product Marketing
Tel.: +1-408-456-7801, Email: [email protected]
Geoworks Corporation, based in
Alameda, Calif., is a leading software provider for manufacturers of mobile communicating
devices, including smart phones, as well as the cellular industry. The company has
licensed its GEOS and GEOS-SC operating systems to leading manufacturers, including Nokia,
Mitsubishi, Toshiba Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Brother International Corp. and Canon
Business Machines. In addition, the company is working with content and services providers
and international cellular operators. For more information, visit http://www.geoworks.com.
Geoworks press contact: Bob Bogard, Public Relations Manager
Tel.: +1 510-814-5811, Email: [email protected]
Hongkong Telecom. The mobile
services of Hongkong Telecom has been providing mobile communications service in Hong Kong
for more than fifteen years. Operating high-quality GSM, PCS and D-AMPS systems, Hongkong
Telecom mobile services is serving more than 860,000 through its three reputed brands,
1010, One2Free and Pacific Link. The mobile services of Hongkong Telecom has been the
pioneer of many mobile technology innovations in Hong Kong. It engineered the world's
first mobile service in the MTR, and led the industry in introducing China to automatic
roaming, as well as full coverage in all major tunnels. Quality, innovations and value are
commitments Hongkong Telecom mobile services delivers to customers.
Hongkong Telecom is a Cable & Wireless company which is Hong Kong's only
full-service telecommunications provider, offering a comprehensive portfolio of quality
voice and data telecommunication services backed by a state-of-the-art, fully-digital
fibre optic network.. Cable & Wireless is one of the world's leading providers of
international telecommunications services. Its businesses provide 15 million customers in
70 countries with a complete range of international, domestic and mobile communications.
IBM, the world's largest software
provider, creates, develops and manufactures some of the industry's most advanced
information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems,
storage devices and microelectronics. IBM offers information about the company, its
products, services and technology through the World Wide Web. The fastest and easiest way
to get information about IBM is to go to IBM's home page at http://www.ibm.com.
IBM press contact: Heike Odermatt, Communications
Tel.: 0049-7031-2970, Fax: 0049-7031-2898, Email: [email protected]
Matsushita Communication Industrial Company,
Limited is an affiliated company of Matsushita Electric Industrial Company,
Limited, whose charter is to address mainly telecom-munications, professional/industrial
audio-video, automotive electronics, and information systems industries. In the
telecommunications product arena, Matsushita Communication Industrial is a leading
supplier of infrastructure products of PHS, a part of PDC (Japan digital cellular system)
and a variety of business communication systems, as well as cellular, cordless and pager
terminal products. The company is known as the largest supplier of PDC cellular phones and
PHS handsets for the Japanese market, as well as a leading supplier of GSM handsets for
the global market.
MD-Co, founded in 1996, is a high
tech software development company with a clear focus on delivering open solutions for the
mobile data-communications market. MD-Co's core competence covers:
- Extensive knowledge on wireless networks e.g. GSM, Trunking, Satellite
- Open connectivity software based on distributed and client-server software architectures
- Data dispatching and messaging applications
- Embedded software applications with a focus on Windows CE based platforms
MD-Co's platform of choice for mobile users are Windows CE devices such as Handheld PCs
and the Vehicle Server-finalist of BYTE's Best System Award at CeBIT 98. For more
information, visit http://www.md-co.com. MD-Co press
contact: Mr. Filip de Geijter
Address: Prins Boudewijnlaan 5, 2550 Kontich, BELGIUM
Tel.: +32 3 451 30 60, Fax: +32 3 451 30 66, Email: [email protected]
Motorola is a co-founding member
of the WAP Forum. Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless
communications, semiconductors, and advanced electronic systems, components, and services.
Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging and data
communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and space electronics and
computers. Motorola's 1997 sales were $29.8 billion. Motorola (NYSE:MOT) can be found on
the World Wide Web at http://www.motorola.com.
Motorola press contacts: Sanjay Jhawar, European Business Manager, Smart Phone and Data
Products, Motorola Cellular Subscriber Sector, Tel.: +44 1256 790122; or Barbara
Jankowski, Public Relations Manager, Motorola Cellular Subscriber Sector, Tel.: +44 1256
790173
Nokia is a co-founding member of
the WAP Forum. Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is a broadscope telecommunications company,
supplying mobile phones, mobile and fixed telecommunications networks, data communications
solutions, multimedia terminals and PC monitors. With sales in 130 countries, net sales
totaled FIM 52.6 billion ($9.8 billion) in 1997. Nokia employs more than 36,000 people
worldwide. Find out more about Nokia on http://www.nokia.com.
Nokia press contacts: Mikko Terho, Vice President, Wireless Data, Nokia Mobile Phones
Tel.: +358 10 505 6868; or Eija-Riitta Huovinen, Press Officer, Nokia Mobile Phones, Tel.:
+358 10 5051
Nortel works with customers in
more than 150 countries to design, build and integrate their communications products and
advanced digital networks. Customers include public and private institutions; Internet
service providers; local, long-distance, cellular mobile and PCS communications companies;
cable television companies; and utilities. Nortel's research capabilities around the world
include a network of research and development facilities, affiliated joint ventures, and
other collaborations fostering innovative product development and advanced design research
in 16 countries. Nortel had 1997 revenues of US$15.5 billion and has approximately 73,000
employees worldwide.
Nortel press contact: Paul Rubin, Manager, Media Relations
Tel.: +1 (972) 685-6652, Email: [email protected]
Philips Consumer Communications, a
Lucent Technologies and Philips Electronics venture, designs, manufactures and markets a
complete range of personal communications products including digital and analog cellular
and cordless phones, corded phones, answering machines, screen phones and pagers. The
union of the two businesses has created a company that is the world leader in corded and
cordless phones and answering machines. The partnership was formed October 1, 1997 with 60
percent interest in the venture held by Philips Electronics and 40 percent held by Lucent
Technologies.
Philips Consumer Communications press contact: Richard Burger, Brodeur Porter Novelli
Tel.: +1 602.954.0044, Email: [email protected]
Psion Software PLC designs,
licenses and supports the EPOC operating system, applications and software development
tools. EPOC is designed for mobile data enabled devices such as Communicators,
Smartphones, Palmtops and Mobile Network Computers. A real-time, multithreaded,
multitasking operating system, EPOC lies at the heart of award winning products such as
the Psion Series 5 and the Philips Synergy clip-on Smartphone. Psion Software's Website
can be found at http://www.software.psion.com.
Psion Software PLC press contact: Paul Cockerton, Marketing Communications Manager
Tel.: +44 171 208 1800, Email: [email protected]
QUALCOMM Incorporated develops,
manufactures, markets, licenses and operates advanced communications systems and products
based on its proprietary digital wireless technologies. The Company's primary product
areas are CDMA digital wireless communications systems and products, OmniTRACS products
and, in conjunction with others, the development of the Globalstar low-earth-orbit (LEO)
satellite communications system. Other Company products include the Eudora Pro electronic
mail software, ASIC products, and communications equipment and systems for government and
commercial customers worldwide. For more information on QUALCOMM products and
technologies, please visit the Company's Web site at http://www.qualcomm.com.
QUALCOMM press contact: Joanne Coleman, Director, Marketing, Consumer Products
Tel.: +1 (619) 651-8768, Email: [email protected]
SBC Communications Inc. is a
global leader in the telecommunications industry. Southwestern Bell Wireless, together
with SBC's other wireless affiliates, is a leading provider, serving 5.6 million customers
and seven of the top 10 markets nationwide. SBC (http://www.sbc.com) has more than 118,000
employees and reported 1997 revenues of $25 billion.
SBC Communications Inc. press contact: Brian Kyhos
Tel.: +1 314-982-1721, Email: [email protected].
Schlumberger is unique in that it
provides both smart cards and turnkey solutions along with a full range of tools and
services for Telecom, Banking, Retail, Mass Transit & Parking, Health-care and
Networks. The company has design and manufacturing facilities in Europe, North America,
Asia and Latin America. Under The Smart Village brand, the Schlumberger offer includes the
milestone Cyberflex card, the industry's first Java-based smart card. For more information
visit http://www.slb.com
. Schlumberger press contact: Isabelle Marand, Public Relations Manager, Smart Cards
Tel.: +33 1 47 46 55 42, Email: [email protected]
Sema Group Telecom is a global
market leader in high-performance value added messaging systems, enhanced services,
prepaid and customer care and billing systems for all the major mobile telecommunications
technologies. Sema Group provides a full range service to enable telecom operators to
enter the market with minimal investment and to enable them to seamlessly grow their
systems to handle increased service success. For more information visit http://www.semagroup.com/telecoms.
Sema Group Telecom press contact: Peter Green, General Manager
Tel.: +1 416-497-5540 ext 111, Email: [email protected]
Sendit, headquartered in
Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in London and Seattle, is the leading provider of open
Wireless Internet client-server solutions to GSM cellular operators with operational sites
at Europolitan, Vodafone, Hongkong Telecom CSL, Telenor Mobil, Powertel and other GSM
operators worldwide. Its Internet Cellular Smart Access (ICSA) enables these operators to
offer their subscribers a range of value added services such as wireless Email, secure
Internet and Intranet access and other wireless Internet applications from a single
server. Optimized wireless Email and content delivery applications for SIM Toolkit phones,
smart phones, Personal Digital Assistants and laptops are an integral part of the ICSA
solution. Sendit is listed on the SBI in Stockholm and its Web site is located at http://www.sendit.se.
Sendit press contact: Hjalmar Winbladh, Managing Director
Tel.: +46 85 626 6000, Email: [email protected]
SFR, the GSM brand of CEGETEL,
headquartered in Paris, FRANCE, is the first private GSM carrier on the French market with
a subscriber base of more than 2.6 Million users, mid-1998. SFR addresses all market
segments including, Corporate, Professional, and Consumer, by providing a full range of
GSM services based on flexible tariffs, pack offers and value added services for customers
who require office and information services while on the move. Visit http://www.sfr.fr. SFR press contact: Alexis Pham, Marketing
Manager Data Services
Tel.: +33 1 41 97 79 65, Email: [email protected]
Softline is the leading producer
of technology providing communication between cellular phone networks, Email, pagers and
fax networks. Since 1984 Scandinavian Softline Technology has provided Easy Connections to
business people in over 30 countries around the world. Visit http://www.softline.fi.
Softline press contact: Jussi Pollari, Senior Software Engineer, Scandinavian Softline
Technology Oy.
Tel.: +358 9 5495 6200, Fax: +358 9 5124 629, Email: [email protected]
Sonera Corporation is Finland's
leading telco, functioning both as a provider of mobile and telecommunications services
and as a network operator in Finland and abroad. In 1997, Sonera's turnover was FIM 7.7
billion, and the company employed 7,900 people. Visit us on the Web at http://www.sonera.fi.
Sonera Corporation press contact: Heidi Kaila, Corporate Communications
Email: [email protected]
Spyglass, (NASDAQ:SPYG), provides
Internet expertise, software and services for making devices work with the Web.
Particularly active in the cable and satellite television, wireless telecommunications,
consumer electronics and office equipment markets, Spyglass solutions are used by market
leading companies including 3Com, Daimler-Benz, GTE, JavaSoft, Nokia, Thompson Consumer
Electronics (RCA) and Xerox. Spyglass headquarters are located at 1240 East Deal Rd.,
Naperville, Ill., 60563. Visit http://www.spyglass.com.
Spyglass contact: Tel.: +1 630 245 6512, Fax: +1 630 245 6693, Email: [email protected]
Starfish is the leading supplier
of core technology for Connected Information Devices. Starfish works closely with leading
device manufacturers and cellular, paging and telecommunications operators to develop
complete, customized solutions built on the Starfish TrueSync Technology Platform.
Starfish's partners include Motorola, Franklin Electronic Publishers and Hewlett-Packard.
More information can be found at http://www.starfish.com.
Starfish press contact: Lesa Wheeler, Public Relations Manager
Tel.: +1 (408) 461≠5815, Email: [email protected]
Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) is a
joint-stock company of the Telecom Italia Group. TIM is the biggest mobile phone service
operator in Europe in terms of number of customers (more than 10 million). It operates the
TACS 900 MHz analogue network, the GSM 900 HHz digital network ars well as the paging
service. TIM's networks cover 98% of the population. TIM is strongly customer-oriented
with its different mobile phone services, its flexible tariff structure and its consistent
customer care. This makes TIM a strong player on the market, ready to accept the challenge
of the second millennium. Visit http://www.tim.it.
Telenor is Norway's leading
telecommunications company, offering a wide range of services varying from installation
and operation of complete information technology systems, to normal telephone subscription
services. Telenor is expanding its business opportunities abroad, with a major focus on
mobile and satellite communications networks, but also with a focus on the fields of value
added network services and media related directory services. Telenor's international
presence is already established in more than 15 different countries in Europe, North
America and the Far East. The Telenor Group is headquartered in Oslo, Norway. With more
than 20.000 employees and an annual revenue of 25.5 billion NOK, Telenor is one of the
largest companies in Norway. Visit http://www.telenor.no.
Telenor press contact: Anne Ekern
Tel.: +47 22 78 4500, Fax: +47 918 1100, Email: [email protected]
Telstra enjoys clear leadership in
both analogue and digital mobile markets, having connected its 3 millionth customer
earlier this year. Telstra MobileNet offers the biggest and most popular digital mobile
network in Australia; GSM geographic coverage is over 400,000 square kilometres and
reaches over 94 per cent of the Australian population. Telstra's independently audited
testing again proved that Telstra provides the best in-building coverage and call clarity
of the three GSM networks in Australia.
Telstra press contact: Paul Schofield, Senior Product Manager, Wireless Data, Telstra
Products & Marketing, Tel.: +61 2 9298 4667
T-Mobil, headquartered in Bonn, is
Germany's largest provider of mobile communications services with approximately 5 million
subscribers and 5'500 employees. T-Mobil started operations in 1993 as an economically
independent company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutche Telekom AG. In 1997,
T-Mobil attained sales of approximately 6 billion marks. At present, there are
approximately 4 million subscribers to the T-D1 network and T-C-Tel. The company's radio
paging services, Skyper, Scall and Cityruf, have a total of over one million subscribers.
The range of services of the company also includes the operational mobile data
communications system Modacom and the satellite communications system Inmarsat. Together
with Daimler-Benz InterServices AG (debis), T-Mobil has founded a joint venture called
"TEGARON Telematics GmbH" with headquarters in Bonn. TEGARON�s goal is to
develop and market new traffic telematic services. T-Mobil and debis both have a 50
percent share in the company.
Uniden Corporation is a billion
dollar consumer electronics company, and Uniden San Diego Research and Development, Inc.
is a subsidiary of Uniden. Uniden San Diego develops, manufactures and markets wireless
and multimedia communication products. These include AMPS, IS136 and GSM handsets as well
as data communication products including CDPD Internet phones. For more information about
Uniden, please call +1 (888) 6-UNIDEN or visit Uniden's World Wide Web site at http://www.uniden.com.
WAP specifies Internet content and advanced telephony services access on digital
cellular phones and other wireless terminals. The WAP Forum has published a global
wireless protocol specification for all wireless networks that will be contributed to
appropriate standards bodies. WAP enables manufacturers, network operators, content
providers and application developers to offer compatible products and secure services on
all digital devices and networks resulting in greater economies of scale and universal
access to information. WAP Forum membership is open to all industry participants. WAP
version 1.0 specification and membership details are available at http://www.wapforum.org.