[AT&T Wireless (USA), Cingular Wireless (USA), Compaq, Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Nokia, Openwave Systems, Rogers AT&T Wireless and Siemens Form Alliance to Unify the Americas for Migration to 3G Services.]

Washington, D.C. -- Major wireless operators and equipment manufacturers have announced commitments to establish a new global wireless trade organization focused on the Americas that embraces the world's most popular wireless technologies. The new association will represent five principle technologies deployed in the Americas: GSM, TDMA, GPRS, EDGE, and WCDMA (UMTS). This commitment marks a significant milestone, providing representation and cooperation for a smooth transition to 3G services in the Americas, especially as a growing number of leading carriers commit to the GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA (UMTS) technology migration.

"We will unify the Americas wireless voice for these five technologies, for the first time, representing many TDMA and GSM operators and vendors in North, Central, and South America," stated Bill Clift, Chief Technical Officer for Cingular Wireless and one of the new organization's founding members. "Our core planning group is moving forward to launch the new organization in the first quarter of 2002."

The mission of the new, as-yet-unnamed, organization will be to promote, educate, and advocate for the success of the five wireless technologies and their seamless evolution to future generations, thereby advancing the wireless industry in the Americas for the benefit of consumers. The new association, representing TDMA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and WCDMA (UMTS) technologies, will work with regulatory bodies, technical standards bodies, and other global wireless organizations for seamless interoperability and convergence. The new organization expects to be aligned with the interests of the GSM Association worldwide body and will fully support the Third Generation Technology migration strategy GSM/GPRS/EDGE and WCDMA (UMTS) adopted by many operators in the Americas.

"While our customers may speak different languages, together we need to speak with one voice," said Rod Nelson, Chief Technology Officer for AT&T Wireless. "The Americas have specific wireless issues and opportunities that need to be addressed. This new organization will enhance the growth of wireless services throughout the Americas and provide significant contributions on roaming, portability of services, and other efficiencies as we move to 3G wireless data services."

Already, a core group of companies have initiated the development of the organization with their pledge of support. Additionally, the association expects to add numerous Latin American operators in its first year of operation. The founding group of companies for the new alliance includes AT&T Wireless (USA), Cingular Wireless (USA), Compaq, Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Nokia, Openwave Systems, Rogers AT&T Wireless (Canada) and Siemens.

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