| interWAVE(R) Communications International, Ltd. (Nasdaq: IWAV - news), a pioneer in wireless networking, and Openstream Inc., a leading provider of wireless data services and systems, today announced an agreement to jointly develop and market wireless messaging solutions and applications for enterprise and community users. Through this collaboration, interWAVE and Openstream will develop & a wireless solution, known as Smart Message Services (SMS), that enables users to send and receive text, voice and data messages through their wireless device at any time and from any location. The companies have complementary areas of expertise and will work to develop the necessary interfaces between interWAVE's wireless communications systems and Openstream's wireless applications and services platform.
"By targeting the enterprise market, interWAVE has eliminated the most difficult barriers to rapid entry and wide-scale adoption of Smart Messaging Services-the up front costs and legacy technologies,'' said Raj Tumuluri, president and chief software architect of Openstream. ``Smart Messaging gives organizations a powerful tool to create multiple relationships with subscribers. Studies have shown that bundling two or more services reduces customer churn, which in competitive communications markets can be as much as 30 percent. Further, organizations can expect an increase in productivity as subscribers get the added convenience of simplified communications.'' According to the Yankee Group, Smart Messaging is predicted to eventually replace separate e-mail, voice mail and fax systems on the vast majority of business desktops. In Europe more than 1 billion SMS messages are being sent every month, with that figure growing at an exponential rate.
"There is a growing demand for enhanced services that bridge the gap between mobile phones and Internet/Intranet networks, and the next emerging productivity enhancing application of this integrated network is enterprise Smart Messaging,'' said Priscilla Lu, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of interWAVE. "interWAVE is committed to providing solutions that enhance the delivery of wireless Internet to the enterprise market and the consumers. Now enterprise managers can concentrate on the part of Smart Messaging that is mission critical to their business -- focusing on enhancing the productivity of their employees or the relationship with their customers''.
interWAVE Communications International, Ltd. provides all of the infrastructure equipment and software necessary to support an entire wireless network within a single compact system. interWAVE's products support the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) standard that is currently deployed in more than 350 Cellular/PCS networks in 135 countries with more than 330 million subscribers. interWAVE's WAVE-IP(TM) network system is the first to offer interoperability between GSM networks and networks based on the LAN/WAN and Internet protocols. The company markets and sells its products globally through strategic relationships with Alcatel and Nortel Networks, as well as through other communications equipment providers, systems integrators and a direct sales force. The company has more than 200 employees worldwide with most operations based in California's Silicon Valley with sales and service offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, Paris and Thailand. Additional information about interWAVE Communications is available on the company's web site at http://www.iwv.com
About Openstream Inc:
Openstream is a leading provider of mobile data products and solutions that help enterprises enable employees and customers to use their handheld devices for effective communications and real-time transactions. Openstream's primary product is a wireless service creation and delivery platform. The company also provides engineering, consulting and training services to optimize the performance of wireless data communications. Openstream was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Edison, N.J., with an office in Bangalore, India. Additional information about Openstream Inc. is available on the company's web site at http://www.openstream.com
Editor's Note: interWAVE is a registered trademark. WAVEXchange, WAVEXpress, WAVEXpress/BSC, WAVEXpress/BTS, WAVEView/OMC, and WAVE-IP are trademarks of interWAVE Communications International, Ltd.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that represent the company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Actual results could differ materially from those projected as a result of known and unknown risks and uncertainties including the risks relating to interWAVE's history of losses, the expectation of future losses, difficulties in introducing new or enhanced products, long sales cycles management of global operations, the ability to retain and motivate key employees, and the Risk Factors discussed in the filings and reports made from time to time by interWAVE with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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