InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[nieves]

Trans-Atlantic Mobile Phone 'Walkie-Talkie' Test Successful



RELATED SYMBOLS: (NOK)

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Jan 21, 2003 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- FastMobile, an
Illinois based mobile phone services company, announced that it successfully
completed a voice walkie-talkie (push-to-talk) test between Chicago and London
using two standard mobile phones.

Group voice and text instant messages were sent simultaneously among the
participants. The test used a compact FastMobile application running on off-
the-shelf Nokia 7650 and 3650 handsets with Symbian operating systems. A
FastMobile server, located in suburban Chicago and untethered to any operator,
routed the digitized voice and text conversations across the GSM mobile Internet
data networks (or General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) of US operator, T-Mobile,
and UK operators, Orange and Vodafone. The successful test was completed without
requiring any special hardware to be added to the either the mobile handset or
the operators' networks.

In the US, the mobile phone operator Nextel has popularized cellular phone-based
walkie-talkie services, particularly within the business segment. To date such
services are limited to Nextel customers and have a limited range -- usually
within the customer's home metropolitan area -- although Nextel has recently
announced that they have started rollout of a nationwide service, expected to be
completed by the end of this year.

By the second quarter of 2003, FastMobile plans to commercialize the
walkie-talkie feature into its fastxt(TM) mobile instant messaging service which
is now available in the UK. FastMobile is also planning to bring fastxt(TM) and
its whole suite of instant communications service to the US later this year.
fastxt(TM) is an enhanced mobile messaging service based on what is arguably one
of the killer applications of the PC world today, instant messaging. fastxt(TM),
allows subscribers to see when their friends are online and then lets them send
instant text messages simultaneously to as many friends as they like. fastxt(TM)
also lets subscribers send and receive ordinary SMS text messages as well as
communicate with MSN Messenger(TM) friends at their PC's. FastMobile's services
work on Symbian OS handsets and many of the newer Java handsets.

FastMobile will be demonstrating this walkie-talkie feature and its suite of
instant communications services at February's 3GSM World Congress in Cannes,
France, in Hall 2, stand F10.

About FastMobile:

FastMobile is the company that brings you fastxt(TM). FastMobile has operations
in the US, Europe and Asia delivering value added messaging services over GPRS
and other 2.5G and 3G mobile networks. FastMobile's first service, fastxt(TM),
brings the power of instant messaging to mobile phones and will be followed with
a range of innovative services that link the power of the internet to the
immediacy of mobile.

The company is backed by private investment and venture capital from US
companies BlueStar Ventures, Leo Capital Holdings and Red Barn Investments. The
company raised $4 million in its first round of funding. For more information,
please visit FastMobile's Web Site at http://www.fastmobile.com .

SOURCE FastMobile


CONTACT: Harry Eschel of FastMobile, [phone],
[e-mail]

URL: http://www.fastmobile.com
http://www.prnewswire.com

Copyright (C) 2003 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.

-0-


KEYWORD: Illinois
England
France
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CPR
CSE
MLM
REA
TLS
SUBJECT CODE: PDT
TDS

(Wall Street)





Daniel Nieves