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  FIRST HOP AND OPENWAVE ANNOUNCE SOLUTION FOR CONTENT DELIVERY AND PUSH CAMPAIGNS [Partner Release]
  

  Openwave Outreach Express with First Hop's Wireless Broker will Deliver Better User Experience for Application-to-Person Messaging
 
CTIA and Helsinki (Finland) - March 15, 2005 -- First Hop, a proven leader in mobile VAS management, today announced entering into a global reseller agreement with Openwave (OPWV), the leading provider of open software and products for the communications industry. The combination of First Hop® Wireless Broker™ with Openwave® Outreach Express offers a complete client/server application to person messaging solution to operators and MVNOs. Together First Hop and Openwave will enable operators to distribute compelling rich content and information in real-time to their subscribers on any handset.

Openwave will resell First Hop® Wireless Broker™, which automates creation, rapid provisioning, launch, and management of dynamic service portfolios with a vast array of third party content providers. The solution is optimised for superior application connectivity and workflow tools to easily provision new service providers. The innovative web-based tools allow an operator and service providers to integrate new content providers and launch new services in literally just minutes.

Operators are challenged more than ever to launch new services to grow data ARPU. A recent report by Accenture revealed that for operators to increase ARPU by $10, they must introduce 500 new services. Introducing a large number of dynamically changing services has become an imperative. A greater number of services will mean a greater number of content partners, making content provider management essential to properly manage these new revenue opportunities.

Time-to-market is a critical issue especially for perishable content services. Quickly introducing and managing a large number of services requires automation throughout the value chain, from a content provider activating a new service, to the service provisioning/review/approval workflow, to content delivery over an operator's layered network and finally, integration with e.g. billing. Coupled with service portfolio management and business reporting, operators and service providers gain a helicopter view onto their service business - thus identifying trends and winning service areas and being able to optimize the portfolio accordingly. This means that even short-term opportunities could be realised at a marginal cost. First Hop® with Openwave's Outreach Express can quickly delivery mobile VAS management solutions for mobile operators and service providers around the world.

"Outreach Express delivers an intuitive user experience for pushing innovative content and campaigns across a range of handsets that will help operators grow their messaging communities and data revenues. We selected First Hop to bring the best-of-breed VAS management suite into our application to person offering," said Rich Wong, general manager of Openwave's messaging products. "We look forward to deploying the joint solution to our customer base on a global scale."

"First Hop® Wireless Broker™ fits very naturally with the Outreach Express solution. We are truly excited about the added value that the joint solution offers to customers promoting innovative multimedia messaging services. Furthermore, we are delighted that Openwave, a pioneer and global leader in mobile messaging solutions, extends our business and service reach to significant new markets and customers", said Timo Laaksonen, CEO of First Hop. "With Openwave's messaging expertise and First Hop's application connectivity and provisioning Openwave and First Hop will be able to unleash the full potential of application-to-person messaging."

About Openwave
 
Openwave Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: OPWV) is the leading independent provider of open software products and services for the communications industry. Openwave's breadth of products, including mobile phone software, multimedia messaging software (MMS), email, location and mobile gateways, along with its worldwide expertise enable its customers to deliver innovative and differentiated data services. Openwave is a global company headquartered in Redwood City, California. For more information please visit www.openwave.com.

About First Hop
 
First Hop, a proven leader in mobile VAS management, offers products for the delivery and business management of wireless content services. The product suite, First Hop® Wireless Broker™ is a modular service delivery platform core that allows mobile operators and service providers to develop their role as a strategic point of control in the wireless content business. First Hop® Wireless Broker™ enables operators to manage value added services stand-alone, covering the end-to-end process of service provisioning, launch, delivery, charging, and reporting through all channels, offer dynamic content service portfolios, and apply highly flexible wireless content business models.

First Hop, employing 85 people, is a fast-growing, financially solid company. Founded in 1997, First Hop is privately held and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, with sales and support operations in the UK, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. First Hop products have been deployed in more than 40 mobile networks worldwide, such as Vodafone, T-Mobile, and Orange, serving over 300 million mobile users accessing value added services. For more information on First Hop, please visit www.firsthop.com.

For further information:
 
Contact Openwave Worldwide Public Relations

First Hop
Kaj Hagros
VP of Marketing and Business Development
+358 10 2866 440

  



 
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