Acotel Multimedia Solutions Create New Interactive Experiences for Mobile Phone Users.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment 2003

Booth #1203

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 2003

Acotel establishes US presence in Boston and New York;

unveils solutions that drive revenue, usage and subscriber growth

for operators and media companies at

CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2003

Acotel, a global provider of mobile multimedia platforms and applications, today announced it is expanding its worldwide presence by establishing its US headquarters in Boston, MA and a sales office in New York, NY. With its US debut at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2003 in Las Vegas this week, Acotel will unveil a comprehensive product suite that enables mobile network operators and media companies to deliver highly interactive, participative, content rich experiences for mobile subscribers and audiences.

"Acotel's advanced mobile technologies are fueling a rapidly converging mobile and media marketplace, where operators and media companies are increasingly in the business of selling dynamic content," said Claudio Carnevale, chairman and chief executive officer, Acotel Group. "Our unique integration of carrier-class mobile platforms with interactive, multimedia mobile applications empower these customers to attract new subscribers and audiences, engage them and retain them longer, and create new revenue streams from higher-value content and services. This approach has driven significant growth for Acotel throughout Europe, and now we are driving this strategy into US mobile markets where demand for interactive, high value mobile content is surging."

For mobile network operators, Acotel combines original content, robust applications for content delivery and multimedia messaging with proven high capacity switching and routing platforms to enable highly differentiated, profitable multimedia services.

Specific benefits to mobile network operators:

-- Select a complete turn-key solution or choose from a menu of

unique content and applications- all from a single provider

-- Offer unique, easy to use, personalized services to each

subscriber

-- Increase the adoption of new multimedia services

-- Increase on network traffic and average revenue per user

-- Manage all aspects of content and service delivery from a

centralized, intuitive resource

-- Provide immediate value to subscribers and shareholders

For media companies, Acotel makes traditionally one-way communication vehicles like the radio, TV and Web fully interactive and increasingly profitable. Viewers, listeners and other end users are able to interact with their favorite personalities, provide immediate feedback on programming, receive select, tailored news and information or participate in on-air contests from their mobile phones.

Specific benefits to media companies:

-- Effectively tailor programming to suit audience interests;

-- Engage viewers, listeners or other end users for longer

periods of time by offering customized, tailored programming;

-- Attract high-value advertisers with larger, captive audiences

and offering advertisers new channels to reach those

audiences;

-- Offer value-added services to drive new revenue streams.

"The US market represents a significant growth opportunity for Acotel. With the increasing penetration of mobile phones, the recent availability of cross-network interoperability, and the explosion of powerful next generation networks, mobile network operators are striving to deliver more valuable, profitable and differentiated services to their subscribers. And media companies are looking to engage their viewers and listeners to deliver higher levels of personalization while attracting more advertising dollars," said Nino Tarantino, general manager of US Operations and chief operating officer, Acotel USA. "Acotel's expertise and innovative multimedia solutions uniquely packaged for each market segment deliver immediate value for Acotel customers and while setting a new interactivity precedent for end users."

Acotel's mobile multimedia platforms and applications are available today.

About Acotel

Acotel is a global provider of multimedia platforms and applications to mobile network operators and media companies around the world. Through its customer base, Acotel services more than 35 million end users, and enabled 340 million paid text and multimedia messages in 2002. Founded in 1992, Acotel operates in 20 countries and is publicly traded on the Milan Stock Exchange. Acotel customers include IBM, Orange, Radio Hit Channel, Telecom Italia Mobile, Tiscali and Vodafone. For more information, please visit www.acotel.com.