CMG And Wireless Services Corporation First to Bridge Text Messaging Gap Between North and South America.

Business/Technology Editors

BELLEVUE, Wash. & ADDISON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2002

NEW INTER-CARRIER TEXT MESSAGING INITIATIVE LINKS SMS USERS IN CANADA,

U.S. AND LATIN AMERICA

Wireless Services Corporation (WSC) and CMG Wireless Data Solutions announced today the launch of the first inter-carrier messaging service that allows mobile customers to send SMS (short message service) text between wireless phone users in Canada, the United States and Latin America.

Mobile operators in the Americas rely on inter-carrier messaging services to expand the market for mobile messaging by bridging the many different wireless technologies in use, including GSM, CDMA, TDMA and iDEN. This is the first service to include operators from both North and South America.

The new service will be available on SMS-capable mobile phones on WSC's and CMG's inter-carrier networks. CMG previously announced inter-carrier messaging agreements with Bell Mobility, Microcell PCS (Fido), Rogers AT&T Wireless, and TELUS Mobility, while WSC previously announced Nextel Communications, Nextel Partners, and Nextel International.

Customers of participating carriers simply need to address their messages using the country code, area code and phone number of the receiving mobile phone, which must also belong to the inter-carrier network.

The companies expect substantial usage increases for participating carriers. While a Yankee Group study indicates an average 40 percent increase in SMS volume growth with interoperability, WSC has seen as high as 100 percent message traffic increases immediately following the introduction of inter-carrier messaging. Furthermore, Latin America has long been heralded as a ripe market for mobile Internet services like SMS, with a population of 500 million and one of the highest online growth rates in the world.

To enable this new interoperability, CMG and WSC have entered into a peering agreement that allows the two companies' inter-carrier SMS networks to share and exchange messaging traffic.

"Beyond being the first providers to announce the availability of interoperability across the Americas, we are offering a more robust and flexible service to benefit the carriers in these different regions," said Kevin McKeand, WSC Chief Operating Officer. "The solution, which is based on the interconnection of WSC's IDX Messaging Platform and CMG's Inter-SMSC Router, provides translation and formatting capabilities to maximize the user experience regardless of the device the user has or the technology the carrier employs for data services."

"CMG has been working closely with WSC to establish inter-carrier text messaging capabilities as quickly as possible," said DeWayne Nelon, president of CMG, North America. "A rapid deployment of this new service means that our customers will be able to quickly take advantage of the expected traffic increases. There is a huge market opportunity with the addition of U.S. and Latin American subscribers, and we are happy to be able to offer it to our customers in partnership with WSC."

WSC is one of three designated U.S. inter-carrier vendors (ICV) working with the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) inter-carrier messaging forum. InterconnectAmericas, WSC's inter-carrier service, brings WSC's easy to implement, cost effective and most technologically advanced solution to carriers throughout the Americas.

CMG launched North America's first nation-wide inter-carrier SMS solution in 2001, which handles over 96 percent of Canada's inter-carrier SMS traffic. CMG is the sole inter-carrier SMS provider of Canada's four wireless communications providers including Bell Mobility, Microcell PCS (Fido), Rogers AT&T Wireless and TELUS Mobility.

About Wireless Services Corp.

Founded in 1996, Wireless Services Corporation (WSC) is a leader in developing and operating value-added data software applications and services for wireless carriers. Commercially deployed for over five years, WSC's applications deliver messages to any wireless device, regardless of current or future network infrastructure or protocols. Wireless Service Corporation's feature-rich applications and services are deployed by wireless carriers throughout the United States and Latin America. These carriers use WSC's products and services to process and manage all of their SMS, two-way and WAP-generated data messaging, email and other applications, including integration with pre-paid billing systems. The company provides customers with carrier-grade reliability and scalability, coupled with a full-service, 24x7 operations/support team.

For more information about WSC, please visit www.wirelesscorp.com. For more information about WSC's InterconnectAmericas initiative, please visit www.interconnectamericas.com.

About CMG

CMG plc is a global Information and Communications Technology group with leading positions in the provision of Mobile Business, Advanced Security, Business Process Outsourcing and Advanced Payroll solutions. We are at the core of our customers' critical activities, combining industry knowledge, technical expertise and practical innovation. CMG is proud of its open culture where communication, co-operation and fairness are seen as the basis for mutually rewarding relationships. This unique ethos is complemented by a commitment to delivering excellence and a full service offering ranging from management consultancy, systems development and integration to the outsourced management of targeted business processes. A complementary and equally critical strength of CMG is its global leadership in wireless messaging and mobile Internet built on the delivery of high performance, high reliability short message service centers (SMSC) to mobile operators.

Established in 1964, CMG employs over 13,000 people and supports customers with its worldwide presence in more than 20 countries.

CMG plc is listed on both the London and Amsterdam stock exchanges.