China Unicom to Offer GRIC Remote Access for Secure, Reliable Internet Roaming to Its Customer Base of Leading Enterprises and Consumers Throughout Asia.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2001

Agreement Represents Another Major Internet Roaming Partnership

for GRIC in China

GRIC Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:GRIC), a leading provider of Internet-based mobile office communications services, today announced that China United Telecommunications Corporation Ltd. (China Unicom: NYSE:CHU; SEHK:762), China's second-largest Telecom carrier, has become a member of the GRIC Alliance Network(TM). As part of the agreement, China Unicom will offer GRIC's global remote Internet access service to its customer base of leading enterprises and consumers throughout Asia. This strategic alliance with China Unicom represents another major partnership in China for GRIC. The addition of China Unicom to the GRIC Alliance Network, a global network of more than 300 top-tier ISPs and telecommunications companies in more than 150 countries, solidifies the company's leadership position in Asia-Pacific, and extends GRIC's unsurpassed network coverage in China to 229 dialing locations in both major cities and provinces, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Jinzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen, among many others.

Under terms of the agreement, China Unicom corporate and individual customers will be able to securely and reliably access the Internet and their home corporate network from virtually anywhere in the world at the cost of a local call. China Unicom will open its points of presence (POPs) in more than 200 cities in China to members of the GRIC Alliance Network.

By using GRIC's customizable, easy-to-use and cost-saving global remote Internet access service global business travelers in Asia-Pacific will benefit from increased productivity while working away from the office. Through GRIC's extensive global reach of more than 15,000 dialing locations -- more than 9,000 of which are outside North America -- China Unicom business subscribers will be able to access the Internet, as well as sensitive data in their corporate network, easily, reliably and securely from much more places than before.

"This agreement with China Unicom reinforces GRIC's unsurpassed network coverage in China," said Hong Chen, CEO of GRIC Communications. "The opportunity to form a strategic alliance with one of China's largest telecommunications service providers adds momentum to the expansion of the GRIC Alliance Network, and positions us to take maximum advantage of the explosive growth of Asia-Pacific's Internet roaming market."

"China Unicom has been integral in setting up the telecommunications infrastructure in China. This partnership with GRIC is significant to China Unicom's worldwide Internet roaming expansion," said a senior officer of China Unicom. "GRIC enables China Unicom to deliver on our customers' needs for high-quality, secure access to the Internet and their company's network from more places around the world."

About GRIC Communications, Inc.

GRIC Communications, Inc., a leading provider of Internet-based mobile office communications services for ISPs, communications providers and enterprise customers, combines state-of-the-art technology with its managed global GRIC Alliance Network(TM) of more than 300 top-tier service providers. GRIC provides services for the Global 1000 in more than 150 countries and enables remote Internet access through more than 15,000 dialing locations.

A member of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) certifying Wi-Fi as the global, wireless LAN standard across all market segments, GRIC continues to pioneer roaming and remote Internet access, and provides its customers the ability to take advantage of broadband access points such as wireless hotspots using GRICtraveler(TM).

A winner of Frost & Sullivan's Market Engineering Award for Customer Service Leadership in the global Internet roaming market, GRIC is headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., and has offices in the US, Asia and Europe. Visit GRIC at www.gric.com.

Note to Editors: GRIC, GRICtraveler, GRIC Alliance Network, and the GRIC logo are trademarks of GRIC Communications, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

This news release may include "forward-looking" statements, including projections about our business, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements in the future tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us at the time of the release and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations as a result of numerous factors, including the risks and uncertainties associated with our business that are detailed in our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q on file with the SEC and available through www.sec.gov.

About China Unicom

Founded in 1994, China Unicom has been commissioned by the State Council to provide basic and value-added services for telco networks, such as radio, mobile and engineering services. China Unicom is also responsible for upgrading the existing private telco networks of the Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Electric Power to provide long-distance phone services to the general public and local phone services to remote areas with limited public phone networks.