Ericsson Demonstrates First Cross-Technology IMS-Based Push-To-Talk Solution for CDMA2000 and GSM/GPRS.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CTIA WIRELESS 2003

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2003

In an industry-first, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERICY) today demonstrated cross-technology push-to-talk over CDMA2000 and GSM/GPRS at the CTIA telecom event in New Orleans.

The new Ericsson Instant Talk solution is built on Ericsson's IP Multimedia (IPMM) platform, delivering cost-effective and future-proof IP infrastructure to operators.

Ericsson Instant Talk is based on the IP Multimedia System (IMS) core network open interfaces and is developed to work across GSM/GPRS, EDGE, CDMA2000, WCDMA and WLAN networks. The Ericsson Instant Talk solution will offer push-to-talk functionality combined with presence services. The solution is implemented on the Ericsson IPMM platform, which is identical for all of the above-mentioned technologies, providing operators with a complete access-technology-transparent IP multimedia subsystem.

Ericsson's undisputed world-class competence with air-interface technologies and optimized wireless data-compression has resulted in the Ericsson Instant Talk solution with top call setup performance for GSM/GPRS, EDGE, CDMA2000 and WCDMA networks. The Ericsson Instant Talk solution will be commercially available during second half 2003.

"With a minimal investment, Ericsson Instant Talk offers a highly attractive IP-based voice application that complements the wireless operators' traditional voice offering," said Per-Arne Sandstrom, COO of Ericsson. "The service has already proven itself in the market, showing some of the highest user revenues in the industry. Based on Ericsson's access technology-independent solution, Ericsson Instant Talk will allow for full interoperability across different network and handset technologies and help increase operators' revenues."

The Ericsson Instant Talk solution will be compliant to the IMS based push-to-talk standard, allowing operators to offer a large variety of interoperable handsets.

Ericsson's IPMM subsystem provides operators with the ability to leverage their initial investment for push-to-talk services and gradually expand their IP network as new multimedia services are introduced to subscribers. Ericsson Instant Talk is the first in a multitude of services that will be launched on the Ericsson IPMM subsystem. Other services are instant messaging, audio conferencing, interactive session forwarding and video telephony.

Ericsson is a leader in standards bodies such as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Ericsson is driving global, open standards in order to generate worldwide traffic and revenue for operators and ensure a smooth, seamless experience for consumers.

Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

Read more at http://www.ericsson.com/pressroom.

About Ericsson Instant Talk:

Ericsson Instant Talk consists of Instant Talk, presence and Direct Message Service (DMS). Instant Talk is the feature that allows users to communicate in groups or one-on-one. Ericsson's solution allows end users to flexibly define and modify user groups from their handsets. Users can then easily choose to initiate an Instant Talk session with all of the users or with selected users in the group. The presence service will allow users to subscribe to each other's availability, and to see who is available and who is busy. The DMS service will allow users to leave a message for those who are unavailable or have chosen not to accept any Instant Talk sessions.

About Ericsson IPMM subsystem:

Ericsson IPMM is a core IP multimedia system that complements Ericsson's existing wireless and wireline solutions, providing transparency between fixed Next Generation Networks and mobile 2,5G/3G communication services. It contains an open service creation environment using open standards. Ericsson IPMM has a modular architecture and is highly scalable with carrier grade availability. It is compliant with the GSM, WCDMA and CDMA2000 standards architectures as defined in the 3GPP and 3GPP2 specifications for IMS.

About IMS:

IP Multimedia System (IMS) is a technology standardized by 3GPP. It is a key development of the mobile communication into IP technologies. It adds the ability to deliver integrated voice and data services over the IP-based packet switched network. IMS adds two fundamental capabilities on top of the packet switched domain; firstly the ability to find a person via SIP to initiate a session, and secondly the ability to integrate new revenue generating services, such as Ericsson Instant Talk. IMS offers a development environment that is well aligned with mainstream IP technology, thereby lowering the threshold for 3rd party application developers. By introducing IMS and its services delivery capability, a step towards a common service delivery environment is taken. Instead of providing a complete service delivery infrastructure per service, a common infrastructure can be used, facilitating a reduced time to revenue and reduced cost (OPEX and CAPEX) for new service introduction.