Nokia and KG Telecom Sign Agreement Worth Over USD 250 Million To Expand GSM Network Services in Taiwan; KGT To be the First in Taiwan to Complete GPRS Core Network Testing.

HELSINKI, Finland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1999--

Nokia and KG Telecom have signed an agreement worth more than USD 250 million which will see the major expansion of GSM 1800 services. KG Telecom have also completed the installation of Nokia's GPRS core network solution, within their existing network.

With this agreement, the GSM equipment supplied by Nokia will now also cover the Northern area of Taiwan, including the capital, Taipei. GPRS services will also be expanded throughout the island, with extensive support from Nokia Professional Services. Nokia supplied KG Telecom with a GSM network upgrade and GPRS core network solution earlier this year, covering Southern Taiwan.

The contract includes the supply of a range of GSM equipment including Nokia mobile switching centres, home location registers, base station controllers and base stations. This equipment will be GPRS-enabled including software upgrades for packet data services. In addition, Nokia will provide a full package of services, covering Project Management, Radio and Datacom Planning and planning tools, Network Implementation, Operating Support Services, Emergency Service training, as well as Hardware Services and Software Maintenance.

Demand for new, innovative Internet related services is a growing trend that is driving mobile usage in networks today. GPRS will offer true global mass market wireless access to the Internet and other packet-based networks.

Mr. Jimmy Yau, President & COO, KG Telecom says: "Having packet data capabilities in our network is key to the growth of mobile data and will enable KG Telecom to position itself at the forefront of the future mobile IP market in Asia. We will provide the first IP based wireless services for our subscribers in Taiwan and with this agreement GPRS coverage will be extended to both the North and South of Taiwan."

"This is a significant contract for Nokia, and we are pleased to continue our partnership with KG Telecom, as voice and data traffic shift towards mobility." says Petri Reijonen, General Manager, Nokia Taiwan. "GSM is the most proven platform for the 3rd generation and offers operators investment protection towards new network technologies such as GPRS. This will enable always-connected services and also fuels Wireless Application Protocol based content."

The Nokia GPRS solution includes the Internet Protocol (IP) core network infrastructure, the Serving GPRS support Node, the Gateway GPRS Support Node, the Domain Name Server, the Charging Gateway, Firewall and Ethernet switches. The hardware is already commercially capable and also supports all ETSI specified interfaces and standards.

As well as providing an essential stepping stone to third generation (3G) networks, GPRS is the ideal bearer for WAP applications, and the Nokia GPRS solution also supports pre-paid for WAP based applications.

Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products and solutions. Nokia is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks including related services. It also supplies multimedia terminals and computer displays. In 1998, net sales totaled EUR 13.3 billion (USD 15.7 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 53 000 people.