CellPoint and SiRF Partner to Provide GSM/3G Operators with an Anytime, Anywhere Location Information Platform

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Wireless Developer Network - Daily News

CellPoint and SiRF Partner to Provide GSM/3G Operators with an Anytime, Anywhere Location Information Platform

URL(s): http://www.cellpoint.com

LONDON & SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 7, 2001-- Integration of Network-Based Location Technology with GPS Provides Most Reliable Coverage of Location Information to Consumers

CellPoint Inc. (Nasdaq:CLPT) (SSE:CLPT.), a global provider of mobile location technology and services, and SiRF Technology, Inc., a leading developer of location technology based on global positioning system (GPS), today announced a strategic partnership to deliver a platform to GSM cell phone operators that provides highly accurate location information to cell phone users in any environment.

With this agreement, SiRF's Assisted GPS (A-GPS*) technology will be integrated with CellPoint's network-based Enhanced Cell-ID (E-Cell-ID) location platform technology, providing consumers and wireless network operators the best of both location-information systems. A hybrid of GPS and network-based technology offers constant, accurate location information anytime, anywhere: GPS technology can pinpoint location to within 5 to 15 meters; however, the satellite signals can be blocked in certain environments, such as inside buildings, while network-based systems, such as CellPoint's E-Cell-ID can supplement in these environments.

"After spending considerable time researching our A-GPS partnership options, we have chosen SiRF as our A-GPS technology partner due to their expertise and vision in this exciting new sector," said Lars Persson, CEO of CellPoint Europe. "The combination of CellPoint's E-Cell-ID technology and SiRF's A-GPS technology, means that together we will soon be ready to deploy telecom-grade hybrid E-Cell-ID/A-GPS solutions to the worldwide GSM/3G market. Starting off with CellPoint's Enhanced Cell-ID today and evolving to a combination of E-Cell-ID and A-GPS in the medium/long term, utilizing the same CellPoint core platform, is a very strong roadmap for GSM/3G operators. We have long said that GPS will be an excellent complement to CellPoint's total commercial solution, encompassing the location platform, the location technology and the location services."

"With the combination of SiRF's A-GPS and CellPoint's E-Cell-ID, consumers will have a more reliable way than ever before to ascertain their location," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing of SiRF. "Alliances with infrastructure providers as well as with leading handset providers enables SiRF to bring the advantages of location awareness to the masses, which has been our vision since the beginning."

E-911 Ready

"The combination of SiRF's GPS technology and CellPoint's E-Cell-ID meets the accuracy and performance requirements of the E-911 Mandate and provides GSM cellular operators in the US a solution to meet the Mandate's fast-approaching deadline of October 1, 2001," said Persson. "The hybrid system allows service operators to deploy a flexible caller ID solution that doesn't require hardware modifications to the network, but will accommodate all of the new GPS-enabled devices once they hit the market."

Assisted GPS Ideal for Consumer Devices

SiRF's A-GPS technology enables significant improvement in GPS positioning in cellular and PCS (Personal Communications Service) handsets. This architecture supports Autonomous, Network Assisted MS-Based Positioning and MS-Assisted Network-Based positioning to provide location information under any wireless infrastructure. This flexibility enables carriers to not only build a framework for providing a range of value-added services, but also meet the FCC's E-911 Mandate requirements.

About SiRF Technology

SiRF Technology, Inc. develops and markets semiconductor and software products that are designed to enable location awareness in high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications. Location awareness refers to the ability of a device to determine and make use of the information regarding its location. SiRF's products enable a range of devices to utilize GPS to detect location and have been integrated into mobile consumer devices, such as automobile navigation systems, GPS-based portable computing peripherals and handheld GPS navigation devices, and into commercial applications, such as property tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target markets: wireless handheld, automotive, mobile computing and embedded consumer/marine applications. For more information, please visit the company's Web site at www.sirf.com.

*A-GPS, Assisted GPS, is a satellite positioning system that improves the functionality and performance of GPS. GPS, Global Positioning System, uses satellites to calculate positions of devices equipped with GPS chips, on or near the earth.

CellPoint Inc. (Nasdaq and Stockholm OM Exchange: CLPT, www.cellpoint.com) is a US company with subsidiary operations in Sweden, Great Britain and South Africa delivering location and wireless telemetry services in cooperation with cellular operators worldwide. CellPoint's end-to-end cellular location technology is a high-capacity system that works in unmodified GSM networks and uses standard GSM or WAP phones and standard Internet services. Several commercial applications are available for business and personal location services including Resource Manager(TM) for mobile resource management, iMate(TM) for location-sensitive information and Finder(TM), an application for locating friends and family. Subsidiary Unwire's programmable telemetry terminal servers are also integrated with the CellPoint Location Platform enabling a broad range of applications for wireless remote management and control.

CellPoint(TM) and CellPoint Systems(TM) are trademarks of CellPoint Inc. Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from those described.

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