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CellPoint's Mobile Location Broker Selected for the European i-mode Portal Architecture
MLB Tracks to Japan's Successful i-mode Business Model
London, UK - March 4th, 2002 - CellPoint Inc. (Nasdaq: CLPT), a global provider of mobile location software technology and platforms, announced today that its Mobile Location Broker (MLB) for i-mode has been selected by E-Plus as the location middleware platform for the European i-mode Portal Architecture, opening the way for the deployment of multiple CellPoint location platforms in the networks of mobile operators across Europe, that are planning to provide to their subscribers access to the new i-mode mobile Internet services. This is E-Plus's second order for a CellPoint MLB.
The combination of the mobile location capability provided by CellPoint's location platforms coupled with the new European i-mode Portal, with its more than 60 major content providers, is expected to open new revenue streams for mobile operators throughout Europe. "NTT DoCoMo and E-Plus have taken important steps toward introducing mobile Internet services in Europe, similar to NTT DoCoMo's highly popular i-mode, based on a new European i-mode Portal with CellPoint's MLB designated as the 'i-mode Location Broker'," said Stephen Childs, President of CellPoint. .
NTT DoCoMo (www.nttdocomo.com) describes i-mode saying, "It didn't just generate new revenue for our company in a saturated marketplace - it was a resounding success with customers and has redefined the meaning of mobile communications." i-mode in Japan today serves more than 30 million subscribers who have access to more than 40,000 Internet sites with their mobile phones. CellPoint's MLB was designed to enable the unique i-mode business model in 2G, 2.5 (GPRS) and 3G networks and is the first independent location services platform to be used for i-mode services.
Together with its partners, E-Plus has developed a model for decentralized provisioning and privacy handling from global level down to feature-level settings. "The CellPoint platform allows E-Plus to meet the proposed EU directives on subscriber privacy while still offering an easy-to-use model for both content providers and end users," said Thorsten Dirks, Executive Director Product & Process Innovation and Member of the Board at E-Plus. "We believe our open business model combined with standardized location interfaces will reduce time to market for best-in-breed services, making the Mobile Marketplace a leveled playing-field for content providers from all over Europe."
Sophisticated Technology
Within the European i-mode Portal Architecture, CellPoint's MLB is a key component designated as the 'i-mode Location Broker', providing important functions such as subscriber privacy and anonymity. Based on CellPoint's proven mobile location software technology, MLB is a telecom-grade location middleware platform that allows the communication between the i-mode content providers' applications and CellPoint's Mobile Location System (MLS), which provides user location information from the mobile operator networks.
The privacy function allows the mobile user to selectively accept or reject positioning attempts initiated by the content providers' applications, according to the subscriber's own preferences profile which hosts the positioning rights settings - all which can be managed remotely by the mobile user.
The anonymity function replaces the identity of the user (i.e. the mobile phone number) with a virtual dynamic identity and then makes it available to the content providers' applications, so that the real identity of the mobile user is never disclosed to any third party.
These location functions, together with charging and relay charging features, are among the essential ingredients of the synchronized i-mode business model, enabling the mobile operator's content and service provider ecosystem with the capability of revenue sharing with third parties and in conditions of complete security, privacy and anonymity for the mobile user. MLB is a future-proof solution that can be used innovatively for providing new revenue streams to wireless ASPs, MVNOs, as well as to mobile operators offering i-mode content and services worldwide. "The i-mode business model is a new approach to the mobile services value chain and to the relationship between wireless services and the Internet, where location truly becomes a key component," said Stephen Childs, President of CellPoint.
CellPoint's Mobile Location System, a state-of-the-art software platform that is capable of positioning active or idle terminals in 2G, 2.5G and 3G multi-vendor networks, is already operational within the KPN Group at E-Plus in Germany.
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