Wireless Developer Network - Daily News

[ View Today's WirelessDeveloper NewsWire ]
Today's News | WirelessDevNet DevZones | Yesterday's News | Submit News | News-"wireless" Top Stories! | Around-The-Web | Wireless DevZones!

Novatel Wireless and Telefonica Movil Launch GPRS PC Card in Chile SAN DIEGO--June 6, 2003-- Merlin G100(TM) Certified for Operation on 2 Million Subscriber Network in Chile Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVTL), a leading provider of wireless data access solutions, and Telefonica Movil, Chile's leading mobile telecommunications service provider, today announced the availability of the Merlin G100(TM) Wireless PC Card Modem. Telefonica Movil recently certified the Merlin G100 for its countrywide network and placed an initial purchase order for the product with Novatel Wireless. Launched today, the Merlin G100 is Telefonica Movil's first commercially available wireless data solution for the fast-growing Chilean wireless market. The Merlin G100 is a wireless, wide area PC card modem that allows access to email, attachments, the Internet and corporate databases via a laptop or PDA at speeds up to 53.6 kbps. Coupled with Telefonica Movil's high-speed wireless GSM/GPRS service, the Merlin G100 enables mobile professionals to maintain productivity while they are away from the office by staying connected to corporate and public information, colleagues and customers. Telefonica Movil chose Novatel Wireless as their exclusive provider of wireless data PC cards and plans to aggressively market the Merlin G100 nationwide to consumer, enterprise and vertical markets through VARs, retailers, branch offices, direct and indirect sales force and extensive network of distributors and system integrators. Telefonica Movil is an affiliate of Telefonica Moviles (NYSE:TEM), among the world's top mobile telephony companies, with a presence in 14 countries worldwide, representing a potential market of more than 514 million inhabitants. Ranked the second largest operator in Chile by subscriber base, Telefonica Movil is the only operator in Chile that has nationwide packet data coverage and the most modern network in Latin America. "Telefonica Movil is committed to delivering a wide range of state-of-the-art products and services to our clients that can increase productivity on the road or at home," said Ramiro LaFarga, Director of Marketing and Business Development for Telefonica Movil. "The Novatel Wireless Merlin G100 was a natural choice for us because it offers our customers the ability to stay connected to critical contacts and information anytime, anywhere on our nationwide network." "With Telefonica Moviles' strong backing and long-standing experience in mobile telephony, Telefonica Movil is poised for success," commented Peter Leparulo, CEO of Novatel Wireless. "We are pleased to be chosen as their sole provider of wireless PC cards and look forward to partnering with them to penetrate this emerging Latin American market." For more information about the Merlin G100 Wireless PC Card Modem visit www.telefonicamovil.cl. About Telefonica Movil Telefonica Movil belongs to one of the world's largest telecommunication groups, Telefonica Espana. Through its subsidiary Telefonica Moviles, Telefonica Movil benefits from the experience, technology and backing of a multinational organization at the forefront of the mobile telecommunications market. At present, Telefonica Movil has close to 1.8 million subscribers of which approximately 75% are post paid clients. By the end of this year, the company expects to reach the 2 million subscriber mark, maintaining its one third share of the Chilean mobile telecom market which is one of the most competitive in Latin America. About Novatel Wireless, Inc. Novatel Wireless, Inc. is a leading developer of wireless PC cards, embedded modems, software and custom engineering for use in mobile computing devices. The company delivers innovative solutions to retail, wholesale and vertical markets worldwide enabling access to personal, corporate and public information over advanced wireless networks such as GSM, GPRS, CDMA and UMTS. Novatel Wireless Merlin(TM) PC Card and Expedite(TM) Embedded Modems are used in portable computers, handheld devices and vertical market applications. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Novatel Wireless is listed on Nasdaq: NVTL. For more information, visit www.novatelwireless.com