Ericsson remains committed to Symbian and EPOC

Ericsson remains committed to Symbian and EPOC Ericsson earlier today announced a strategic partnership and joint company with Microsoft, an important addition to Ericsson's strategic work with Bluetooth, Symbian and WAP. Working together on wireless e-mail solutions while fully committed to the support of open standards, Ericsson and Microsoft will each contribute products and know-how to solutions that provide superior benefits to operators and users. As a innovator of technology such as the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and Bluetooth and a contributor to open standards, such as the operating system EPOC, Ericsson fully recognize the need to embrace open standards that are available to a global marketplace. The cooperation does not include joint development or licensing of operating systems. "The close cooperation between Ericsson and Microsoft does not influence Ericsson's engagement in Symbian or Ericsson's Epoc-based projects," says Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications at Ericsson Mobile Communications. "Epoc is a robust, scaleable operating system and it is thanks to the fact that it is scaleable that we can incorporate other applications in our devices." Ericsson and Microsoft are committing to deliver solutions that meet demand on timeliness, open standards, robustness and scalability. Over the past year, considerable excitement has been building around the opportunities in the mobile Internet marketspace foreseen by Ericsson. Today, it is clear that the mobile device segment is already growing faster than the PC segment. Today, there are around 450 million users of mobile telephony worldwide. Beginning 2001, all new Ericsson mobile phones will be equipped with the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). In parallel, e-mail has become the killer application for Internet usage - approximately 18 per cent of the 325-million- plus global e-mailboxes added within the past four months. Ericsson is extremely well positioned at this crossroad of mobility and Internet usage that will change personal communications, as we know it over the decade to come. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications Ericsson Mobile Communications AB Phone: +46 70 590 9900 Bo Albertson, PR and Information Manager Ericsson Mobile Communications AB Phone: +46 8 764 1388, +46 70 510 0992 Further information: Information about Symbian and EPOC is available on: http://www.symbian.com and http://www.epocworld.com Information about WAP is available on: http://www.wapforum.org and http://www.ericsson.com/WAP Information about Bluetooth is available on: http://www.bluetooth.com and http://www.ericsson.com/bluetooth ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/08/19991208BIT00280/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/08/19991208BIT00280/bit0002.pdf