CDMA - A New Era for Mobile Telecommunications

Monday, 9th of July 2001

CDMA - A New Era for Mobile Telecommunications

Telecom today launched CDMA, the world's fastest growing mobile technology, in the most significant innovation to hit the New Zealand telecommunications market for some time.

WAP, fantastic new mobile phones and innovative pricing are just some of the features commercially available to Telecom Mobile's CDMA customers from today.

"Mobile users can now purchase new CDMA handsets to enjoy superb call clarity and increased depth of coverage. In addition they can use a range of new CDMA mobile data services, and can seamlessly roam to Australia, with other countries such as Canada, United States and Hong Kong planned to be available soon," Telecom Mobile General Manager Mohan Jesudason said.

Customers can choose to migrate to CDMA when it suits them - our existing mobile networks will continue to operate for the next few years. However, our appealing new price plans and the great functionality of CDMA handsets means many customers will want to be part of this new network from today."

NEW RANGE OF MOBILE PHONES

The new range of CDMA mobile phones will initially be from Hyundai, Samsung and Kyocera - some of the leading mobile brands in global CDMA markets. Phones for the new network were selected to appeal to a range of audiences, from the highly functional Kyoceras to the latest MP3-playing Samsung.

"These new mobile phone brands are an exciting addition to the current range, and over the coming months we expect this range to expand even more. Customer reactions to CDMA phones during the pilot have been very positive, and user satisfaction ratings exceeded our highest expectations." Mr Jesudason said.

The commercial launch of the new CDMA mobile service is the culmination of more than 18 months of infrastructure and system development and a $200 million dollar investment in the world's fastest growing mobile technology. The network services and mobile phones have been piloted with 2000 customers, dealers and staff as part of a rigorous testing scheduled over the months leading up to launch.

"That said, this is a new network and we will be monitoring it closely as part of our commitment to meeting our customers extremely high standards."

INNOVATIVE PRICING AND PLANS

Telecom Mobile also announced today details of handset and new call plan pricing for CDMA connections. Two new types of call plans are available for CDMA. Called Mytime and Anytime, monthly fees begin at $19.95 with call rates as low as 25 cents per minute, GST inclusive. All the new pricing plans include Telecom Talk Time - a new reduced rate for calls within Telecom's 025 and 027 mobile networks at around half the price of a standard call.

Mobile data pricing includes a very competitive range of options with a set monthly fee - starting with a plan costing just $5 per month which includes the first MB of data free and only 3.5 cents per 5KB after that (GST exclusive). CDMA customers with WAP-capable phones can also access services over Telecom Mobile's new mobile portal, djuice*. All CDMA WAP-capable handsets can use djuice* services - including email - at prices starting from 7 cents, depending on the service and content accessed

"This is the most exciting innovation in mobile communications to hit the market for some time. We are confident that the customer benefits of this technology, coupled with competitive pricing and an attractive range of phones, will see a strong demand for CDMA in the New Zealand mobile market," Mr Jesudason said.

About CDMA CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access, and is the technology basis for the international 3G standards under IMT-2000. There are now over 30 different countries with CDMA networks, with over 90 million mobile subscribers world-wide.

For further information please contact: Katherine Scott on 025-34-79-78 Consultus OR Gary O'Neil - CDMA Communications Manager 04- 382 4392, 027 444 8262 gary.oneil@telecom.co.nz

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