PAGE NEWS with Iridium
Wednesday January 27, 6:30 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
PageNet First to Offer Global Paging Coverage With New Service That Crosses Boundaries, Borders and Oceans
Iridium(R) World Page Service through Iridium North America Now Available in U.S. from PageNet
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 1999-- Beginning now, traveling to even the most remote locations on earth doesn't mean losing touch with your world back home. PageNet (Nasdaq:PAGE - news) today launched Iridium World Page Service commercially across the United States -- the first service permitting pager users to cross borders, board international flights and venture across the ocean, assured that they can receive vital personal and business messages virtually anywhere on the planet.
As the exclusive wireless messaging network provider in the United States to partner with Iridium North America, the company is now offering Iridium World Page Service, utilizing Iridium's low-earth-orbit satellite technology and enhanced by a number of proprietary features available only through PageNet.
''For the first time, paging users everywhere can experience the power and convenience of true global messaging,'' said John P. Frazee, Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of PageNet. ''The Iridium service provides anytime, virtually anywhere communication to PageNet's subscribers who travel internationally for work or for pleasure, as well as to our business customers who communicate with employees around the world. And while PageNet already offers the industry's widest geographic coverage within the United States, the Iridium service is also a great solution for customers located in areas not currently served by traditional wireless service.''
''PageNet has proved to be an excellent partner for us -- they have created a truly value-added set of features for the Iridium World Page Service,'' said Jim Walz, President of Iridium North America. ''And because they are the industry leader, they're in a solid position to build the customer base for Iridium paging services.''
With Iridium service, users can now choose to have one number that follows them virtually anywhere. Subscribers may receive text messages of up to 200 characters and numeric messages of up to 20 digits. As with all alphanumeric services from PageNet, text messages may be transmitted from the sender's Internet e-mail, through PageNet's web site or by dictating a message to an operator -- all accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week for maximum convenience to users in distant time zones.
PageNet adds a number of exclusive extras to the basic service:
Subscribers receive two numbers -- a toll-free access number for use in the United States and a local number for use when retrieving voice mail messages from international locations.
In many countries and remote locations, getting a traditional phone line may not be easy or convenient, so the PageNet system allows customers to dial outbound long distance calls anywhere in the United States, directly from the global messaging platform without hanging up the phone.
If the caller enters a phone number when leaving a voice message, the system can automatically dial that number as well -- directly from the message retrieval function.
Subscribers may also program as many as 99 speed-dial numbers in the system for convenient calling.
The PageNet system also allows users to record a message to send back to a previous caller who has left their phone number. The system will do the calling -- for up to 30 minutes -- to deliver the subscriber's recorded message.
Service plans for PageNet's Iridium World Page Service start at $159.95 per month. The Motorola Satellite Series 9501 pager offers four lines of display and a battery life of 30 days. The device may be purchased for $499 or leased for $25 per month.
Iridium North America is the sole owner and operator of Iridium services in North America. The Iridium System combines the worldwide reach of more than 60 low-earth-orbit satellites with additional access to multiple wireless systems and standards. The company is actively working with distribution partners to provide customers service that permits any type of telephone transmission -- voice, paging, data and fax -- to reach its destination virtually anywhere on earth, at any time. The Iridium portfolio will facilitate communications for the traveling professional, residents of rural or underdeveloped areas, disaster relief teams and others.
Iridium North America is headquartered in Tempe, Ariz. and services the United States, Canada, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. Iridium North America is backed by three telecommunication industry leaders who are at the forefront of integrating communication services: Motorola, Inc., Sprint Corporation [NYSE:FON - news] and Iridium Canada, Inc. Commercial service for the Iridium System was launched on November 1, 1998. For additional information regarding the Iridium System, please visit the Web site at www.iridium.com. Iridium World Communications (Nasdaq:IRIDF - news) is the public investment vehicle of Iridium LLC.
PageNet (Nasdaq:PAGE - news) provides wireless messaging and information services to 10 million subscribers in the United States, Canada and Spain. The company provides a full range of paging and advanced messaging services, including Internet messaging, assured-delivery messaging and two-way interactive messaging. Later this year, the company plans to introduce a variety of customizable wireless information services for pagers and other devices, partnering with content providers such as CNN, ESPN, Forbes, AccuWeather, The Golf Channel, Tribune Media Services, SmartRoute and others. The company also develops advanced wireless applications for corporate customers. Detailed information and coverage maps for PageNet service are available on the Internet at www.pagenet.com.
Note to Editors: Iridium, the Iridium logo and Iridium World Page Service are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Iridium IP LLC.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts, such as those concerning future plans or objectives relating to the products or services to be offered, the timing associated with such offerings and the performance of such new products and services, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially are competitive pressures, the availability of compatible hardware and software applications and the acceptance of PageNet's products and services in the marketplace. |
