Communicator Wireless Alliance Formed to Support ReFLEX(TM) Initiatives
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CHICAGO, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's largest paging carriers and
manufacturers today announced they have joined forces in a broad alliance to
develop and market PDAs embedded with Motorola's ReFLEX(TM) communications
technology. The primary goal of the group, named the Personal Communicator
Wireless Alliance, is to work with PDA manufacturers to create an extensive
variety of handheld devices that provide hassle-free, two-way wireless
messaging for consumers.
Formation of this alliance -- representing virtually all the major players
in the paging industry -- coincides with the investment the industry is making
today as it transitions from traditional paging to Internet wireless
messaging. The Personal Communicator Wireless Alliance is yet another step in
the development of systems capable of extending wireless communications to
portable devices as consumers look for ways to send and receive information
anywhere they go.
Companies in the Personal Communicator Wireless Alliance include
manufacturers Motorola (NYSE:MOT) and Glenayre Technologies (NASDAQ:GEMS) as
well as wireless messaging companies AirTouch Paging (NYSE:ATI), Arch
Communications Group (NASDAQ:APGR), Conxus, Metrocall (NASDAQ:MCLL),
MobileComm (MBLMQ), PageMart Wireless (NASDAQ:PMWI), PageNet (NASDAQ:PAGE),
SkyTel (NASDAQ:SKYT) and TSR Wireless. Each carrier in the Alliance has
nationwide narrowband PCS licenses and has either completed construction, is
constructing, or plans to construct systems using ReFLEX technology.
"One of the benefits for consumers is that this alliance is expected to
promote the use of ReFLEX solutions for the PDA market that will give the
consumer freedom of choice in selecting their wireless service provider," said
Darryl Sterling, wireless and mobile communications analyst with The Yankee
Group.
Narrowband PCS networks also offer an advantage over alternative wireless
systems by providing superior in-building penetration as well as significantly
more coverage than other wireless data networks. ReFLEX also provides battery
savings capability, which allows the ReFLEX-enabled PDA to remain on, able to
receive a message at any time.
In addition to working with PDA manufacturers, members of the Alliance are
committed to the use of open architectures based on Internet standards,
allowing ReFLEX-enabled PDAs to communicate with each other across multiple
networks thus providing consumers seamless messaging from carrier to carrier.
Because the Alliance will work with manufacturers to develop messaging-enabled
PDAs featuring a variety of operating systems, consumers will be able to
choose the device they want based on the operating system they prefer, such as
Palm OS or Windows CE.
"The future for ReFLEX-based devices is tremendous," said John Steadman,
vice president and director, licensing & strategic alliances of Motorola's
Personal Networks Group. "Because ReFLEX networks are designed to offer
unmatched coverage and provide excellent in-building penetration, narrowband
PCS technology will lead in the world of wireless messaging."
Julie Rietman, senior analyst, wireless and mobile computing with
Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp, said forming the Personal
Communicator Wireless Alliance reaffirms the new direction the paging industry
is taking in an effort to position itself as a provider of a variety of
Internet wireless messaging options.
"The industry is moving from simple one-way alerts to full two-way
communications that allow complete device-to-device messaging," Rietman said.
"With such a large group of major carriers supporting ReFLEX, manufacturers
should find this strong industry backing and distribution power attractive."
ALLIANCE CONTACTS:
AirTouch Paging Motorola
Jonathan Marshall Marianne Lloyd
415-658-2209 561-739-8281
jonathan.marshall@airtouch.com fml007@email.mot.com
Arch Communications PageMart Wireless
Bob Lougee Eric Van Steenburg
508-870-6771 214-765-3937
blougee@arch.com ericv@pagemart.com
Conxus PageNet
Mark Allen Scott Baradell
864-239-5372 972-801-8180
mallen@conxus.com scott_baradell@pagenet.com
Glenayre Technologies SkyTel
Kristin Hehir Pam Kloha
408-369-1500 x 34 601-944-7046
kristin@tsantes.com pkloha@mtel.com
Metrocall TSR Wireless
Paul Liberty Kristine Wolf
703-660-6677 x 6260 201-947-5056 x 301
pliberty@metrocall.com kwolf@tsrwireless.com
MobileComm
Krista Grossman
201-969-4959
kristagrossman@earthlink.net
ANALYST CONTACTS:
Darryl Sterling Julie Rietman
The Yankee Group International Data Corp.
617-888-0319 713-839-0153
dsterling@yankeegroup.com jrietman@idc.com
SOURCE PageMart Wireless, Inc.
-0- 04/19/99
/CONTACT: alliance contacts, Jonathan Marshall of AirTouch Paging,
415-658-2209, or email, jonathan.marshall@airtouch.com; Bob Lougee of Arch
Communications, 508-870-6771, or email, blougee@arch.com; Mark Allen of
Conxus, 864-239-5372, or email, mallen@conxus.com; Kristin Hehir of Glenayre
Technologies, 408-369-1500 x 34, or email, kristin@tsantes.com; Paul Liberty
of Metrocall, 703-660-6677 x 6260, or email, pliberty@metrocall.com; Krista
Grossman of MobileComm, 201-969-4959, or email, kristagrossman@earthlink.net;
Marianne Lloyd of Motorola, 561-739-8281, or email, fml007@email.mot.com; Eric
Van Steenburg of PageMart Wireless, 214-765-3937, or email,
ericv@pagemart.com; Scott Baradell of PageNet, 972-801-8180, or email,
scott_baradell@pagenet.com; Pam Kloha of SkyTel, 601-944-7046, or email,
pkloha@mtel.com; or Kristine Wolf of TSR Wireless, 201-947-5056 x 301, or
email, kwolf@tsrwireless.com; or analyst contacts, Darryl Sterling of The
Yankee Group, 617-888-0319, or email, dsterling@yankeegroup.com; or Julie
Rietman of International Data Corp., 713-839-0153, or email, jrietman@idc.com/
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800-758-5804, ext. 114827/
/Web site: pagemart.com |
