Far EasTone Telecommunications, Taiwan chooses First Hop GPRS Accelerator to provide wireless acceleration for the enterprise segment

Far EasTone Telecommunications Ltd, Taipei-Taiwan's leading innovator in wireless services, and First Hop Pte Ltd, the messaging management and wireless connectivity company, today announced that Far EasTone has selected the First Hop GPRS Accelerator product as the wireless data optimisation software solution for its enterprise customers.

Taipei, Taiwan and Helsinki, Finland -- 15 October, 2002 -- Far EasTone Telecommunications Ltd, Taipei-Taiwan's leading innovator in wireless services, and First Hop Pte Ltd, the messaging management and wireless connectivity company, today announced that Far EasTone has selected the First Hop GPRS Accelerator product as the wireless data optimisation software solution for its enterprise customers.

"We selected First Hop because their product meets the needs of demanding enterprise environments where usability, security and manageability requirements are strict and uncompromised", says Mr Alex Chang, Director, Enterprise Marketing, Far EasTone. The First Hop GPRS Accelerator product provides superior improvement with corporate applications like Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange, and it is compatible with all commonly used VPN (Virtual Private Network) technologies. We believe that these key features make our GPRS offering very attractive for the enterprise segment."

First Hop's local partner HP offers first-line support services locally in Taiwan, backed up by First Hop Regional Customer Support Centre in Singapore.

"We are delighted to be working with a leading provider in wireless services like Far EasTone. Their decision to choose our product further affirms that we have been able to understand the relevant GPRS market needs and turn this understanding quickly into a concrete, world-class product", asserts Timo T. Laaksonen, CEO of First Hop.

The First Hop GPRS Accelerator is available as a client-server and server-only version, both of which can be used flexibly using the same centralised server. For increased and individually tailored performance, the dedicated and user-friendly client software is available for laptops and handheld computers. With the client software, any corporate application can be transparently accelerated using TCP tunnelling. VPN compatibility, in turn, enables sending and receiving e-mails securely also over GPRS.

About Far EasTone

Far EasTone is a joint venture formed by the Far Eastern Group and AT&T Wireless Services. Far EasTone is the leader in convergent communication services in Taiwan.The company was listed on the Taiwan OTC Stock Exchange in December, 2001 under the ticker code 4904. Far EasTone's convergent wireless communications and Internet services provide easy, economical access to all the wealth and diversity of the Internet allowing its customers to share the company's vision: "Anywhere, anytime, communications to enrich the lives of people." For more information, please contact www.fareastone.com.tw or www.fetnet.net

About First Hop

First Hop provides scalable messaging management and wireless connectivity products for mobile operators and service providers. A proven leader in multi-vendor messaging solutions, First Hop generates immediate business benefits and provides a clear evolution path to future technologies. Founded in 1997, the company is headquartered in Helsinki with additional locations in Singapore, Spain, and the UK. For further information, please visit www.firsthop.com.