UTStarcom Signs First Contract in Africa With Sotelma in MaliLandmark Deployment in West Africa Will Launch 50,000 Lines of UTStarcom's IP-Based PAS System in Capital City of BamakoALAMEDA, Calif., Aug 7, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- UTStarcom, Inc. (Nasdaq: UTSI), a leading global provider of wireless and wireline access and IP switching solutions, today announced that it has signed its first contract in West Africa in the country of Mali for its IP-based PAS (Personal Access System) (iPAS(TM)) solution. The contract was awarded through UTStarcom's partner, AfricaCom of London. AfricaCom, which has local operations in Senegal, Mali, Cameroon, and the Ivory Coast, will act as the prime contractor in its relationship with Sotelma. "Sotelma has long been looking for the right technology to bring advanced communications to the people of Mali," said Mohammed Nimaga, chief executive officer of Sotelma. "With UTStarcom's iPAS system, we will be able to accomplish the goal of giving people best of breed telephony, messaging, and Internet access, while meeting their expectations of a reasonably priced service and fast activation time." "This contract provides an exciting opportunity for UTStarcom for two main reasons," said Bernd Schilp, vice president of sales for UTStarcom EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). "One, this contract represents our first mass deployment in West Africa and reiterates our belief that UTStarcom's next-generation technology is suitable for markets beyond Asia. Two, Mali's low teledensity of less than one percent means there is great potential and tremendous room for growth for our PAS technology, as we believe this agreement for deployment in the five major cities of Mali will prove. We believe Africa will be an ideal market for PAS in the future, and hope to expand into new opportunities on the continent." Over the course of several quarters, Sotelma intends to deploy approximately 50,000 lines of UTStarcom's iPAS system in the capital city of Bamako, with an option to expand into several other cities in the future for a total of 100,000 lines. Mali, with a population of just over 11 million citizens, has approximately 80,000 fixed and 180,000 mobile phone lines today. About PAS: The People's Technology Introduced in China in 1998 as a supplement to fixed-line systems, UTStarcom's PAS technology gained more than 12 million subscribers in China as of June 2003 and commands more than 60 percent of the country's market share for the sector. Marketed as a low-cost investment option for wireless local telephone service, the PAS system features advanced voice and data services within a flexible network architecture that can be seamlessly integrated with future 3G and broadband technologies. With deployments in Mainland China and Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Africa, and soon in the United States, UTStarcom dominates the worldwide PAS market. Merrill Lynch named the company the top PAS manufacturer in October 2002. UTStarcom also earned the top spot in the Infonetics Research reports on the worldwide softswitch market in the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2002 and in the first quarter of 2003, and Synergy Research rated UTStarcom second in the worldwide DSLAM sector. Both softswitches and DSLAMs are key technology areas in high-growth markets. About UTStarcom, Inc. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Alameda, California, UTStarcom is a leading global provider of wireless and wireline access and IP switching solutions. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and installs an integrated suite of future-ready access network and next-generation switching solutions. We enable wireless and wireline operators in fast-growth markets worldwide to offer voice, data, and Internet access services rapidly and cost effectively by utilizing their existing infrastructure. UTStarcom's products provide a seamless migration from wireline to wireless, from narrowband to broadband, and from circuit- to packet-based networks by employing "Next Generation Network Technology. Now." The company's customers include public telecommunications service providers that operate wireless and wireline voice and data networks in rapidly growing communications markets around the world. For more information about UTStarcom, visit the company's Web site at www.utstar.com. About Africa.com Formed 3 years ago, the company was principally established as a carrier with interconnects across Africa but has since become a supplier of telecoms hardware, financing the sales through termination of minutes with its sister company The Minute Bank. Michael J. Sophie, Vice President of Finance, CFO, +1-510-749-1510, or Chesha Kamieniecki, Investor Relations Manager, +1-510-749-1560, both of UTStarcom, Inc.; or media, Stephanie Gallagher of Engage PR, +1-510-748-8200, ext. 213, or stephanie@engagepr.com, for UTStarcom, Inc. /Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001102/UTSILOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840 http://www.utstar.com Copyright (C) 2003 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. News Provided by COMTEX |