Altobridge, nominated finalist in GSMA Mobile Innovation Grand Prix – APAC Tournament, to present its Remote Community solution in the Innovation Zone

Hong Kong, 17 November 2009 – Leading provider of cost-effective wireless solutions, Altobridge, has been nominated as one of only five finalists in the GSMA’s Mobile Innovation Grand Prix – APAC Tournament. The nomination is a result of the pioneering and breakthrough technology behind the company’s Remote Community solution, and its successful, profitable, commercial operations with mobile network operators (MNOs) in Asia and ongoing deployments in Africa and Latin America.

As a finalist, Altobridge will present its Remote Community solution at the Mobile Asia Congress in Hong Kong, 18-19 November. The presentation, entitled: “GSM Expansion into Small Remote Communities – A Technical, Commercial and Operational Solution”, will be delivered by Altobridge’s General Manager for Asia, Peter Tuomey, on Wednesday 18 November in the Innovation Zone (S426 – 1st Floor) between 1415-1515hrs.

The paper will look at the Remote Community solution technologies, how they overcome the barriers which have faced MNOs until now, such as the high costs of transmission bandwidth, and will present the reasons why small remote communities become viable market segments for MNOs using this solution. Monthly ARPUs achievable will be discussed using actual case study examples from the company’s deployments with Malaysian MNO, Maxis, which has been actively supplying profitable cellular services to small, remote user groups of less than 1,000 people using Altobridge technologies since 2007.

Altobridge’s Peter Tuomey, said, “The ongoing commercial success of our solution with Maxis is proof of the generous ARPUs that can be achieved within small remote user groups and the viable business model it presents to MNOs.

“Our Remote Community solution is, without doubt, set to change the lives of people living and working in small communities in the remotest parts of the world and we are delighted it has been recognised in this prestigious, objective, industry awards process.”

The five finalist presentations will be reviewed by a judging panel comprised of senior executives from mobile operators and venture capital firms, including representatives from: Swisscom Ventures, Telecom Italia, Intel Capital, Orange, and Belgacom ICS. Two overall winners will win a trip to compete for the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix title, part of the GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2010.

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Latest nomination from the mobile sector’s leading industry body takes Altobridge ‘Year of Accolades’ to 4 wins and 4 finalist places

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, 30 October 2009 – Leading provider of cost-effective wireless solutions, Altobridge, has been nominated as a finalist by the GSMA in its Mobile Innovation Grand Prix – APAC Tournament. As with other recent awards and high-profile nominations, this selection has again been based on the pioneering and breakthrough technology behind the company’s Remote Community Solution. In addition, the company has demonstrated the solution’s successful, profitable, commercial operations with mobile network operators (MNOs) in Asia and ongoing deployments in Africa and Latin America.

The commercial deployments with MNOs such as Maxis in Malaysia, and MobiCom in Mongolia, have helped place Altobridge in this latest, potentially award-winning position. Since 2007 these MNOs have been rolling out the Remote Community Solution and actively supplying profitable cellular services to small, remote user groups of less than 1,000 people,. Prior to this, no such profitable delivery of mobile telephony services had been possible. The breakthrough technologies are set to make a powerful contribution to MNOs in other emerging markets where several trials are currently underway.

Since the beginning of the year Altobridge has achieved the following in the industry and business award fields:

• Finalist alongside the world’s largest mobile vendors at the GSMA Mobile World Congress
• Winner, MobiCom Best Technology Award
• Winner, Deloitte Best Managed Companies
• Winner, ICT Innovation Awards
• Finalist, IET Innovation Awards (winner TBA)
• Finalist, AfricaCom Awards (winner TBA)
• Winner, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards – CEO Mike Fitzgerald
• Finalist, GSMA Mobile Innovation Grand Prix – APAC Tournament

As one of only five finalists in the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix, Altobridge will present its Remote Community Solution at the Mobile Asia Congress in Hong Kong, 18-19 November. The primary goal of this Tournament is to showcase promising entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized companies bringing innovative new products and services to market.

The five finalist presentations will be reviewed by a judging panel comprised of senior executives from mobile operators and venture capital firms. Two overall winners will win a trip to compete for the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix title, part of the GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2010.

Ernst & Young awards Fitzgerald for creating an innovative global mobile solutions business

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, 23 October 2009 – Mike Fitzgerald, CEO of mobile communications company, Altobridge, was named last night as Ernst & Young’s Irish Entrepreneur of the Year 2009, in the Emerging category.

The award was presented by Irish President, Mary McAleese, who paid tribute to all the finalists’ “courage, resilience and inventiveness” and noted that they had been subjected to “the most rigorous, forensic, expert scrutiny” as part of the Award process. Accepting the award, Mike Fitzgerald was quick to emphasize the contribution of his Altobridge colleagues to his win.

“When I started out 21 years ago as a software engineer, the team leader asked me if I understood the concept of teamwork. It wasn’t until Altobridge that I fully discovered its true meaning and it is a privilege to accept this award on behalf of everyone in the company.

Fitzgerald went on to give a special mention to Altobridge board member, Declan Hogan. “In particular I want to thank Declan Hogan, my mentor, who took me under his wing 10 years ago. He has given me confidence and has always been a great inspiration.”

The judges singled out Mike’s vision and leadership in driving the success of Altobridge in emerging markets including Mongolia, Malaysia and Latin America. Fitzgerald added, “Altobridge has created the world’s most cost-effective solution for providing remote communities with access to mobile communications. This award is a wonderful recognition of the quality of our products and technology, the focus and commitment of our worldwide team and the long-term value of our business.”

For further information on the awards visit: www.eoy.ie.

IET and AfricaCom shortlistings recognise global and regional importance of the Altobridge Remote Community Solution

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, 13 October 2009 – Leading provider of cost-effective wireless solutions, Altobridge, has been shortlisted for two prestigious industry awards in recognition of its Remote Community Solution. This technology makes a powerful contribution to emerging market mobile network operators, enabling them to roll out profitable cellular services to small, remote user groups.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), has selected Altobridge as a finalist from 400 entries for its: Remote Community Solution – Delivering Cost-Effective Hybrid Satcom/Cellular Communications Solutions to Isolated Communities, in the Telecommunications category of the IET Innovation Awards 2009. The winners will be announced on 25 November at a gala dinner to be held in London at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

The IET is one of the world’s leading professional societies for the engineering and technology community and has more than 150,000 members in 127 countries. It provides a global knowledge network to facilitate the exchange of ideas and promote the positive role of science, engineering and technology in the world.

In the second shortlisting, the Altobridge Remote Community Solution has again been selected as a finalist in the ‘Best Cost Efficiency Solution for Africa’ category of the 2009 AfricaCom Awards. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony held in Cape Town on 11 November where 500 industry leaders will attend to celebrate the biggest achievers in the African telecoms industry. The Awards, in their second year, are organised by Informa Telecoms & Media as part of its Com World Series. It received a record 88 entries this year, of which 13 were in the Best Cost-Efficiency Solution category. This is the 12th AfricaCom Conference with over 3,500 telecoms participants.

Dublin, Ireland, 22 May, 2009 – Leading provider of cost-cutting wireless communications solutions, Altobridge, has won the prestigious World Class Innovation Award for its Remote Community Solution, at this year’s ICT Excellence Awards.

This year, more than 120 of Ireland’s leading ICT companies were entered into the 19 categories of the ICT Awards, with more than 15 in the Altobridge OKI-sponsored World Class Innovation category, alone. The categories recognise the excellence in information and communications technology across Ireland. (www.ictexcellenceawards.ie).

The company’s winning Remote Community Solution combines mobile and satellite technologies enabling mobile operators in emerging markets to deliver cost-effective mobile communications to isolated, rural communities where, previously, the provision of any form of telecommunications infrastructure has been unviable from the operator’s business perspective, and often impractical or impossible from a terrain perspective.

Billy Huggard, Operations Director for Mediateam, said, “The entrants for these awards comprise the cream of the Irish ICT industry, and their products, services and latest innovations are at work worldwide within their respective global markets. It’s a truly distinguished field.”

Altobridge Marketing & Communications Director, Linda Hickey, received the award on behalf of the company at last night’s Gala Presentation Dinner at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, which was attended by more than 350 guests and hosted by Irish celebrity, Marty Whelan. The awards are organised by publishing house and event organiser, Mediateam, and were sponsored by global PC giant, Lenovo.

Linda Hickey, said, “Our Remote Community Solution changes lives and societies in emerging markets. Without our technology mobile operators in the developing world simply cannot afford to bring mobile communications services into remote regions. The cost of infrastructure roll-out, like towers and traditional base stations, is simply prohibitive and delivering services using satellite as the means of linking to the outside world has cost far too much.

“Our solution removes all the barriers operators have faced until now and is already deployed and making a huge difference to the lives and businesses of thousands of people in Asia. We are delighted to have had these achievements and our Remote Community Solution recognized in this way.”

The ICT Excellence Awards programme is now in its 9th year and is said to be Ireland’s longest-running and most prestigious awards event for the ICT industry.

(l-r): OKI’s Sales and Marketing Director Martin Deignan presenting the Award to Linda Hickey, Marketing & Communications Director, Altobridge

Company business model offers resilience in the current international telecoms market

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, 4 March 2009 – Leading Irish mobile communications company, Altobridge, has been named as one of Ireland’s ‘Best Managed’ companies in the Deloitte ‘Best Managed Companies Awards’. In total, 25 companies were recognised at an awards gala dinner in the Ritz Carlton, Powerscourt, which was attended by President McAleese, on 27 February 2009.

The Deloitte Best Managed Awards programme, in association with Bank of Scotland (Ireland), recognises indigenous Irish companies across the island of Ireland, which are operating at the highest levels of business performance. It is the only awards programme that considers companies from every perspective, including: strategy, capability, commitment, financials and growth potential across all key functions of the business.

Commenting on the award, Mike Fitzgerald, CEO, Altobridge, said, “Altobridge’s management team has demonstrated tremendous competence in successfully shifting from a direct to an indirect business model. We are already seeing that this model offers not only the ability to scale, but also a greater resilience from a cost perspective. As we cross the challenging waters of the international telecommunication market in 2009 this inaugural award offers great support for our efforts.”

Pat Cullen, Managing Partner, Deloitte, commented, “The tremendous success of the winning companies is an inspiration for all Irish companies. We are delighted to be able to recognise these strong business leaders of the future, who embody the immense talent across the island of Ireland.”

Paul Cunningham, Head of Banking, Bank of Scotland (Ireland) and judging panel member, said, “The 25 best managed companies have shown great focus and dedication in what has been a difficult year for us all. 2009 will be just as tough for business, but the strong management capability, which these companies have already demonstrated, means they will be well positioned to trade through this challenging cycle. Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is very proud to be a part of recognising and supporting their achievements and we hope these companies will continue to flourish and succeed in the years ahead.”

The theme of this year’s awards ceremony was ‘A Tribute to Talent’. Given the changing business environment over the past year and the ensuing challenges that the winners have had to overcome through sound management practices, these companies further reinforce the strength of the talent that is present in Ireland.

The Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards programme is open to companies from all 32 counties on the island of Ireland. It is the only awards programme that considers a business’ performance from every perspective. Details of entry for the 2009 Awards will be issued in the coming weeks on www.deloittebestmanaged.ie.

The ‘Best Managed’ designation is an important marketing tool for the winning companies – but, perhaps most importantly, the awards provide a reason to celebrate the efforts of the entire company.

(l-r): Paul Cunningham, Head of Banking, Bank of Scotland (Ireland); Pat Cullen, Managing Partner, Deloitte; Dick Spring, Chairperson, Altobridge; President of Ireland Mary McAleese and her husband, Dr. Martin McAleese.

Remote GSM technology enables service delivery to isolated small user groups.

Barcelona, 16 February, 2009 – Leading Mongolian mobile network operator, MobiCom Corporation, has received an award as ‘Best New Technology’, in recognition of its remote GSM service using Altobridge’s Remote Community Solution.

Hosted by the country’s ‘My Computer magazine’ in partnership with the Information Communication Technology Authority (ICTA) of the Government of Mongolia, the award recognises the positive impact Altobridge’s Remote Community Solution is having on enterprises and communities in remote parts of Mongolia. My Computer magazine, together with the coordinators, the ICTA, also comprised the award evaluation committee.

Mobicom has been deploying Altobridge’s Split-BSC Architecture – a core technology of Altobridge’s Remote Community Solution – across rural Mongolia since it awarded the company a three-year, fully-managed rural GSM contract in April last year. The deployments are providing cost-effective personal mobile communications for small user groups as low as 100, in village, enterprise and government border-post scenarios. Altobridge’s unique GSM architecture enables MobiCom to dramatically cut the costs of delivering communication services to these communities.

Munkhbold Udval, Director Research and Development Center, MobiCom Corporation, said, “We are delighted to have been awarded this ICTA 2008 award for the delivery of our mobile services to remote user groups, enabled by Altobridge’s remote GSM technology, which has helped us deliver profitable, much-needed, quality communications to isolated communities and enterprise installations.”

Mike Fitzgerald, Altobridge CEO, said, “We are delighted MobiCom has received this award. The compelling business model provided by our solution has enabled the operator to connect communities and enterprises still cut off from the benefits of mobile communications and, at the same time, experience new revenue streams where previously none existed. We are looking forward to a long and successful partnership with MobiCom, and the potential for future similar awards together.”

The company’s Remote Community Solution receiving recognition from industry bodies and governments

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, 21 January, 2009 – Leading provider of wireless solutions for cutting the cost of communications, Altobridge, has been shortlisted by the GSMA for the 2009 Global Mobile Awards in the ‘Best Network Technology Advance’ category for its ‘Remote Community Solution’. (Further information at: www.globalmobileawards.com)

Altobridge’s Remote Community Solution combines a unique Fully Managed Service business model with patented technology enabling Mobile Networks Operators (MNOs) to provide cost-effective wireless services to clusters of subscriber groups as small as 50 to 500.

The solution is comprised of a combination of Local Connectivity (local switching capability),‘On-demand’ use of satellite, a unique bundling of VSAT and GSM services, all under a fully-managed service offering. This turnkey solution has removed the barriers to entry that have prohibited a positive ROI from remote subscriber groups in the past.

“Our congratulations go to all the nominees in this year’s Global Mobile Awards,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA. “In an uncertain economic climate, mobile communications continue to drive social, economic and technological development, as the calibre of entries this year again illustrates. To have been nominated from such a high quality field of more than 450 companies that entered is a tremendous achievement, and we await the announcement of the winners at next month’s Global Mobile Awards evening in Barcelona with great interest.”

Altobridge’s Remote Community Solution has also received ‘The Best New Technology’ award by the Information Communication Technology Agency of the Government of Mongolia for the positive impact it is having on enterprises and communities in remote parts of Mongolia.

Mike Fitzgerald, Altobridge CEO, said, “Our customer, Mobicom, was awarded the 2008 Best New Technology award by the Mongolian Government for our Remote Enterprise/Community Solution. The GSMA’s short-listing of our solution is further verification that we have succeeded in presenting MNOs with a compelling business model for connecting those communities and enterprises still cut off from the benefits of mobile communications.”

Altobridge local connectivity architecture recognised for its abilities in dramatically cutting the cost of delivering mobile services to any location

CTIA Las Vegas, 31 March 2008 – Leading GSM application solution provider, Altobridge, has been selected as a finalist in this year’s Andrew Seybold Choice Awards, taking place during CTIA 2008.

Altobridge is one of four finalists in its award category: “Most Innovative New Design Concept” for its local connectivity solution, which enables switching of communications traffic to take place locally at the base station in any network scenario, rather than being routed back to the MSC, enabling mobile carriers to save considerably on transmission costs.

“Each year, the Andrew Seybold Choice Awards seeks to recognise companies for their ongoing efforts to use wireless technology to positively impact the industry and society,” said Andrew Seybold, President and CEO of Andrew Seybold, Inc. “ We are proud to publicly acknowledge these exemplary companies.”

Mike Fitzgerald, Altobridge CEO, said, “Usi ng our technology wireless carriers are now able to provide viable local switching at the base station site. Our wholly technologyagnostic solution is transparent to the installed infrastructure. By enabling local mobiletomobile calls to be switched at the base station rather than backhauling them to the MSC and back, our solution effectively extends the feature-rich services of the core network to any remote location.”

Fitzgerald added, “Carriers have no integration and no feature transparency issues with our solution, and the whole system has a very positive impact on OPEX, local service quality and presents a significant ROI.”

The Altobridge technology also incorporates its patentpending, low-cost ‘Split BSS Over Satellite’ architecture, incorporating Abis compression and satellite link optimisation, which remove further high barriers of entry into mobile communications, which have been additional obstacles for the remote communications market.

Altobridge is one of 24 Choice Award finalists, vying for success in six categories overall. The winners will be named at the Andrew Seybold Wireless Dinner taking place on 1 April, 2008 at CTIA Wireless in Las Vegas.

Groundbreaking AM Gateway Platform™ is same Core Technology as new Aeronautical Solution for Emirates

London, 6 December, 2006 – Leading Remote Communications company, Altobridge (www.altobridge.com), accepted its 2006 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award in the field of Homeland Security for Container Applications at a ceremony last night held in London, and hosted by the world leading consulting group.

In his acceptance speech, Altobridge Director Maritime, Stephen Brunskill, told the distinguished audience of leading technological innovators, that the award had come after years of dedicated R&D to develop a solution that would meet the needs of key niche wireless aeronautical, maritime and terrestrial applications, using a new, patented gateway architecture.

The company’s pioneering multi-layered communications gateway solution — the AM Gateway Platform™— has significantly enhanced maritime security as a high-performance, cost-effective system that, in the words of an earlier F&S statement: “successfully bridges the communications gap between ships at sea and container transporting authorities”.

Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Ashwini Meena, in describing how the onboard network, created by the Altobridge solution, connects back to the terrestrial telecommunication network via a ship’s existing legacy satellite system, added that this factor alone makes such an installation cost-effective, but that it is its selective use of the satellite channel only when essential transmissions are being made that reduces overheads of traditionally ‘always-on’ satellite bandwidth and is “the most significant feature” of Altobridge’s award-winning gateway technology.

Stephen Brunskill explained that: “as well as the aeronautical, homeland security, and maritime container security markets, the Altobridge solution has also been successfully tested and deployed for general maritime, remote terrestrial, secure military and emergency first responder applications. As natural disasters, such as hurricanes, seem to be happening more frequently, the Emergency First Responder application is really gathering momentum.”

He then highlighted the success of the gateway by citing a recent announcement: “Many of you may have seen the recent news from Emirates announcing that they will be the first major airline allowing passengers to use their own mobile phones onboard their aircraft. Well, the core technology at the heart of their in-flight mobile phone system is the same Altobridge AM Gateway Platform for which we are being presented with tonight’s award.”

Award Recognizes the 100 Private European and Israeli Firms Driving the Future of Technology

London, April 12, 2005 – Red Herring today announced that Altobridge is a recipient of Red Herring 100 Europe, a selection of the 100 private companies in Europe and Israel that play a leading role in innovation and technology.

“Our list shows that despite obstacles posed by regulations, bureaucracy and tradition, innovation and entrepreneurship continues to thrive in Europe,” said Red Herring editor-in-chief Joel Dreyfuss.

Red Herring’s lists of top private companies are an important part of the magazine’s tradition of identifying new and innovative technology companies and entrepreneurs. Companies like Google and eBay were spotted in their early days by Red Herring editors as those that would change the way we live and work. This is the first time that Red Herring magazine has compiled a list focused exclusively on the most promising startups in Europe.

Red Herring’s editorial staff rigorously evaluated more than 600 private companies through a careful analysis of financial data and subjective criteria, including quality of management, execution of strategy, and dedication to research and development.

To honor the CEOs of Red Herring 100 Europe companies, Red Herring has invited each CEO to present his or her company at its Venture Market Europe 2005 conference, a forum for technology’s most exciting companies to share their insights on the future of innovation and the entrepreneurial journey. Scheduled for April 12-14, 2005 at the Hilton on Park Lane in London, this intimate, three-day conference will explore the trends, technologies and people affecting the European IT sphere, including the new challenges posed to European companies by emerging competitors in Asia.