012 Smile.Communications Applies for Mobile WiMAX Trial Expansion to Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan Areas

(Business News & Technology News, 7 May 2008)

Internet Gold's subsidiary 012 Smile.Communications has applied to Israel's Communications Ministry to expand its license for mobile WiMAX trials to allow an expanded trial in the Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan area, Israel's most densely populated business and residential center. Through the trial, the company plans to provide users with an Internet connectivity rate of up to a high 10MB, a speed sufficient to support both mobile telephony and a variety of Internet-based applications. The trial will utilize WiMAX technology provided by Alvarion.

012 Smile.Communications was the first Israeli company to receive a license for the operation of a fixed WiMAX trial in March 2007. Later, the company, in partnership with Alvarion and Intel, expanded the trial to bring WiMAX-based Internet and telephony services to the city of Sderot, currently a security challenged region in Israel's Western Negev. Under the framework of this innovative initiative, the company brought connectivity to kindergartens and elementary schools that have relocated in light of the security situation, and established a Mobile WiMAX area covering the campus of the region's Sapir Institute.

"We view Mobile WiMAX as an important technology for supporting a portion of the mobile services that we intend to roll out in the future, and our Tel Aviv trial is one more link in a chain of the activities that are preparing us to launch countrywide services. As soon as the Ministry of Communications grants us the required licenses and terms, we will be ready to enter the cellular market as an additional operator. Through the provision of services that combine MVNO, Mobile WiMAX and Mobile VoB (both VoB over 3G and VoB over Wi-Fi ) technologies, we believe that we will be able to offer attractive cellular services, both from the standpoint of price and from the technological advancement of our offerings," says Stella Hendler, President and CEO of 012 Smile.Communications.

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