Costa Mesa, CA, Aug. 31, 1999 -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) today announced that cdmaOne service is now live in Australia's major metropolitan cities. Deploying in just 10 short months, Telstra formally introduced commercial cdmaOne service last week in Sydney and Melbourne with plans to launch next month in Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra.

"The CDG congratulates Telstra on the quick roll-out of its cdmaOne network," said Perry LaForge, executive director for the CDG. "Telstra is well positioned for the future as cdmaOne enables operators to deliver wireless Internet and information services today, and also provides for a seamless migration to 3G. In addition, Australian cdmaOne wireless subscribers can now enjoy the technology's benefits of superior voice quality, enhanced battery life and international roaming."

In a press release dated Aug. 24, 1999, Dick Simpson, Telstra's group managing director stated, "Our new CDMA network will ideally position Telstra to cater for the growing mobile communications needs of Australians as we move into the 21st century." Simpson also noted that the cdmaOne system will meet emerging data needs in the market. "Our extensive testing has proven that CDMA technology will not only deliver comparable coverage to analogue, but an additional range of services to meet the data-rich world of the future, plus enhanced voice quality with background suppression." Offered to more Australians than any other digital wireless technology, cdmaOne service is expected to reach 95 percent of Australians. Australia has both cdmaOne wireless local loop and cellular systems, and is considered a key country in the establishment of a worldwide cdmaOne network. "Today's announcement is particularly exciting given that Sydney is the home of the 2000 Summer Olympics, so attendees will be able to experience the state-of-the-art wireless services that only cdmaOne can offer," noted LaForge.