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WorldCell, Inc. Launches Viking Wireless in Iceland

First Call on Network to Take Place September 18 Between the Mayor of Akureyri, Iceland and Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan in Maryland

SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2002 - Mobile communications services company, WorldCell, Inc., announced that it has launched a GSM wireless network in Iceland. WorldCell’s wholly owned Iceland subsidiary, IMC Island ehf, is the fourth operator in Iceland to offer GSM wireless service. IMC Island has already negotiated bilateral roaming agreements with over 100 wireless network operators around the world under the brand Viking Wireless. The network launch in Akureyri fulfills the initial GSM license requirement in Iceland and activates these international roaming agreements. As a result, WorldCell’s U.S. customers will have access to expanded wireless applications and lower airtime pricing for wireless communications services while traveling internationally.

WorldCell is establishing the first global platform for seamless international roaming through its GSM infrastructure in Iceland and a cross protocol platform, which solves the limited global roaming solutions that exist today. Prior to the Iceland network launch, WorldCell was solely a reseller of wireless services through other carrier roaming solutions. With the advent of this Iceland network, WorldCell is no longer solely dependent on other carriers’ expensive roaming solutions.

WorldCell is the leader in the mobile phone rental business for U.S. travelers bound for international destinations. WorldCell service is a solution for travelers wishing to maintain mobile communications while abroad despite differing international wireless technologies and limited global roaming plans offered by other U.S. service providers. Customers include US government entities, Fortune 1000 companies and small to medium sized businesses. IMC Island is WorldCell’s GSM network operations subsidiary, which will enable these WorldCell customers to roam internationally using IMC Island’s Viking Wireless SIM cards.

The official first call on the Viking Wireless network will be placed at 12:15 p.m. ET on September 18, 2002 by Akureyri Mayor Kristjan Thor Juliusson to Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan in Montgomery County, Maryland where WorldCell is headquartered.

“We are proud to be a part of the first call from WorldCell’s Akureyri wireless network,” said Douglas M. Duncan, Montgomery County Executive. “First, it demonstrates the impact of the revitalization of Silver Spring as a thriving home to technology-based, world class companies like WorldCell, and second, it shows the significant impact that the Montgomery County business community has on the global economy.”

“The Viking Wireless network launch in Iceland is a significant step in WorldCell’s strategy to continue to provide renters of our WorldCell phones with the best service possible and lowest rates,“ said S. Blake Swensrud, CEO of WorldCell. “When the network went live for the first time, WorldCell officially transitioned from a reseller of wireless services to a carrier of our own services using our own network. This translates into us having increased control over the features and capabilities we offer to our customers, and an ability to offer expanded services, at lower rates.”

WorldCell is also targeting a customer base that extends beyond individual consumers to include major wireless service providers in the U.S. that do not currently offer international roaming for their customers. Using WorldCell’s Iceland operations as a Roaming Service Bureau (RSB), these U.S. service providers will now be able to offer seamless global roaming without having to negotiate individually with numerous international wireless operators around the world. WorldCell handles the signal and number conversion, order processing, phone rental and billing among other details. The RSB makes international roaming a simple, profitable turnkey operation for any U.S. carrier.

WorldCell, Inc. is the parent company of IMC Island ehf. WorldCell (www.worldcell.com) is a leading wireless services company providing global voice and data mobile services for enterprises and mobile professionals. WorldCell is based in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA with domestic offices in New York, Providence, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, and international offices in Iceland, Germany, and Brazil.

For more information contact:
WorldCell, Inc.
Fayth Kayser
fkayser@worldcell.com
301.960.0060 ext. 609

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