CellPoint Inc. (Nasdaq: CLPT), a global provider of mobile location software and platforms, announce the launch of the world's first commercial location-based services across a live General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) or '2.5G' network. Using commercially available GPRS handsets from NEC with CellPoint's Mobile Location System (MLS) platform and Mobile Location Broker (MLB) middleware, these new services were launched on CeBIT2002 in Hannover and are available to consumers as part of the successful introduction of i-mode(TM) by E-Plus and NTT DoCoMo in Germany.

"Our i-mode(TM) location services are the first mass-market GPRS LBS applications available on the market" said Thorsten Dirks, Executive Director Product & Process Innovation and Member of the Board at E-Plus."CellPoint's MLS platform works with both 2G and 2.5G, enabling the deployment of fast, powerful, data-rich services for all customer segments.

"CellPoint was first to market with a network-wide platform for GSM networks," said Stephen Childs, President and CEO of CellPoint."E-Plus continues to be at the forefront of the European mobile industry by working with us to bring innovative solutions to the market."

The i-mode(TM) GPRS 'smart-phones' allow high data transmission speeds of up to 53.6 kbps compared to the 9.6 kbps currently available in 2G GSM. The combination of high speed and large color screens offers an excellent way for mobile users to experience new high-fidelity location-based services such as 'find-a-friend', local information, navigation, community services and gaming. Many of these applications will be integrated with sophisticated Internet services, bringing a new generation of interactive and innovative location-enabled services to the mass market.

With the GPRS handsets, location determination functions perfectly in all terminal modes with very good performance figures. In the current implementation, location is retrieved in a fraction of a second during active and busy mode, and in few seconds during idle mode. Later this year, new features of the E-Plus network will reduce the response time even further. Active-mode applications include user-initiated requests such as location information and location-enabled i-mode(TM) applications. Passive-mode applications include services such as remote workforce management, friend finding, and M-Commerce push applications.

i-mode(TM) in Japan today serves more than 31 million subscribers who have access to more than 40,000 i-mode(TM) sites with their mobile phones. CellPoint's MLB was designed to enable the unique i-mode business model in 2G, 2.5 (GPRS) and 3G networks and is the first independent location enabling platform used to serve the i-mode(TM) content partners. CellPoint's MLS is based on the latest technology and industry standards, enabling positioning for all currently available GPRS terminals; Class A terminals (which allow simultaneous usage of circuit-related speech and data calls with the terminal being attached simultaneously to the GSM and GPRS networks), and Class B terminals (which allow alternate usage of speech and data calls with the terminal being attached simultaneously to the GSM and GPRS networks).

"Commercial GPRS Location services are an important milestone in our strategy to strengthen our position as the leading innovator in the Location Platform industry," added Childs. "We're demonstrating a strong technology roadmap for mobile operators - our MLS and MLB platforms deliver a seamless location solution for today, tomorrow, and the future."