Europe : The Taiwan telecom industry is making history today with the initial launch of Taiwan's first 3G service by Taiwan Mobile.

Closely supported by Nokia throughout the long process leading up to this milestone, the initial launch, branded "catch 3! catch your eyes!", will give subscribers their first taste of 3G services. The full-service implementation of "catch 3!" will later permit subscribers to enjoy a variety of mobile entertainment and video experiences through 3G services.

As Taiwan Mobile's sole supplier of its WCDMA system, Nokia endeavors to promote 3G services together with Taiwan Mobile. During the preparation stage, Nokia not only provided 3G solutions and technologies, but also shared global 3G business experiences with Taiwan Mobile and provided handsets customization as well as facilitated mobile content development.

"We are very grateful to those key partners who have been contributing to Taiwan Mobile as the first in the industry to launch the 3G trial service, 'catch 3, catch your eyes'," says Mr. Harvey Chang ( inset above ), President, Taiwan Mobile. "A special thanks to Nokia for its world leading technologies and ability to provide, deploy and support end-to-end 3G systems for Taiwan Mobile. We will continue to work closely to ensure that the high quality of full commercial service launch will be achieved in the third quarter."

"We're honored to support Taiwan Mobile's 3G initial launch activities, which also reaffirm Nokia's leading position in Taiwan's 3G arena," says David Ho, Senior Vice President, Networks, Nokia. "Taiwan Mobile's subscribers will benefit from new mobile applications and services allowing them to enjoy refreshing experiences of communication and convenience."

Nokia provides a full range of support and services to help operators differentiate and innovate mobile services, demonstrating Nokia's commitments and support to its valued customers. Nokia is committed to support Taiwan Mobile in introducing more innovative and fun mobile services to Taiwan, backed by Nokia's extensive practical experience of implementing mobile services for operators.

Since 2004, Nokia has been Taiwan Mobile's sole supplier of a full range of 3G radio and core network equipment. In addition to a complete WCDMA system, Nokia is supplying a range of professional services to support the deployment. In 2001, Nokia supplied Taiwan Mobile's complete GPRS system, and under a 2002 agreement supplied a major part of WCDMA for the initial network deployment.

About Taiwan Mobile
Taiwan Mobile (formerly named TCC Group) is Taiwan's largest private mobile operator, carrying over six million mobile subscribers and three portfolio operators: Taiwan Mobile, TransAsia Telecommunications and Mobitai Communications.

Taiwan Mobile aspires to be the best telecom service provider in network infrastructure, product offerings, technology development, and customer services. As a service provider, it also commits itself to customer satisfaction and corporate governance. Taiwan Mobile aims to be the most reliable telecom operator in Taiwan and to do its best in creating a paradigm for telecom services in the new era.