SIX NOKIA VENTURE PARTNERS PORTFOLIO COMPANIES TO PARTICIPATE AT PRESTIGIOUS DEMOMOBILE 2001 CONFERENCE

MENLO PARK, Calif. – September 6, 2001 - Nokia Venture Partners, a premiere global venture capital firm focused on early-stage mobile Internet investments, today announced that six of its portfolio companies are participating this week in the prestigious DEMOmobile 2001 technology conference (www.demomobile.com) in La Jolla, Calif. Three of the companies – Bitfone, Digital Transit and FreedomPay – were selected to showcase their products and services for the first time during the industry leading event. Additionally, Nokia Venture Partners’ John Zeisler will speak today with DEMOmobile producer Jim Forbes about risks and opportunities in the 802.11 market.

“Nokia Venture Partners has invested in a promising crop of emerging companies and their influence in wireless and mobile computing is clearly evident at DEMOmobile 2001,” said Jim Forbes, producer DEMOmobile 2001. “In today’s post-PC era, Nokia Venture Partners companies are helping to confirm that wireless platforms are the future, electronic messaging is omnipresent, and that user interfaces can make or break mobile devices."

Nokia Venture Partners was formed in 1998 as an independent venture firm focusing on the mobile Internet, investing in leading edge mobile technology companies targeting high growth market opportunities, such as mobile and IP network and software infrastructure. Nokia Venture Partners maintains USD $650 million under management and has funded more than 30 companies within the infrastructure hardware and software, applications and services sectors, from the US, the UK, Germany and Finland. In addition to Bitfone, Digital Transit and FreedomPay, three additional Nokia Venture Partners’ portfolio companies –Avesair, PAR3 Communications and oplayo – will participate in the event.

“We strive to identify and foster the best and brightest entrepreneurs that will become tomorrow’s wireless industry leaders. The fact that six of the 38 companies in attendance at this year’s DEMOmobile are Nokia Venture Partners-backed companies reaffirms the diligence and strong expertise of our team,” said John Malloy, General Partner at Nokia Venture Partners. "We are very proud of these entrepreneurs and hope that their efforts inspire and encourage more innovation by other emerging businesses.”

Nokia Venture Partners Portfolio Companies at DEMOmobile

Bitfone Corporation (www.bitfone.com) – Booth #11
Bitfone is a software infrastructure provider for the mobile Internet, providing global wireless carriers with media-rich messaging and personal content applications to enhance the end-users’ experience. The company’s flagship iBroker product answers the question of how carriers are going to drive adoption of next-generation services and increase revenues while leveraging their investment in existing 2G, 2.5G and future 3G networks. With iBroker, wireless carriers can offer subscribers with any Internet enabled mobile phone the ability to access, store, message and share rich-media content such as photos, cartoons and images from any Web site, PC or personal Network Storage via mobile Email or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).
Company Contact: Chip Canter, Director of Carrier Markets, 650.470.1143 or ccanter@bitfone.com

Digital Transit, Inc. (www.digitaltransit.net) – Booth # 7
Digital Transit is the only provider of carrier-class software infrastructure for over-the-air updates of firmware and applications on mobile wireless devices. The company’s solution enables mobile phone manufacturers and wireless carriers to reduce warranty and recall costs, drive down customer service costs, and decrease churn caused by firmware and software problems. Digital Transit’s technology requires no hardware changes on mobile devices, and is easily customized for different network protocols and embedded operating system platforms.
Company Contact: Greg Cygan, Vice President of Sales and Service, 949.234.1644 or gcygan@digitaltransit.net

FreedomPay (www.freedompay.com) – Booth #13
FreedomPay has created a universal cashless payment system that provides merchants with a cashless transaction alternative that is more economical than credit or debit cards. Using a patent pending technology that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), FreedomPay allows consumers to purchase items quickly and easily without cash at traditionally “cash only” points of purchase. FreedomPay’s cashless point-of-sale solution is revolutionizing the way consumers pay for purchases, creating increased revenue margins for merchants and adding value to the consumer in the form of greater convenience, and benefits from loyalty purchase programs.
Company Contact: Rob Munin, Vice President of Partner Marketing, 610.902.9000 or robmunin@freedompay.com

Avesair (www.avesair.com) – Canyon Room
Avesair Inc. is the premier provider of carrier class mobile application software enabling mobile operators and wireless networks to deliver a full range of decision-based services to subscribers. It’s decision technology allows mobile operators to increase revenues and decrease churn through the effective targeting and delivery of relevant content such as advertising and marketing messages, commerce and promotions, and personalized content. These types of services enable mobile operators to create loyalty programs that attract and retain subscribers, as well as generate new revenue streams through value-added data services.
Company Contact: Jane Foreman, Vice President of Marketing, 919.657.3650 or jforeman@avesair.com

oplayo (www.oplayo.com) – Canyon Room
oplayo provides convenient, cost-effective, plug-in-free, Java-based streaming video technologies for fixed Internet and wireless devices. oplayo's products enable faster streaming video delivery, easier viewing and broader audience reach than standard plug-ins or media players. oplayo's technology can be deployed to virtually any PC or Java-enabled device. Because oplayo is well suited for delivering video via e-mail, it is the optimal solution for innovative marketing and infotainment applications such as music videos, movie trailers, news and sports highlights. The oplayo solution also provides new channels for corporate communications, including investor briefings, Web-based training, customer support and marketing functions.
Company Contact: Kathleen O'Boyle, Corporate Communications, 415.407.8308 or demomobile@oplayo.com

PAR3 Communications (www.par3.com) – Canyon Room
Seattle-based PAR3 Communications is the premier provider of highly personalized, proactive, multi-channel alert and response systems. Solutions hosted on the award-winning PAR3 Intelligent Response Platform™ engage customers in cost-effective, real-time conversations that take customer relationships and systems to new heights of profitability. PAR3 helps companies leverage their rich enterprise-level customer data and exchange highly tailored, interactive alerts with their customers via mobile or home phone, email, pager, and wireless device—how and when the customer chooses. PAR3 is emerging as the clear leader within CRM's newest market segment—Customer Participation Management.
Company Contact: Jodi Sorensen, Director of Corporate Communications, 206.902.3999 or jodi.sorensen@par3.com

About Nokia Venture Partners
Nokia Venture Partners is a leading global venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. Launched in 1998, Nokia Venture Partners has USD$650 million under management and leads investments in early stage mobile technology companies around the world. The fund is backed by a number of limited partners including BMC Software, CDBWebTech, Goldman Sachs, Nokia, and others, and has a strong track record of leveraging its combined resources, experience and contacts to help build successful mobile businesses. The firm also has offices in Washington DC, London and Helsinki. For general information or instructions on how to submit proposals for review, visit www.nokiaventurepartners.com.