Wataniya Selects Valimo Wireless to Provide Complete WPKI System

Helsinki/Kuwait Feb 09, 2005 - The leading Kuwaiti telecom operator, Wataniya, today announced having purchased Valimo Wireless technology for wireless PKI transaction management and for centralized digital signature validation.

The chosen solution includes Valimo Validator MSS Server and Valimo iD Server products. The aim is to address the Kuwaiti market with a world-leading solution that enables Wataniya’s subscribers to perform digital signatures with their mobile handsets. The signature is generated in the PKI-enabled SIM card, which therefore introduces the highest level of security and convenience for Wataniya’s subscribers.

In Wataniya’s chosen solution, mobile phones can be used to authorize payments for several on-line services, as well as to provide strong PKI-based user authentication when accessing enterprise applications, like VPN and Citrix, or basically any on-line application. The technology provided by Valimo Wireless is based on industry standards, including ETSI MSS (mobile signature service). Wataniya is among the first carriers in the world to deploy this type of solution, as well as the first to offer mobile signature service to the Kuwaiti market.

Wataniya has already engaged in a partnership with one of the leading local financial institutions, Burgan Bank, to jointly introduce this robust mCommerce solution to the Kuwaiti market, and several other partners show great interest in joining in the near future.

“Our vision is to always equip our subscribers with cutting edge technologies. This solution enables them to gain value as Wataniya subscribers by enabling them to use the mobile phone to perform transactions that require the highest level of security, and best of all, its easy to use.” comments Mr. Harri Koponen, CEO of Wataniya. “Valimo’s product portfolio and capability to provide services met our requirements, and together with the fact that they are a leading vendor in the field of WPKI made this a natural choice for us” continues Mr. Koponen

“We consider Wataniya as one of the leading telecom operators in the region, and this deployment will clearly strengthen their position as a frontrunner in the mobile community. In a nutshell, WPKI turns mobile handset into a personal trusted device, which then can be used as an electronic ID” comments Mr. Samu Konttinen, Vice President of Valimo.

The PKI technology itself dates back to the 1970s, and is often considered to be complicated and therefore expensive to deploy. By combining today’s smartcard/SIM technology, with Valimo’s innovative and versatile solution as the backbone, secure mobile services can now easily be deployed to mass markets. The complexity of PKI and wireless transaction management is hidden from the application layer, and is simply provided as a service by Wataniya.

“We are seeing growing demand within mobile operators for this kind of value-added service, which can be deployed to both consumer and enterprise customers. Wataniya’s vision and competence makes them an ideal customer to work with,” comments William Cardwell, CEO of Valimo.

About Wataniya Telecom: Launched in December 1999, Wataniya Telecom is the second licensed GSM mobile operator in the State of Kuwait. Thanks to the competition and innovation introduced by Wataniya Telecom since then, the mobile has become a way of life in Kuwait! Today in Kuwait, over 55 percent of the population has a mobile - and over half are proudly served by Wataniya Telecom. Traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, the Company has a Market capitalization exceeding US $1.5 Billion, with over 40,000 shareholders.

About Valimo: Valimo Wireless Ltd specializes in developing software to secure and perform transactions in both mobile and fixed-line network environments. The company's product portfolio consists of transaction management solutions enabling strong user authentication in multi-channel environments and assuring non-repudiation of legally binding transactions. With Valimo, customers can concentrate on their own business models and service portfolios, leaving Valimo to manage network security and data integrity issues, as well as to assure the best possible service availability with multiple end devices.

Further information:

Valimo Wireless
www.valimo.com
William Cardwell, CEO
Samu Konttinen, Vice President
Tel: +358 9 4365 0080
samu.konttinen@valimo.com

Wataniya
www.wataniya.com
Harri Koponen, CEO
Timo Everi, Director; Sales, marketing and PR
+965 805 555
teveri@wataniya.com