A cumulative audience of nearly 400,000 visiting soccer fans from all over the world came to South Africa in June to watch 32 countries compete in the 19th FIFA World Cup tournament. As they attended games and enjoyed the festivities they sent home pictures, videos and messages using email and messaging services, all over wireless data networks. As one of the largest eXchange service providers to enable inter-network roaming, Aicent, Inc. (www.aicent.com), recorded huge surges in network traffic during the competition, as much as 300 percent over the weeks just prior.

“As the data from our network shows, the World Cup is truly a social event where fans want to share the revelry with friends and family,” said Lynn Liu, president & CEO at Aicent. “Wireless data networks made sharing the action better than ever before as fans sent back millions of pictures, videos, tweets, emails and text messages from games in South Africa to their friends back home. Subscribers from a great number of international wireless networks were all able to use their mobile phones from South Africa due to roaming eXchanges like Aicent.”

Aicent is a leading provider of data network, messaging and roaming solutions for mobile operators globally serving more than 2.5 billion mobile subscribers around the world. Aicent operates one of the world’s largest GPRS and 3G network eXchanges, directly connecting to over 100 operators, including nine of the world’s ten largest. Aicent’s MMS and SMS eXchanges is one of industry’s largest, interconnecting with over 150 mobile operators around the world.

Aicent observed that traffic correlated directly with the number of matches taking place on a specific day; the more matches in a day, the higher traffic would spike. The day with the highest volume of data traffic was Wednesday, June 23, the day that Nigeria and South Korea played to a tie, Argentina defeated Greece, England defeated Slovenia, and the United States defeated Algeria. The day with the next highest volume was Tuesday, June 15, when three matches between Italy and Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia, and Cote d’Ivoire and Portugal all ended in ties.

Aicent’s data shows that Americans were among the largest group of people visiting South Africa, with more than 60 percent of Aicent’s data traffic coming from customers of GSM operators in the United States. On days when the US National Team played, these operators experienced their largest spikes in traffic, with traffic leaving South Africa far and away exceeding traffic coming to South Africa by a ratio exceeding 4:1.

Soccer fans in South Africa relied on their mobile phones to share pictures, videos, live game updates and other messages with friends back home. In fact, according to Mayan Mathen, CTO of Dimension Data, during the World Cup, South Africa became one of the highest “tweet” sources in the world, referring to the Twitter social network phenomenon. World Cup fans in South Africa averaged 750 tweets per second, with some 3,500 going out every second during World Cup matches.

About Aicent, Inc.
Serving more than 2.5 billion mobile users around the world, Aicent Inc. is a leading provider of data network, messaging and roaming solutions for mobile operators globally. Aicent operates one of the world’s largest GPRS and 3G network eXchanges, directly connecting to over 100 operators, including nine of the world’s ten largest. Aicent operates one of world’s largest MMS and SMS eXchanges interconnecting with over 150 mobile operators around the world. On any given day, Aicent’s network facilitates over 100 million roaming transactions generated on 150 mobile networks in 114 countries. For more information visit www.aicent.com.

TextArrest (www.TextArrest.com), the safe driving solution for families, fleets, and safety-minded individuals, announced today its support of May 2010 as National Youth Traffic Safety month. TextArrest will kick off its traffic safety efforts through its participation at the NAFA Fleet Management Association 2010 Institute & Expo (NAFA 2010 I&E), The Risk and Insurance Management Society’s 2010 Annual Conference & Exhibition (RIMS 2010), the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) Spring Meeting, and Oprah’s No Phone Zone Day.

NAFA 2010 I&E

• Dates:  April 24-27, 2010
• Location:  Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan
• TextArrest Booth:  #207
• About:  TextArrest executives will join commercial and government fleet professionals at NAFA’s 2010 I&E to conduct business development meetings and demonstrate the ways that companies can benefit from using the TextArrest safe driving solutions to eliminate distracted driving and reduce the risk of accidents caused by mobile phone use from behind the wheel. For more information on this event visit: http://www.nafaiande.org/

RIMS 2010

• Dates:  April 25-29, 2010
• Location:   Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts
• TextArrest Booth:  #101
• About:  TextArrest executives will join some 10,000 risk and insurance professionals for this five-day event to discuss and demonstrate how the TextArrest safe driving solution fits into the future of insurance coverage, offering policy holders extra safety and value while reducing the overall incidents of accidents and insurance liabilities for carriers. For more information on this event visit: http://www.rims.org/annualconference/RIMS2010/

NOYS Spring Meeting

• Dates:  April 29-30, 2010
• Location:  Washington, D.C.
• About:  National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) is an effective coalition that develops collaboration between national organizations, businesses, and government agencies that focus on youth safety and health. NOYS members unite the power of youth led and youth serving organizations, businesses and government agencies to address issues such as distracted driving, and empower youth to take action and lead through peer to peer education and service learning. TextArrest executives will join NOYS members, along with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, to discuss distracted driving issues and legislation, and to put in place plans and campaigns for programs that work towards solutions to the number one killer of teens in the US – - traffic accidents.

Oprah’s No Phone Zone Day

• Dates:  Friday, April 30, 2010
• Location:  Washington, D.C.
• About:  Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Studios are taking a stand against distracted driving, launching a new public service announcement campaign and joining forces with some of the country’s preeminent transportation safety organizations to declare Friday, April 30 the first national “No Phone Zone Day.” TextArrest will participate in the large-scale effort to honor victims of distracted driving. “No Phone Zone Day” will also educate and activate Americans to end the deadly driving habits that kill nearly 6,000 Americans a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
  
  On Friday April 30, The Oprah Winfrey Show will present a special live episode devoted to ending distracted driving. In conjunction with the episode, TextArrest executives will participate in Harpo Studios’ “No Phone Zone Day” viewing rally to be held in Washington, D.C.  For more information on “No Phone Zone Day,” and to take the No Phone Zone pledge, visit www.oprah.com/nophonezone.

About TextArrest
TextArrest is a software company dedicated to making the roads safer by eliminating distractions created when drivers use mobile phones.  TextArrest uses features common in today’s smartphones to set and enforce parameters for safe use of mobile phones inside moving vehicles. From disabling text messaging and calling capabilities while a person is driving to tracking the movement and location of mobile phones in transit, TextArrest provides control coupled with a Web-based portal delivering real time information on phone usage and location. Founded in 2009 by a doctor with emergency room and trauma center background, TextArrest is the solution for concerned parents, dispatchers, and fleet managers to the growing problem of people driven to distraction by mobile phone use in cars. For more information on TextArrest visit www.TextArrest.com.

About National Youth Traffic Safety Month
In the U.S. more than 5,000 youth die every year in car crashes. Crashes are the number one cause of death and injury of teens in the U.S.  Crashes take more lives of our youth than alcohol, drugs, violence, and suicide. Youth Traffic Safety is no accident and steps can be taken to help protect youth and encourage them to stay safe on the roads. For more information visit http://noys.org/YouthTrafSafe/toolkit.html.

With teenagers in the United States well known for rebelling against parents and family members that do things in teens’ best interests, TextArrest today announced a new safe driving mobile application designed to keep drivers’ eyes on the road and off their phones. The new TextArrest app is sure to have teens texting “I h8 my parNts!” to their friends – just not while they are driving a car.

From the Safe Driving Solutions Pavilion at the CTIA WIRELESS exposition, TextArrest is today launching TextArrest Free™ and TextArrest Family™, an application and service designed to keep teenagers and family members safe while driving by disabling texting, instant messaging, calling, Web browsing and other phone-based distractions that should not be used while sitting behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.  TextArrest not only protects drivers from the dangerous temptation to use their phone while driving, it also offers parents a better way to supervise the location and driving patterns of their family members with cell phones.

A January 2010 Nielsen study of the phone bills of 40,000 US teenagers found that teenagers send text messages an average of 10 times per hour while they are awake – exceeding 3100 text message per month.  Many teenagers text and drive, which has been proven the world over to be a deadly combination.  In fact, as a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) study found, texting while driving increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents by 2300 percent, six times greater than driving while intoxicated.  Even though the American Automobile Association (AAA) is having success in passing anti-texting while driving laws across the United States, teenagers are still sending texts from behind the wheel of moving cars.

TextArrest Free

TextArrest Free is a free smartphone application that automatically switches off text message and calling functions while the phone is in motion.  TextArrest expects teenagers to hate features such as:

• Integration with a phone’s GPS system to determine the speed of a moving vehicle.
• Automatic switching off of text messaging and calling functions after a phone is detected to be traveling faster than 5 MPH.
• A customizable auto response message from the user to inform people sending text messages that their messages will be delivered once the user stops driving.

For parents and people who supervise the use of more than one family mobile phone, TextArrest also comes as an affordable subscription based service that expands the feature set available in TextArrest Free and adds Web based management to better control how mobile phones are used when family members are driving.

TextArrest Family

Managed through an easy-to-use Web based dashboard, TextArrest Family gives parents control over how and under what circumstances mobile phone features can be used, along with the ability to pinpoint on a map the location and driving routes for phones under their supervision.  TextArrest expects teenagers to especially hate:

• A Web-based management portal that lets parents take note of all phone use activity.
• A geofencing feature that lets parents draw boundaries on a map, such as around a school, and alerts parents when a phone travels beyond geofenced boundaries.
• Customizable alerts to notify parents in real-time when phones are traveling beyond speed limits, including a report of what speed at which the phone was clocked.
• Customizable alerts to notify parents in real-time when TextArrest settings are tampered with or overridden.

The TextArrest applications include settings to switch a phone from “driver” to “passenger” mode for people who aren’t driving or may be riding on a bus or a train. The passenger override restores those features typically switched off by TextArrest while a phone is in motion.  Both TextArrest Free and TextArrest Family let users call emergency services under any condition, even while a phone is in motion.

“Any doctor who has spent time in emergency rooms as I have will tell you that safe driving is no joke,” said TextArrest Chairman Dr. David Lanzkowsky, M.D., an emergency room doctor that founded the company in 2009.  “Parents like me know that doing what’s right for our families is not always popular with our kids.  Teenagers may ‘hate’ their parents for putting an end to texting and other distractions while driving, but they don’t always see the larger context that accidents caused by these distractions all too often end in serious injuries or the loss of life, and more frequently result in steep financial costs and potentially bankruptcies.  TextArrest wants to give teens the luxury of hating their parents for long healthy lifetimes.”

The TextArrest technology takes advantage of features common in today’s smartphones to set and enforce parameters for the safe use of mobile phones inside moving vehicles.  All versions of TextArrest require only a simple application download and no hardware changes to disable text messaging and calling functions.  There are no set-up or activation charges, and TextArrest Family subscriptions start at $4.99/month to cover up to five family members, a price well below competing services that have fewer capabilities.  At launch TextArrest supports Android and BlackBerry smartphones with additional platforms coming soon.

Later this spring TextArrest will announce its TextArrest Fleet™ service, designed to make people who drive company vehicles hate their IT departments and fleet managers.

Visit http://www.textarrest.com to download TextArrest Free or subscribe to TextArrest Family today.

Visit TextArrest at CTIA in booth #6075 for a live demo or to learn more about the TextArrest service.

About TextArrest:
TextArrest is a software company dedicated to making the roads safer by eliminating distractions created when drivers use mobile phones.  TextArrest uses features common in today’s smartphones to set and enforce parameters for safe use of mobile phones inside moving vehicles. From disabling text messaging and calling capabilities while a person is driving to tracking the movement and location of mobile phones in transit, TextArrest provides control, coupled with a Web-based portal delivering real time information on phone usage and location. Founded in 2009 by a doctor with emergency room and trauma center background, TextArrest is the solution for concerned parents, dispatchers and fleet managers to the growing problem of people driven to distraction by mobile phone use in cars.

# # #

Just in time for the holiday season, Talkster is offering the first 10,000 people who sign up at Talkster.com $5 in free calling credit. To participate, visit www.Talkster.com, and sign up before it’s too late. Callers should use the promo code “TALKSTER” to get their $5 in free calling credit.

With $5 in free calling credits, people can speak more than 2 hours to India, more than 4 hours to China and 5 hours to Mexico (time based on calling rates from the United States).

Under this promotion, callers get access to 50 countries with the lowest calling rates in the industry. Current Free World Dialing customers will enjoy access to new calling areas through this partnership, including Brazil, Japan, South Africa, and Pakistan.

“Talkster understands the holidays are the time of year when connecting with friends and family, especially those away from home, is important to all of us,” said James Wanless, COO of Talkster. “This special holiday offer gives our customers even more to celebrate. With international calling rates as little as .08 cents a minute to call places like Thailand, we are making the whole world that much closer. People can talk for as long as they want without worrying about being hit with a huge phone bill.”

For more information visit Talkster at www.Talkster.com.

About Rebtel
Rebtel makes it possible to call any phone, anywhere in the world, for just cents per minute. Rebtel services can be used with any phone – landline or mobile. There is no charge to set up an account. No contract. No monthly fees. No connection fees. No hidden costs. Anyone may make a free five minute call to test the service. Thereafter, customers only pay for the minutes they use. Free Calls between more than 50 counties served by Rebtel are always free and only one of the two people on a call have to be a Rebtel customer.

About Talkster
Talkster is revolutionizing communications with award-winning ad-supported and software-based technologies. Through its Free World Dialing™ service and talki™ mobile application Talkster is giving consumers highly affordable alternatives to long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging. Talkster’s talki white label application allows companies to create new opportunities for revenue and marketing by offering customers compelling services delivered through a branded mobile interface. From your mobile phone visit http://m.talki.me to download talki. For more information visit Talkster at www.Talki.me.

Aicent Inc. (www.aicent.com) announced today that its mBridge MMS virtual delivery service has been chosen as the Best Operator Software for application or service delivery in the eighth annual Mobile Star Awards™ program, hosted by mobile technology news portal MobileVillage.com.

As in past years, the Mobile Star Awards program showcases “best of” entries in dozens of categories including mobile apps, enterprise mobile software, wireless network products, enterprise success stories, and mobile industry visionaries.

mBridge MMS Virtual Delivery enables mobile operators worldwide to offer subscribers a seamless method to easily send multimedia messages to any non-MMS enabled phone anywhere. mBridge works by allowing the recipient to download and reply to incoming MMS messages directly from the mobile phone, allowing subscribers the ability to reach anyone in the mobile world regardless of networks or technology.

mBridge version 2.0, released in January this year, has been deployed by over 30 tier one mobile operators around the world including the largest GSM operators in China, North America and India. In its first year of operation the virtual delivery service has increased message volume by more than 80 percent from Q2 to Q3 2009.

“Winning a Mobile Star award is further proof that mBridge is an important service, and further validates our innovation and overall success at offering the most advanced products for MMS and SMS delivery on the market,” said MK Chang, vice president of product marketing at Aicent. “Unlike similar products, mBridge enables mobile operators to instantly offer worldwide reach for successful MMS delivery, a service their subscribers are increasingly using. By allowing subscribers to deliver messages globally, mobile operators can increase user satisfaction while they expand revenue through MMS service growth.”

Winners were chosen by subscribers of MobileVillage’s Go Mobile™ – a free e-newsletter that delivers headlines and links from top mobile technology stories on popular websites such as CNET, Engadget, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Computerworld, AppScout, and others. “Go Mobile” was launched nearly 10 years ago and is now published every three weeks for thousands of readers.

“Aicent’s mBridge meets a very real and growing demand for seamless MMS delivery,” said Jon Covington, MobileVillage founder and president. “Our ‘Go Mobile’ readers clearly saw the importance of offering successful MMS delivery and because our readers are savvy mobile business users and vote based on results, not hype, it’s clear that Aicent is a market leader and company to watch in 2010.”

In addition to MobileVillage, the Sponsors for the 2009 Mobile Star Awards were Clickatell, Funambol, MobileFrame, Nadel Phelan, OnPoint Digital, and Syclo.

All categories and winners are listed on MobileVillage.com at www.mobilevillage.com/awards.htm. For more information about the annual Mobile Star Awards, visit MobileVillage.com.

About MobileVillage / PDA Inc.
Founded in 1993, MobileVillage is a market and solution development company dedicated to advancing mobile and wireless technology in a wide range of industries. MobileVillage accomplishes this by fostering education and alliances through “Best of Breed” solution identification, event partnerships, an online industry directory, industry job postings, daily online news, its widely respected Go Mobile™ newsletter, a Mobile Mentors™ program, and popular annual Mobile Star Awards™ program. Visit MobileVillage online at www.MobileVillage.com.

MobileVillage^®, the Mobile Star Awards™, and Go Mobile™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of MobileVillage / PDA Inc.

About Aicent Inc.
Serving almost 2 billion mobile users around the world, Aicent Inc. is a leading provider of network infrastructure, interworking and roaming services for mobile operators globally. Aicent currently operates one of the world’s largest 3G/GPRS roaming network and messaging exchanges, counting over 150 mobile operators on a single network, including four of the world’s five largest. Through extensive peering and interconnect arrangements, the Aicent network reaches over 700 mobile operators globally, providing its customers with integrated mobile messaging services, including one of the world’s first and largest multimedia messaging exchanges, and offers other value-added services to help carriers maximize revenue opportunities. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Aicent has regional offices in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe. For more information, please visit: www.aicent.com.

Talkster (www.talkster.com) announced today its talki™ mobile software took top honors in the eighth annual Mobile Star Awards™ program, winning the SUPERSTAR award in both the Consumer App: Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Consumer App: Email or Messaging categories.

Other nominees in the Consumer App: VoIP category included Skype, Skype Lite and Fring. In the Consumer App: Email or Messaging category, nominees included Synchronica’s Mobile Gateway, emoze and Momail.

The Mobile Star Awards recognize the top mobile products, success stories and visionaries as chosen by thousands of readers of technology news portal MobileVillage’s Go Mobile™ newsletter. The SUPERSTAR award is the highest honor given to Mobile Star Award winners.

Built on Talkster’s award-winning Free World Dialing™ service, the talki software is built in the Java programming language for use on the widest number of phones possible. Talki gives users unlimited free text and picture messaging and delivers long distance and international calls for the cost of a local call.

“Talki is ideal for people looking to save money on calls, picture sharing and text messaging, especially this holiday season,” said James Wanless, the COO of Talkster. “I’d like to thank the entire Talkster team for their great contributions to making talki a simple and affordable dialing and messaging solution that our customers love to use.”

Talki was selected as the SUPERSTAR winner by subscribers of MobileVillage’s Go Mobile™ – an e-newsletter that delivers headlines and links from top mobile technology stories on popular websites such as CNET, Engadget, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Computerworld, AppScout, and others. “Go Mobile” was launched nearly ten years ago and is now published every three weeks for thousands of readers.

Today, people pay for both sending and receiving text (SMS) and picture (MMS) messages, and the cost can be high. In Canada one might expect to pay 20 to 25 cents for each text message and 50 cents or more for each MMS message either sent or received. But with talki the cost of these messages is drastically reduced. If both the sender and the recipient are using talki, messages between them are free. If the recipient isn’t using talki, then Talkster sends your message by SMS and you save up to 80% over regular SMS rates. Talkster gives you 25 free SMS to start, which you can send anywhere in the world. While SMS text messages are limited to 160 characters each, talki messages have no character limit.

“‘Go Mobile’ readers are the industry’s most savvy mobile business users, meaning Talkster can declare that talki was truly the users’ choice,” says Jon Covington, MobileVillage founder and president. “talki was chosen based on genuine results, not hype. Talkster was up against tough competition in these categories and has shown true leadership in innovation in the VoIP and messaging space.”

Visit http://www.talkster.com/Countries.aspx to see where the Talkster service is available.

For more information about the annual Mobile Star Awards, visit MobileVillage.com.

About Talkster
Talkster is revolutionizing communications with award-winning ad-supported and software-based technologies. Through its Free World Dialing™ service and talki™ mobile application Talkster is giving consumers highly affordable alternatives to long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging. Talkster’s talki white label application allows companies to create new opportunities for revenue and marketing by offering customers compelling services delivered through a branded mobile interface. From your mobile phone visit http://m.talki.me to download talki. For more information visit Talkster at www.talkster.com.

About MobileVillage / PDA Inc.
Founded in 1993, MobileVillage is a market and solution development company dedicated to advancing mobile and wireless technology in a wide range of industries. MobileVillage accomplishes this by fostering education and alliances through “Best of Breed” solution identification, event partnerships, an online industry directory, industry job postings, daily online news, its widely respected Go Mobile™ newsletter, a Mobile Mentors™ program, and popular annual Mobile Star Awards™ program. Visit MobileVillage online at www.MobileVillage.com.

MobileVillage^®, the Mobile Star Awards™, and Go Mobile™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of MobileVillage / PDA Inc.

Alternative mobile communications company, Talkster (www.talki.me), today announced its mobile application, talki™, won Technology Marketing Corporation’s (TMC) 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award. Talkster’s talki™ mobile application gives consumers affordable alternatives to traditional long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging without the hefty SMS and MMS charges. Since introducing its award-winning consumer communications services in 2007, Talkster has saved callers millions in international calling fees.

The Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award recognizes Talkster’s vision, leadership and attention to detail which are the hallmarks of the prestigious award. Talkster has been awarded TMC’s Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award for the last three years; having won for its innovation in voice over instant messaging (VoIM) technologies in 2006 and for its innovative Free World Dialing™ ad-supported calling service in 2007.

“Talkster has been recognized with our 2008 Product of the Year Award for its excellence in the advancement of voice and data communications,” said Rich Tehrani, TMC President and Group Editor-in-Chief. “Talkster has proven it is a company committed to quality and excellence in solutions that benefit consumers worldwide. Especially key in this trying economy are solutions like talki that leverage mobile technology to save consumers money. With this award TMC is honoring the innovations of Talkster’s team for the third year running as the company continues to successfully evolve its alternative communications offerings to meet the needs of consumers and VNOs around the globe.”

talki is a new lightweight software application from Talkster, available as a download or accessible through a mobile browser. It offers free or low-cost international calling, plus text and picture messaging, all in one convenient and easy to use mobile app. Talkster incorporated its award-winning Free World Dialing service into talki so people in 37 countries can place long distance calls at the same rate they pay for local calls, meaning no more expensive international mobile phone charges. For calling to countries where Free World Dialing is not yet supported, calling can still be done at rates 80 percent to 90 percent less than typical mobile calling rates. What’s more, the talki mobile app offers consumers unlimited global text messaging without SMS charges and global picture messaging without MMS charges.

Also available as a white labeled service, talki allows VNOs to deliver new voice, text and multimedia services to mobile subscribers without relying on carrier infrastructure. With talki, VNO’s can easily deliver new communications services, such as free or low-cost international calling or unlimited text and picture messaging, opening up new opportunities for revenue and marketing, independent of carrier capabilities and without the need for capex investments. The talki white label service includes a complete portal with tools for managing subscribers, subscription packages, advertising campaigns and monitoring usage statistics. Plus, Talkster’s mobile billing system gives VNOs an easy way to offer their customers the ability to purchase calling and messaging credits directly from their mobile phones via SMS or PayPal.

The 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award winners can be found on the INTERNET TELEPHONY and Customer Interaction Solutions Web site.

About Talkster
Talkster is revolutionizing communications with award-winning ad-supported and software-based technologies. Through its Free World DialingTM service and talkiTM mobile application Talkster is giving consumers highly affordable alternatives to long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging. Talkster’s talki white label application allows companies to create new opportunities for revenue and marketing by offering customers compelling services delivered through a branded mobile interface. From your mobile phone visit http://free.talkster.com to start using Free World Dialing, and http://m.talki.me to download talki. For more information visit Talkster at www.Talkster.com.

About TMC
Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) is a global integrated media company helping our clients build communities in print, in person and online. TMC publishes Customer Interaction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY, Unified Communications, and NGN Magazine. TMCnet, TMC’s Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMCnet is read by two to three million unique visitors each month worldwide, according to Webtrends. TMCnet is ranked as 2,921 in Quantcast’s Top U.S. Sites placing TMCnet in the top .03% most visited Web sites in the US. In addition, TMC produces ITEXPO, 4GWE Conference, Digium|Asterisk World and Communications Developer Conference.
TMC’s Green Blog has been ranked on the “100 Best Blogs for Those Who Want to Change the World”. TMC also recently launched new industry-specific Web sites: IT.TMCnet.com, Cable.TMCnet.com, Robotics.TMCnet.com, Satellite.TMCnet.com, Green.TMCnet.com. New services offered by TMCnet include the Tech Jobs site, TMCnet iPhone News and Facebook connections. For more information about TMC, visit www.tmcnet.com.

Aicent, Inc. (www.aicent.com) announced today that Network Products Guide, the industry’s leading publication on information technologies and solutions, has named mBridge a winner of the 2009 Product Innovation Award. This venerable annual award recognizes and honors the innovative and ground-breaking products from vendors from all over the world that are bringing essential and incremental changes and are setting the bar higher for others in all areas of information technology.

“Innovation is clearly an important factor to greater success and has the most impact on staying competitive,” says Rake Narang, editor-in-chief of Network Products Guide. “Aicent’s mBridge allows operators to provide the absolute best MMS delivery, even to non-enabled MMS phones, which proves not only product innovation but also ground-breaking technology benefitting the entire mobile community.”

mBridge MMS Virtual Delivery is the newest version of Aicent’s multimedia messaging service (MMS) that enables global carrier partners to offer subscribers a way to easily send multimedia messages to any non-enabled MMS phone, including the iPhone, across any network, any time. mBridge works by allowing the recipient to download and reply to incoming MMS messages from a web URL link embedded in an SMS notification, allowing subscribers who send the message to use their normal sending procedures.

“Winning the best mobile service solution for this year’s Product Innovation award is further validation that new approaches to solving the communications challenges brought about by a fragmented mobile marketplace are not only possible but will meet the high expectations of our customers,” said MK Chang, vice president of product marketing at Aicent. “As services like MMS swiftly gain momentum in the market, we look forward to offering the best solutions to help our carrier customers meet the messaging and data needs of their mobile subscribers.”

To read more about Aicent’s mBridge, please visit http://www.networkproductsguide.com/innovations/ or visit Aicent’s MMS products page at http://www.aicent.net/products_services/mms/.

About Network Products Guide Awards
Network Products Guide is a media sponsor of Interop and Technosium Executive Alliance Forums engaging Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs). As industry’s leading technology research and advisory publication, it plays a vital role in keeping decision makers and end-users informed of the choices they can make in all areas of information technology. You will discover a wealth of information and tools in this guide including the best products and services, roadmaps, industry directions, technology advancements and independent product evaluations that facilitate in making the most pertinent technology decisions impacting business and personal goals. The guide follows conscientious research methodologies developed and enhanced by industry experts. To learn more, visit www.networkproductsguide.com.

About Aicent, Inc.
Serving more than one billion mobile users around the world, Aicent Inc. is a leading provider of data network services and solutions for global mobile operators. To enable interoperability between Aicent customers and other networks, Aicent operates one of the world’s largest GPRS and 3G network exchanges, connecting to over 50 operators, including four of the world’s five largest. Through extensive peering arrangements, the Aicent network reaches nearly all GPRS/3G operators around the world. Aicent also operates integrated mobile messaging services, including one of the world’s first and largest multimedia messaging exchanges, and offers other value-added services to help carriers maximize revenue opportunities. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Aicent has regional offices in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe. For more information, please visit: www.aicent.com.

Talkster (www.Talkster.com), the company delivering brands and publishers instant mobile content delivery services including text, video, calling and web, announced today it will be exhibiting and conducting business development meetings at World Telemedia 2009 (WT09), in Malta, April 26-28.

About World Telemedia 2009
Held on the beautiful island of Malta, World Telemedia 2009 is the only European event for premium content and services companies focused on linking the power of the media and marketing with network billing collection and delivery. As many markets enter a period of economic uncertainty, WT09 focuses on areas that represent a genuine opportunity for service providers and media groups alike and showcases the content, services and applications that consumers will continue to demand.

Talkster at World Telemedia 2009
Talkster executives will join leading telemedia players at WT09 to conduct business development meetings and demonstrate the ways brands and publishers can create new revenue streams using talki, Talkster’s mobile application.

With talki, companies can deliver mobile content and advertising to their customers’ existing phones with no SMS opt-in issues and zero cost to push new content updates, along with value added communications services such as texting, picture messaging and worldwide calling.

Talkster will be exhibiting at WT09. To schedule a meeting with Talkster executives at WT09 email partners@talkster.com or call +44 (0) 871 2400112.

About Talkster
Talkster is revolutionizing communications with award-winning ad-supported and software-based technologies. Through its Free World DialingTM service and talkiTM mobile application Talkster is giving consumers highly affordable alternatives to long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging. Talkster’s talki white label application allows companies to create new opportunities for revenue and marketing by offering customers compelling services delivered through a branded mobile interface. From your mobile phone visit http://free.talkster.com to start using Free World Dialing, and http://m.talki.me to download talki. For more information visit Talkster at www.Talkster.com.

Aicent Inc. (www.aicent.com) announced today that Smart Communications, the Philippines’ leading wireless services provider, has selected mBridge to enhance multimedia message service (MMS) delivery for their over 35.2 million subscribers.

MMS lets mobile subscribers send messages with pictures and videos as easily as they do text messages. As a large majority of new mobile phones come equipped with both still and video cameras, mobile operators have experienced increased demand for rich content messaging from customers.

SMART is using both Aicent’s MMS Gateway service along with the enhanced mBridge Virtual Delivery. The MMS Gateway Service provides SMART with a convenient and efficient way to rapidly establish global MMS interoperability with reliable, cost-effective commercial MMS delivery and termination capabilities, while mBridge takes the service one step further by offering subscribers a way to easily send multimedia messages to any non-enabled MMS phone, including the iPhone, across any network at any time. With mBridge, SMART subscribers can now send pictures and videos to friends and family anywhere in the world.

The growing popularity of MMS messaging has rapidly made it an in-demand service for global mobile subscribers. Aicent’s mBridge solution easily allows carriers like SMART to upgrade their messaging infrastructure to enable their subscribers with global MMS delivery, extending multimedia message delivery to phones not equipped to receive MMS messages as well as to subscribers on networks that currently do not support MMS.

Aicent’s mBridge solution complements Aicent’s MMS Gateway service. The MMS Gateway service provides SMART seamless MMS interoperability with over 200 wireless operators on the industry’s largest MMS eXchange while Aicent’s mBridge virtual delivery capability extends MMS delivery to non-interconnected networks.

mBridge works by allowing the recipient to download and reply to incoming MMS messages from a web URL link embedded in an SMS notification. Subscribers who send the message use their normal sending procedures. A new feature of mBridge extends this service even further by letting the subscriber browse the text parts and images on the web or a PC using the same URL, and then download the message if desired via the mobile phone.

“The success Smart Communications has had with our mBridge service proves not only how committed they are to continually offering the most cutting-edge services to their customers, but also how efficient mBridge is for flawless MMS delivery, ” said Lynn Liu, president and CEO of Aicent. “As MMS continues to swiftly gain momentum in the market, SMART can now easily meet this demand from subscribers, enabling them to maintain their leadership role as one of Asia Pacific’s most advanced wireless service providers.”

About Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART)
Smart Communications, Inc. is the Philippines’ leading wireless services provider with 35.2 million subscribers on its GSM network as of end-December 2008. Of its total subscriber base, 20.9 million subscribers are served under the brands Smart Buddy, Smart Gold and Smart Infinity and another 14.3 million subscribers are served through its subsidiary, Pilipino Telephone Corp., under the brand Talk ‘N Text. SMART has built a reputation for innovation, having introduced world-first wireless data services, including mobile commerce services such as Smart Money, Smart Load and Smart Padala. SMART also offers a 3G service, Smart 3G. Its Smart Link and Blue Ocean Wireless services provide communications to the global maritime industry. Another subsidiary, Smart Broadband, Inc., offers a wireless broadband service, Smart BRO. SMART is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippines’ leading telecommunications carrier, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. For more information, visit http://www.smart.com.ph/.

About Aicent, Inc.
Serving more than one billion mobile users around the world, Aicent Inc. is a leading provider of data network services and solutions for global mobile operators. To enable interoperability between Aicent customers and other networks, Aicent operates one of the world’s largest GPRS and 3G network exchanges, connecting to over 50 operators, including four of the world’s five largest. Through extensive peering arrangements, the Aicent network reaches nearly all GPRS/3G operators around the world. Aicent also operates integrated mobile messaging services, including one of the world’s first and largest multimedia messaging exchanges, and offers other value-added services to help carriers maximize revenue opportunities. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Aicent has regional offices in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe. For more information, please visit: www.aicent.com.