News release

HP Helps Telecom Service Providers Boost Revenue, Cut Costs and Rapidly Launch Mobile Services

TA Orange relies on HP and First Hop to launch new messaging services in Thailand; Smart Communications taps HP to manage billing services for pre-paid SMS customers in Hong Kong

HP today announced several successes for its mobile service delivery strategy that enables telecom operators to quickly create and deliver new services for their subscribers. Additionally, the company announced three customer wins for both its telecom network infrastructure products and its interactive voice response software.

The HP mobile Service Delivery Platform (mSDP) provided the framework for TA Orange, Thailand's fastest-growing GSM mobile operator, to deploy a powerful suite of mobile messaging middleware from HP partner, Finland-based First Hop. HP provided project management and integration services to implement First Hop's Wireless Broker application, which handles the delivery and service management of TA Orange's short message service (SMS) and multimedia message service (MMS).

TA Orange has deployed other elements of the HP mSDP, which is an integrated platform of standards-based software and tools, including HP OpenCall software, partner solutions, carrier-grade hardware and consulting and integration services. As part of the HP Adaptive Enterprise strategy to synchronize business with IT, the offerings streamline service creation - and gives operators the flexibility they need to deliver the many specialized services that consumers are now beginning to demand.

HP also announced that Mobilitec, Inc. will strengthen the HP mSDP by providing its mPower suite of content enablement products. This suite helps mobile operators rapidly create and deliver many new content-based services, as well as manage the relationships with the content providers.

Other HP mSDP partners in the area of content enablement include previously announced ACCESS Co., Ltd in Japan and elata in the United Kingdom. HP partners BEA, MobileAware and Volantis provide technology to enhance mSDP with capabilities for multi-device portals, which enable subscribers to view available services and seamlessly download rich content. The solutions also enable device rendering, which allows operators to recognize the many different types of handsets and enables subscribers to access content regardless of handset type.

"The HP mSDP continues to gain traction in the marketplace, particularly in the Asia Pacific region where operators are leading the world in the introduction of personalized, content-rich mobile services," said Sebastiano Tevarotto, vice president and general manager, Network and Service Provider Business, HP. "Operators today must be very agile, and the HP mSDP gives them exactly what they need: a flexible, standards-based platform to create and launch new services quickly - at minimal cost and risk."

HP helps Smart Comm., WiderThan.com and ChungHwa Telecom deliver services

With more than 25 years of experience in telecom network infrastructure, HP provides solutions or services to all 200 of the world's leading communications companies. At ITU Telecom Asia, HP announced three service providers in the Asia Pacific region that are deploying HP solutions in their networks.

• Smart Communications is the leading pre-paid wireless service provider in the Philippines with 16.5 million subscribers. As one of two providers in the SMS market, Smart has helped the Philippines become the leading SMS nation in the world; SMS volume in the Philippines is greater than all the countries of Europe combined. Now, Smart is expanding its GSM-based pre-paid voice and SMS service to Hong Kong under the name "SMART 1528." Acting as a mobile virtual network operator, Smart is targeting approximately 100,000 Hong Kong residents, including Philippine citizens in that city. HP is providing comprehensive integration services and platforms and is hosting the Hong Kong SMS for Smart on a managed service basis. HP also provided services and technologies to support Smart's SMS service in the Philippines.



• WiderThan.com, Korea's largest solutions and content provider, has deployed HP OpenCall communications software to enhance its Ringback Tone service that it provides to Philippine subscribers on behalf of Globe Telecom, the Philippine's leading operator in post-paid services. Ringback Tone is a personalized service that gives mobile subscribers the ability to replace a standard ring with an individually selected music or audio clip. The HP OpenCall Media Platform (OCMP), a standards-based, carrier-grade voice services platform, handles voice processing and critical call control functions. Demonstrating its scalability, the HP OCMP handled more than 100,000 new Ringback Tone customers who subscribed in the first week of operation. The HP OCMP leverages the advantages of HP OpenCall SS7 signaling platform, which is the leading global deployment of the SS7 industry standard.



• ChungHwa Telecom, a leading service provider in Taiwan, has deployed the HP OpenCall Service Controller (OCSC) to support its pre-paid billing system for converged voice and data services. The HP OCSC supports ChungHwa's Mobile Combo Payment Service, which manages the complex, real-time prepaid billing cycles for a variety of voice, messaging and data services. Because the HP OCSC links in-network signaling with the business support systems for mobile services, it can facilitate rating and mediation functions and enable the real-time billing capability that is needed for pre-paid services. Ultimately, this means that ChungHwa can deliver more prompt service to its subscribers - and reduce its operating costs.

HP demonstrates solutions at ITU Telecom event

At the ITU Telecom tradeshow in Busan, Korea, which runs from Sept. 6 - 10, HP is demonstrating many solutions, including:

• HP OpenView Internet Usage Management;
• HP Content Mediation & Charging Solution;
• HP Integrated Service Management;
• HP OpenView Service Quality Management;
• HP OpenView Service Activation;
• HP IP-Virtual Private Network multi-protocol label switching (MPLS);
• HP Revenue Assurance Solution;
• HP mobile Service Delivery Platform;
• HP Service Delivery Platform
• HP Content Development & Distribution;
• HP Digital Media Platform;
• HP Media Storage and Digital Archival;
• HP IP-TV (Internet Protocol Television); and
• Public Wireless LAN (with Cisco and Aptilo).

HP is located in Hall 2, Stand 2120 in the BEXCO Busan Exhibition and Convention Center.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2004, HP revenue totaled $78.4 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including the expected development, performance or rankings of products or services; statements of expectation or belief; and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the development, performance and market acceptance of products and services and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the risks described in HP's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended April 30, 2004 and reports filed after HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2003. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.