Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Mergers and Acquisitions

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 15:39:16 -0500

Mergers and Acquisitions
Dec 03, 2003

Companies Segment Details of the Deal Implications

Qpass Seattle, Wash. 206/447-6000 is putting together a content-consolidation
plan with Bango.net Cambridge, England 011 44 1223 472 777 Qpass provides
activity management business system software to network operators. Bango.net
provides the technology to enable interactive mobile content and services to be
accessed, promoted and charged for across all mobile operators in more than 40
countries. Qpass and Bango say they will provide content providers with flexible
merchandising and billing capabilities, including multi-packs, trial periods and
coupons. They also will offer such advanced billing and settlement capabilities
as access to pre-paid and contract operator bills as well as credit and debit
cards. In addition, the two will provide revenue-distribution tools to take care
of royalties, taxation and operator-revenue sharing. By teaming with Qpass,
content providers already registered with Bango.net will be able to sell their
mobile content to 65 million U.S. customers, including those subscribing to AT&T
Wireless, Cingular Wireless and Nextel. Qpass says its carrier customers can
expect premium content revenue growth "well into triple digits this year," and
that adding Bango.net's content will only make things even better. And
Bango.net's content customers are only too happy to add U.S. exposure, which
includes more than 10,000 pre-integrated applications. Qpass says it is able to
set up most first-time integrations within two days.

Metrocall Holdings [OTCBB:MTOH] Alexandria, Va.703/660-6677 has acquired a
majority of the operating assets and has assumed certain liabilities of WebLink
Wireless Dallas, Texas 214/765-4000 Metrocall says it is the second largest U.S.
narrowband wireless messaging provider. In addition to traditional numeric and
one-way text paging, it offers two-way interactive advanced messaging and
wireless e-mail as well as mobile voice and data services through AT&T Wireless
and Nextel. Privately held WebLink Wireless provides two-way wireless messaging,
wireless email, mobile Internet information, customized business solutions and
telemetry services. It reports annual revenues of $140 million plus from some
1.2 million customers. Metrocall will own a majority of Weblink and some of its
subsidiaries via a stock deal that included 500,000 shares of its common stock
issued to Weblink; the buyer will issue warrants to purchase up to an additional
125,000 shares of common stock at $40 per share. Metrocall and Weblink also
entered into a Management and Spectrum Lease Agreement under which Weblink will
provide certain services, and it will lease to Metrocall the spectrum usage
rights granted under FCC licenses pending the FCC's approval of all transfers.
For lo these many years, the persistent rumor that paging is dead has been
squelched by the continued success of both Metrocall and Weblink, which claims
to be the nation's fifth largest wireless messaging and paging provider along
with serving as the preferred provider to large strategic VARs. The merged
company will serve approximately 3.7 million subscribers, and the two networks
already have been connected and partially integrated. Metrocall now says it will
focus on revenue retention, cost containment and cash generation."

AT&T Wireless [NYSE: AWE] Redmond, Wash. 425/580-6000 will receive content and
services from RealNetworks [Nasdaq NM: RNWK] Seattle, Wash. 206/674-2700 and
Microsoft [Nasdaq NM: MSFT] Redmond, Wash. 425/882-8080 AT&T Wireless provides
voice and data services over two separate, overlapping U.S. networks.
RealNetworks offers network-delivered digital media services and the technology
that enables digital media creation, distribution and usage. Do we really have
to detail what Microsoft does? AT&T Wireless inked deals with RealNetworks and
Microsoft to deliver such their content and services, which include streaming
video, e-mail, and instant messaging, to its mMode data customers. The RealOne
for mMode service will kick in first, priced at $4.95 a month plus usage fees.
By year's end, Microsoft's MSN Mobile services will be available to mMode
customers, including MSN Hotmail, MSN Messenger, alerts, calendar and content.
AT&T Wireless just cut over what it says will be a service offering the fastest
cellphone -enable data access in the country: its Enhanced Data Rates for Global
Evolution (EDGE) network, which transmits at higher data transfer speeds. Using
EDGE, AT&T wireless customers who choose to pay higher fees will be able to
download more content, pictures and video clips. With the industry as a whole
moving toward more music and video capabilities (see related stories in this
issue), the question will be which phones will be able to offer the best of
these enhanced services. AT&T Wireless currently offers mMode on its Nokia 3650
and N-Gage handsets, which offer great quality but have been slow on the
consumer uptake.

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