TOKYO/ROME June 25th, 2003--- Japan's leading mobile phone operator,
NTT DoCoMo, Inc., and Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A., Italy's number one provider of integrated telecommunications services combining fixed-line, mobile and Internet services, today announced that they have started a strategic
i-modeTM partnership in the Italian market.
The partnership between DoCoMo and Wind represents a meeting of two leading companies in the telecommunications market, adding Wind's experience in the development of innovative services and its unique mobile broadband to a series of European alliances forged by DoCoMo. As a result of this partnership with Wind, DoCoMo will have the opportunity to deliver the i-mode service it developed to Europe's most competitive mobile market.
The exclusive licensing agreement signed for this partnership, under which Wind is to launch the i-mode service in Italy, will enable Wind to consolidate its role as the number one innovator in the Italian domestic market, leading the way in the value added services segment.
The agreement also introduces Wind into the i-mode alliance, the group led by DoCoMo that comprises all the operators that have launched i-mode, and that offers its members the opportunity to market handsets specially adapted for their own services.
Through its provision of i-mode, Wind will create a range of services never before seen in the Italian market, allowing Wind customers to:
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Access Internet services with a wide variety of content on their mobile phone |
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Choose among a wide range of innovative and multifunctional handsets |
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Participate in the i-mode alliance group |
Wind's i-mode services will also include a complete offering of 
applications, providing a high degree of quality for customers, thanks to the DoJa technology, co-developed by DoCoMo and
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
The agreement, which will remain in place for five years from June 2003, is renewable by mutual accord and is an exclusive contract with Wind in Italy for 4 years for Wind's 2G and 3G. According to the terms of this agreement, Wind is to offer the i-mode service on its GPRS network, with know-how, technologies, trademarks and expert assistance to be provided by DoCoMo.
Thanks to mobile broadband, Wind's customers are the only users in Italy to have access to a vast range of Internet content directly on their mobile handsets. Over the coming months, Wind and DoCoMo will work together to see if it is feasible to integrate the i-mode service with the Value Added Services already offered by Wind and content from the Libero portal (www.libero.it
).
The i-mode system is also an open platform, enabling users to freely access and navigate through the main portals, and offering an advanced system that allows content and service providers to give mobile users simple and easy-to-use access to their services.
As occurred in Japan with DoCoMo, Wind believes that its adoption of the i-mode system will attract a large number of content providers, who will be free to develop their own applications, and market them over Wind's i-mode platform, creating the basis for a new and innovative business segment.
Finally, the partnership between Wind and DoCoMo will make it possible for Wind to join the i-mode alliance through such services as i-mode roaming by Wind's participation in the international network formed by the other European operators who use the service: Bouygues Telecom S.A. in France, E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH&Co.KG in Germany, KPN Mobile The Netherlands B.V. in the Netherlands and BASE N.V./S.A. in Belgium.
Wind believes that the first i-mode services in Italy will be offered by the end of 2003. Wind customers equipped with an i-mode handset will be able to navigate the i-mode portal and the sites created by the operator's official content providers, surf all i-mode compatible sites and enjoy integrated access to their e-mail on Libero.
Moreover, Wind plans to make its i-mode services available over its 3G network together with those already marketed over Wind's GPRS system in the future.
About NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is the world's leading mobile communications company with more than 46 million customers. The company provides a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services. These include i-modeTM, the world's most popular mobile internet service, which provides e-mail and internet access to over 38 million subscribers, and FOMA, launched in 2001 as the world's first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and North and South America, the company is expanding its global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North and South America.
NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM), and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.docomo.ne.jp/english
i-mode, DoJa, and FOMA are trademarks or registered trademarks of NTT DoCoMo,Inc. in Japan and other countries.
FOMA service is only available to subscribers in Japan.
Java is a registered trademark of SunMicrosystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
Sun Microsystems is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc in the United States and other countries.
About Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A.
Wind Telecommunicazioni SpA, which is owned by Enel (100%) was incorporated in December 1997 and obtained fixed-line, mobile (900MHz and 1800MHz) and Internet operating licenses in July 1998. In December of the same year the Company introduced long-distance services for the corporate-market, whilst the launch of commercial operations took place on March 1, 1999, with the offer of fixed-line and mobile services for the consumer market. The Company thus proceeded to rapidly implement market segmentation.
The WIND Group is the only convergent operator in the market and stands out from the rest thanks to its capacity to innovate and its emphasis on transparency and value for money.
Wind's widespread and innovative mobile network includes over 6,000 base transmission stations and is continually and systematically being expanded. Overseas coverage is provided by numerous roaming agreements with over 200 international operators in around 120 countries around the world.
In the mobile segment WIND has launched its new multimedia services (MMS), which represent the first step towards the development next generation mobile services and enable users in possession of specially adapted handsets to send combinations of pictures, sound and text to another cell phone or an e-mail address. WIND recently achieved the distinction of being the first operator in Europe to offer video over GPRS handsets, confirming its commitment to innovation, a value that has allowed the Company to have a strong impact on the market right from the outset.
The roll out of the UMTS network continues, with the first half of 2002 registering significant progress in the installation of 3G equipment.
Forward-Looking Statements:
When reviewing this information please note that the information was created as of the date listed, reflected management views as of that date, should be considered in the context of the circumstances prevailing at that time and is only correct as of that date. The information contains certain forward-looking statements, such as statements regarding attracting i-mode content providers, the offering of i-mode service by certain dates and the offering of i-mode services on Wind's 3G network, that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, DoCoMo and Wind's ability to successfully work together, possible technological and implementation problems, Wind's ability to attract both i-mode subscribers and content providers and other risks noted in NTT DoCoMo's latest annual report on Form 20-F and NTT DoCoMo's other filings and submissions with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NTT DoCoMo assumes no obligation to update the information in this release to reflect developments which may have occurred after the date of this information.
