TOSHIBA AND BELLCORE TEAM UP TO CREATE THE FUTURE OF WIRELESS INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS

17 February, 1999


February 17, 1999 - Toshiba Corporation and Bellcore today announced the creation of a joint research and development project aimed at creating the technologies necessary for the integration of wireless and Internet communications. Results of the joint research program may transform communications in the 21st century by providing users with convenient wireless access to voice, video, data and multimedia services.

The principal focus of the Toshiba-Bellcore joint research project is the development of the middleware layers necessary to achieve an Internet Protocol (IP) capable of working with all types of cellular transmission systems. The project will include the development of software to enable mobility with appropriate service quality, security, network operations and management, customer care systems, and applications support.

The Toshiba-Bellcore collaboration, set to start next month, draws on the key competencies of the two companies -- Toshiba for its expertise in terminal and wireless technologies and Bellcore for its expertise in information networking software. The research project will be headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, and will be staffed with engineers from Bellcore and Toshiba America Research, Inc. (TARI), Toshiba's first U.S-based corporate-level research subsidiary.

The establishment of TARI reflects the expansion and globalization of Toshiba's R&D activities in the field of IT technologies. Last August, Toshiba set up a Telecommunications Research Laboratory (TRL) in the U.K., which undertakes research in next-generation digital cellular phone and wireless access technologies. Both TRL and TARI work in close collaboration with Toshiba's central research labs at its corporate R&D Center in Japan.

Toshikazu Kodama, president of TARI, noted: "Wireless Internet and Intranet connectivity is the next frontier for the information and communications industries. But there is much work to be done before a workable system can be implemented. We are confident that the combined strength of Toshiba and Bellcore engineering can solve the technological issues before us and lay the groundwork for what we predict will become a multi-billion-dollar market for communications hardware and network services within the next 10 years."

"Through this unique relationship with Toshiba, Bellcore is looking forward to extending our capabilities in Next Generation Networking into the wireless domain, " said Richard Wolff, vice president of Advanced Network Systems Research Laboratory, Bellcore. "With our joint research initiative, we will bring IP-based voice, data and Internet services to mobile users around the world."

About Toshiba
Toshiba Corporation, based in Tokyo, is a world leader in products involving electronics and energy. Toshiba America Research, Inc. is a subsidiary of Toshiba America, Inc., the holding company for Toshiba's U.S. operating companies. Toshiba (http://www.toshiba.com) operates six companies in the U.S. with more than 8,000 employees.

About Bellcore
Bellcore, an SAIC company, provides software, engineering, consulting and training services to optimize the performance of communications networks worldwide. Bellcore was created in 1984, employs 6,000 professionals and has revenues of more than $1 billion. Bellcore (http://www.bellcore.com) is headquartered in Morristown, NJ, with offices throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America and Asia Pacific.

Contact for Toshiba:
Peter Dobbin
Dobbin/Bolgla Associates Public Relations
Tel: 212-388-1400
e-mail: Peter_Dobbin@dba-pr.com

Contact for Bellcore:
Krista Wald
Bellcore Media Relations
Tel: 973-829-4757
e-mail: kwald@bellcore.com


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