200 Million GSM Customers! - Industry Trend or Event

Cambridge Telcom Report, Nov 22, 1999

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), the definitive worldwide standard for wireless communications, has just broken through the 200 million-customer barriers.

"Achieving this milestone of 200 million subscribers to GSM services is the powerful result of the continuing need for people to communicate and access information on the move," states Michael Stocks, Chairman, GSM Association. "With four new customers every second, the latest figures exceed, yet again, all industry predictions and demonstrate the persistently dramatic growth of GSM throughout the world."

The GSM Association represents the interests of 369 GSM, satellite and 3G network operators, key manufacturers and suppliers to the GSM industry and regulatory and administrative bodies from 137 countries and regions around the globe.

The GSM industry is one of the most impressive success stories of the 1990's and currently generates more than $100 Billion a year in subscriber revenues alone.

Its impressive growth rates are once again attributed to soaring global markets and the sustained penetration of new emerging markets. "The Asia Pacific region continues to grow exponentially, with China maintaining its position as the largest single GSM market in the world, whilst Europe and North America are also experiencing a dramatic pace of expansion," says Stocks.

"In all these markets we are starting to see a widespread take-up of a host of GSM value added services, beyond voice usage, including data and text applications. This demonstrates how GSM is an evolving technology that offers exciting new services and opportunities for subscribers," states Stocks.

The exceptional escalation of GSM subscribers continues to demonstrate the predictions of the GSM Association are well founded. "At the ITU's Telecom '95 event, we confidently stated that we could achieve 100 million customers before the year 2000," continues Stocks. "At the time, those projections were received with widespread surprise. The fact that we achieved this figure more than 15 months early in July 1999, and today have more than doubled it, is quite remarkable. By breaking through the 200 million subscriber barrier, we can genuinely state that GSM has delivered on all its promises and more.

This is clearly illustrated by the fact that the number of GSM subscribers has increased from 100 million in July 1998 to 200 million at the start of September 1999.

"GSM has established itself as the world's leading digital wireless standard, and we believe that the current growth rates will continue for the foreseeable future. At present levels, we are confident in our predictions that by the year 2005, we will have achieved between 700 million and One Billion GSM customers worldwide."

"The future is even more exciting," confirms Michael Stocks. "The development path for the GSM standard is clearly mapped out and presents an exciting era of applications and services that will stretch the bounds of the imagination. We are moving closer and closer to the delivery of third generation services, which will see multi-media applications, internet access and access to real-time video, via GSM-based networks and handsets. This will ensure that GSM continues to be the standard of choice and heralds continued massive customer growth in the years to come."

Carolina Phone Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carolina PCS I Limited Partnership, is a member of the GSM Association. The Association represents the interests of Satellite and 3G network operators, key manufacturers and suppliers to the GSM industry and Administrative and Regulatory bodies. Carolina Phone Company will launch commercial service in the Upstate Region of South Carolina in the very near future.

"Carolina Phone Company is proud to be a member of the GSM worldwide community. We believe GSM digital wireless technology provides our customers with the most advanced state-of-the-art technology. This is the reason more than 200 million people worldwide use GSM," said Michael Green, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carolina Phone Company.

Carolina Phone Company has digital wireless telephone licenses for the nine Basic Trading Areas (BTAs) of South Carolina that includes portions of Georgia and North Carolina. The Company's licensed area covers approximately 3.5 million potential subscribers throughout the region. Carolina Phone Company is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

GSM World Wide Web site address: http://www.gsmworld.com