Bell Mobility to Offer Award-Winning Wildfire Personal Assistant

Business Wire, Sept 1, 1998

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 1, 1998--

Voice-controlled "Personal Assistant" Service to Launch in Toronto

Bell Mobility and Wildfire Communications, Inc., today announced that Bell Mobility will offer Wildfire(R) personal assistant service to its subscribers in the Toronto area. Bell Mobility is the first telecommunications service provider in Canada to offer the new carrier version of Wildfire(R) in a limited market launch starting September 16, under a co-development agreement with Bell Emergis.

Wildfire(R) is the personal assistant who uses speech recognition to manage telephone communications for busy people completely hands-free. Recognized by industry experts and users as an indispensable tool that dramatically enhances productivity, Wildfire(R) has revolutionized the way people use the telephone.

The unique Wildfire(R) speech-activated service will be offered to Bell Mobility subscribers beginning in the Toronto area. Wildfire is as personalized as you allow her to be. "She" is a personalized answering service that includes voice mail, call display, call forward, call routing, and through voice command dialing, you can place both incoming and outgoing calls. Once you have Wildfire(R) on the line, you'll never have to touch the keypad again.

"The Wildfire(R) assistant's unique personality feels human, which makes `her' a friendly and professional voice for callers. She sounds so human, people actually speak to her like she is a real person," said Charlotte Burke, vice president of Services Development at Bell Mobility. "It's like having a personal assistant who works 24 hours a day - seven days a week."

"Wildfire humanizes wireless technology for our customers. This is another example of how Bell Mobility continues to differentiate itself from the competition in the wireless market," said Bob Ferchat, chairman and CEO of Bell Mobility. "We're very focused on the needs of our customers and committed to helping them `work better and live smarter.'"

"Think of Wildfire as your personal assistant, in the car beside you - `whispering' the name of a new caller, recording names, numbers and messages of your callers. She will also place the `callback' for you. Not only did I stop carrying a phone directory, but I no longer have to write down phone numbers -- I use Wildfire to return all of my calls. Her sole purpose is to enhance productivity by managing your communications," added Burke. "No matter where you are, in the car, at the office or at the cottage, Wildfire can direct your calls to where it's most convenient."

"Bell Mobility's deployment of Wildfire(R) demonstrates their leadership in providing leading-edge technology to their customers. This shows their commitment to offering products and services that are easy to use and are relevant to their customers' lives," said Rob Mechaley, president and CEO of Wildfire Communications.

Capabilities of the Wildfire(R) Assistant from Bell Mobility

WildDial(TM) Voice Dialing -- Wildfire(R) lets users place calls by simply speaking the number or by saying "Home," "Work," or "other." Wildfire(R) also maintains an online address book of up to 150 contacts (with up to six phone numbers for each contact) who can be called by saying the name.

WildMail(TM) Voice-controlled Voicemail -- Wildfire(R) captures callers' names and phone numbers so users can quickly prioritize messages and return phone calls by simply saying, "give them a call."

WildFind(TM) Call Routing -- For users on the go, Wildfire(R) forwards calls to any phone, contact name, or voicemail system.

WildWhisper(TM) Intelligent Call Waiting -- If a new call comes in while the user is listening to a message, Wildfire(R) announces the caller's name. The user can accept or decline the call; Wildfire(R) will take a message if the call is declined.

Pricing and Availability

Wildfire(R) service from Bell Mobility will be available on September 16 in the Toronto area. Wildfire(R) will be offered for a low, flat monthly fee of $20 - $29 Canadian ($13-$19 US) per month. For information and to listen to an audio demonstration about Wildfire(R) service from Bell Mobility, call 416-213-WILD (9453).

About Bell Mobility

The Bell Mobility family of companies provides a complete range of wireless communications solutions - cellular, 1- and 2-way paging, data, satellite, PCS and airline passenger communications services -to more than 1.7 million Canadian customers. Bell Mobility companies are subsidiaries of BCE Mobile Communications Inc., a publicly traded company (TSE, ME, NYSE; stock symbol BCX) which is 65% owned by BCE Inc. For more information on Bell Mobility, visit their website at www.bellmobility.ca

About Wildfire Communications

Wildfire Communications, Inc., headquartered in Lexington, Mass., is a pioneer in the field of electronic-assistant technology. The company's two divisions develop and market Enterprise Wildfire(R), sold through value-added resellers who will begin offering the Wildfire(R) assistant as a client-server application on enterprise networks later this year, and Network Wildfire(R), an enhanced service offered by public telephone network carriers. Wildfire Communications, Inc., is located at 81 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA 02421. For more information on Wildfire Communications visit their website at www.wildfire.com.