Mitel Launches Desktop Applications for Palm Handhelds and Microsoft Exchange that Deliver the True Value of IP Telephony

Business Wire, Jan 4, 2001

Business Editors

OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2001

MITEL (NYSE:MLT)(TSE:MLT.) (LSE:MLT.L)

*Dial Mitel's IP phone from your Palm or PC address book, or transfer your phone features by infrared

*Impresa Personal Assistant one of the first products of its kind on the market

Mitel Communications Systems, a division of Mitel Corporation (NYSE:MLT)(TSE:MLT.), today announced industry-leading enterprise IP telephony applications that integrate with Palm(R) Handheld(TM) Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and Microsoft(R) Exchange(TM) 2000.

Mitel's PDA application, the Ipera(TM) IrDA (Infrared Display Adapter) Portal, includes software for the Palm O/S and an infrared adapter for Mitel SUPERSET(TM) 4025 IP telephones. At the touch of a button, users can place calls from their Palm O/S address books, via infrared signals, over Mitel IP telephones linked to Ipera(TM) 2000, Mitel's Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system. Users can also use the Palm to transfer their desktop telephone features to another Mitel IP phone.

Mitel's Impresa(TM) Personal Assistant, one of the first products of its kind on the market, integrates with Microsoft Exchange 2000, enabling callers to place, forward, and transfer calls from the Microsoft Outlook(TM) contacts database on their personal computer. Impresa Personal Assistant offers a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that lets users access a range of features on Ipera 2000, giving them greater control over their voice communications.

"These are the first in a series of powerful desktop applications from Mitel that deliver the true value of IP telephony," said Allan Zander, director of product marketing, IP Desktops and Applications, Mitel Communications Systems. "By providing applications that link to Internet-connected devices like Palm handhelds and PCs, Mitel is leading the drive to develop IP phones that function as true Internet appliances."

Ipera IrDA Portal

Mitel's PDA application includes a dial-by-address book option for the Palm O/S. Personal address book information is transferred from the Palm to the Superset 4025 IP phone via the infrared adapter. Calls are placed by pointing the Palm at the infrared adapter port on the IP phone and then selecting the caller identification feature.

Additionally, Ipera IrDA Portal offers a call forwarding option. Callers can use Palm handhelds to transfer their personal telephone profiles between Mitel IP telephones with this 'find me/follow me' application. Users can temporarily transfer the soft-key functionality from their phone to a 'guest' phone by pointing their PDA at the infrared port on the phone they wish to use. Incoming calls are then automatically transferred to the guest phone.

Impresa Personal Assistant

Impresa Personal Assistant features an easy-to-use GUI with a Microsoft Windows(TM) link between Mitel SUPERSET 4025 IP telephones and a PC. The PC can then be used to dial, forward or transfer calls from Mitel's IP telephones.

"Enterprise IP applications that combine the strengths of the telephone and PC give customers the best of both worlds," said Keith Askew, chief technology officer, ProLogic Communications, a Mitel Platinum Elite Value-Added Reseller in Sacramento, California. "The phone provides natural, easy-to-use communication and is enhanced by the intelligence, storage and display capabilities of the PC."

Impresa Personal Assistant will be available in the first quarter of 2001, free of charge and downloadable from www.mitel.com. The Ipera IrDA Portal, including software and infrared adapter, will be available for approximately US $120.

About Mitel

Mitel Communications Systems has almost three decades of experience in meeting the real-time voice needs of enterprise customers. Systems' portfolio includes voice communications systems, desktop peripherals and networking solutions. Mitel Communications Systems is today helping enterprises develop and launch IP telephony applications. For more information visit www.Mitel.com.

Mitel is a global provider of semiconductors and communications systems for converging voice and data networks in a rapidly evolving Internet economy. The company has annual revenue of $1.4 billion and employs some 6,000 people worldwide.

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, among others, the risks discussed in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are encouraged to consider the risks detailed in those filings.

Technical backgrounders are available for both the Ipera IrDA Portal and the Impresa Personal Assistant.