Telenor and ARINC Introduce a Breakthrough: Mobile Phone Service for Airline Passengers

The new technology allows safe and seamless usage of today's popular GSM mobile phones on any commercial aircraft flight.

"Passengers will be able to make and receive mobile phone calls, and send or receive text messages just as they do on the ground," stated Graham Lake, ARINC Vice President and Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa. "It is not a question of whether mobile phones will be used on aircraft. It is merely a question of when."

The new technology initially will leverage the classic Inmarsat SATCOM systems many airlines have already invested in. These systems are already deployed on over 3000 aircraft worldwide. The system is also flexibly designed to accommodate evolving technologies such as the Inmarsat Swift/BGAN and Ku broadband systems such as ARINC's SKYLinkTM.

Engineers from Telenor, ARINC and representatives of the airline market have worked to expand the area of utilization of GSM-standard mobile phones.

"This is part of our joint strategy to carry out more market oriented research and development," stated Berit Svendsen, Telenor CTO. "We recognize the use of GSM phones on board aircraft is inevitable in the next 12-18 months and have positioned our alliance and technology at the forefront of these developments. We view the ability to literally 'roam' onto an aircraft, and seamlessly use a mobile phone for voice and SMS messaging, as a near-term reality. We will provide a comprehensive Aero-GSM fleet solution without the need for a significant investment in communications infrastructure."

ARINC and Telenor will offer the airlines a comprehensive, one-stop implementation package. The technology will address the airspace as a virtual GSM country, simplifying the mobile addressing and connectivity during flight. Current terrestrial GSM roaming charges are being used for end-user pricing models.

With headquarters in Oslo, Norway, Telenor is an international provider of high quality telecommunications, data, and media services, with expanding operations in international mobile and satellite communications. Telenor is one of Norway's largest companies with 2003 revenues of approximately NOK 53.1 billion (approximately U.S. $7.6 billion) and a workforce of 19,450 located in Norway and abroad. Telenor is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (TEL) and the NASDAQ in New York (TELN). For more information, visit the Telenor web site at www.telenor.com .

ARINC Incorporated is the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering. The company develops and operates communications and information processing systems and provides systems engineering and integration solutions to five key industries: airports, aviation, defense, government, and surface transportation. Founded to provide reliable and efficient radio communications for the airlines, ARINC is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, and operates key regional offices in London and Singapore, with over 3,000 employees worldwide. ARINC is ISO 9001:2001 Certified. For more information, visit the ARINC web site at www.arinc.com .

Telenor Contact:
Bernt Fanghol
Telenor Satellite Services
Director of Program Management
Bernt.Fanghol@telenor.com
+47 90822266

ARINC Contact:
Richard A. Hoad ,
Senior Director, European Sales & Marketing
corpcomm@arinc.com
+44 1293 76 3296