BLiNK is the first Cisco Mobile Office-enabled service in the country

MANILA, Philippines - July 4, 2002 - ePLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company's communications and technology arm, today launched the pilot run of its BLiNK service, the country's first publicly available wireless, high-speed Internet service in "hot spots" such as airports, cafis, hotels and campuses. BLiNK is powered by Cisco Mobile Office solutions from Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.

The Cisco Mobile Office is a way to extend the corporate network. It's the LAN following the worker to wherever they need to work. Key to Cisco Mobile Office are wired and wireless products and technologies from Cisco including an end-to-end security solution based on the Cisco Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology, which supports secure remote-access computing.

"More and more Filipinos are depending on mobile and wireless technologies such as their cellphones and their laptops not just for communications and entertainment but for work as well. BLiNK will enable them to stay productive even if they are not physically in the office but out meeting customers or business prospects. Built with the solutions from a leader like Cisco, BLiNK will be the world-class infrastructure for e-business executives in the Philippines," said Arlyn Lavarias of ePLDT.

The pilot run of ePLDT BLiNK hot spots will be conducted in cooperation with leading Filipino coffee company, Figaro, whose outlets in Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Emerald Street in Ortigas Center and Cattleya Building in Legaspi Village, Makati, are equipped with Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN access points. This provides mobile professionals with high-speed wireless access to the Internet. If their organizations have enabled VPN access to the corporate intranet, these professionals will also be able to securely access their company's resources.

Cisco's Building Broadband Services Manager (BBS) in the backend together with a Cisco router provides the high-density, dedicated access to the public network. The Cisco BBSM platform enables property owners and service providers to create tiered service levels in order to deliver targeted customer offerings. The server-based software supports multiple automated authentication and billing options, including credit card, RADIUS, property management system and access code.

Mobile professionals using ePLDT BLiNK will be able to download web pages in an instant, watch videos and enjoy the benefits of having high-speed Internet access without the hassles of connecting cables and wires. With ePLDT BLiNK, the user is assured of a secure and dependable Internet service outside of his home or office. The platform includes authorization and authentication capabilities, such that only authorized users/subscribers of the service can access the Internet at designated hot spots.

ePLDT BLiNK can be accessed at the hot spots using a laptop or any Windows® CE-based Personal Digital Assistants that are wireless network-ready and a wireless LAN card (802.11b). The user would also have to purchase a pre-paid card from ePLDT BLiNK. ePLDT BLiNK will soon introduce other features such as roaming, video conferencing, and other services exclusively for ePLDT BLiNK users.

"Globalization and the Internet Economy are driving corporations to change their business models. The growth of mobile Internet users and portable computing devices is an indication that many corporations realize the competitive benefits of extending the enterprise beyond the traditional confines, what is lacking is the ability to provide the access anytime, anywhere. Today, we see the first signs of that happening in the Philippines with ePLDT's BLiNK," said Mr Noel Coronel, Regional Sales Manager for Service Provider Line of Business, Cisco Systems Philippines.

About ePLDT

ePLDT, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ("PLDT"), is the principal corporate vehicle of the PLDT Group's information and communications technology (ICT) assets and investments, focusing on enabling ICT infrastructure services which would drive Internet applications, IP-based services and multimedia content delivery. More information available at www.epldt.com.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at www.cisco.com.

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