Cellular One Offers Its Customers Secure Mobile Phone Contacts with Mi

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

    SAN JOSE, Calif. & BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2005--

    MightyBackup Enables Cellular One Customers to Protect Their
    Address Books in Case of Phone Loss, Damage or Theft

    Cellular One(R), a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corporation (Nasdaq:WWCA) -- a leading provider of rural wireless communications services to rural America, today announced that MightyBackup is now available as a BREW-platform service to more than 1.3 million Cellular One customers in 19 western states. Developed and hosted by FusionOne, MightyBackup automatically protects subscriber's address books against phone loss, damage or theft. It also eliminates the need to manually transfer contacts when a phone is replaced or upgraded.
    MightyBackup is available now on several BREW-enabled phones, including Kyocera, Audiovox, with additional handset models available in the next few weeks. Cellular One customers with these phones can download the application and complete their first backup in minutes.
    Once customers sign up for the service, they can also access a Web-based portal at www.MightyBackup.com from their PC browser to view, update or print their mobile address books. All changes are automatically synchronized back to the mobile phone address book in minutes. Customers can download an initial free trial of MightyBackup, or subscribe to the service at a cost of $1.49 per month for unlimited backups.
    Research(1) conducted by FusionOne discovered that 43% of people have either lost their phones or had them severely damaged or stolen at least once (particularly men, who are 30% more likely to lose their phones according to a separate FusionOne poll(2)). The majority (87%) of them manually re-enter their contacts into a newly-purchased phone. With 30% of people not having a copy of their mobile phone address book saved anywhere else, many of those numbers are lost altogether.
    "Our research indicates that nearly a third of people keep contact information stored in their mobile phone alone and nearly half of all mobile phone users have lost their handsets, or had them damaged or stolen," said Rick Onyon, president and CEO of FusionOne. "MightyBackup gives Cellular One subscribers added peace of mind by assuring that their valuable contacts will never be lost."

    About Western Wireless Corporation and Cellular One

    Western Wireless Corporation, owner of the Cellular One(R) brand, is a leading provider of rural wireless communications services to more than 1.3 million customers in the western United States. Headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., Western Wireless Corporation operates wireless cellular phone systems and company-owned retail stores in 19 western states under the Western Wireless(R) and Cellular One brand names. Western Wireless Corporation also licenses the Cellular One brand name to wireless service providers in 16 additional states and the Caribbean. Cellular One has been one of America's most recognized wireless brands for more than 20 years. For more information about Western Wireless Corporation, visit WesternWireless.com. Information on Cellular One may be found at CellularOne.com.

    About FusionOne, Inc.

    FusionOne offers a suite of premium services for mobile phone users, distributed through partnerships with wireless operators and select retailers. Leveraging its Mighty Mobile Services Platform (MMSP), FusionOne's powerful turn-key service offerings include MightyPhone (mobile organizer) and MightyBackup (automatic address book protection). With each offering, product name, branding, and feature sets may be changed according to the needs of the operator. Founded in 1998, FusionOne is an established leader in synchronization technology and mobile phone solutions, with headquarters located in San Jose, California and additional offices in Tallinn, Estonia. For more information, visit www.FusionOne.com.

    (C)2005 Cellular One is a registered service mark of The Cellular One Group. FusionOne, MightyBackup and MightyPhone are trademarks of FusionOne, Inc. All other product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

    (1) Poll conducted online, June 2004, 424 respondents
    (2) Poll conducted online, January 2004, 656 respondents

--30--JR/sf*

CONTACT: LEWIS PR (for FusionOne) Rachel Kim Euretig/Casey Lewis, 415-277-5400 FusionOne@lewispr.com or Cellular One Steve Kam, 425-586-8017 steve.kam@wwireless.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA WASHINGTON INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS SOFTWARE PRODUCT MARKETING AGREEMENTS SOURCE: FusionOne, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005