1 Will there be a wireless standard anytime soon ? Best Of Wireless January 21, 2004

2 About Option LOCATIONS HQ in Leuven (Belgium), R&D facilities in Leuven, Software Centre in Adelsried (Germany), Production Engineering & Logistics Centre in Cork (Ireland) CORPORATE IDENTITY Option NV, IPO on NASDAQ EUROPE Nov. 1997, Listed on EURONEXT (OPTI) Aug. 2003, Debt Free and Net Profitable Company EXPERTISE Integration of hardware, software and multiple wireless transmission protocols using proprietary design and development methodologies to rapidly bring to market wireless-enabling technology solutions TEAM 200 staff CUSTOMERS Broad base of European and Far East wireless carrier customers Strong OEM relationships with industry leaders including HP, IBM, Vodafone... SOLUTIONS Design, development, test and verification of miniaturised Wireless Communication Solutions for use with portable, handheld computers and other equipment TECHNOLOGIES W-CDMA UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, GSM, WLAN

3 New Mobile Data Market – The Challenge The convergence of IT and Mobile industries has created a new mobile data market which is being challenged unexpectedly from within. GPRS is being challenged by WLAN, EDGE is challenging 3G, handsets are challenging PDA’s. The challenge is to understand this fragmented market, move quickly and decisively, to select a product manufacturer who will satisfy the customer’s current and future mobile data requirements. Information Technology Devices:Communication: LaptopsLAN PDAsWLAN WiMAX Bluetooth IR Mobile Network Operator Devices:Communication: HandsetsGSM Smart phonesGPRS Data cardsEDGE 3G WLAN

4 Traversing the “Expectations” cycle Expectations Maturity 1997 Mid 1999 Early 2000 Mid 2000 Mid 2001 Mid 2002 Early GPRS Technology trigger Peak of inflated expectations Through of Disillusionment Slope of Enlightenment Plateau of Productivity 3G

5 Scenario for Migration from 2G to 3G

6  Cellular - GPRS –Universal coverage, moderate data rates, up to ~100 kbit/s, high latency –Typical application: voice/messaging/information lookup  3G –Coverage in high traffic/congested areas, up to 2 Mbit/s, lower latency –Typical applications: voice/video clips/limited web surfing  Wireless LAN –Coverage in limited areas, up to 11 Mbit/s now, low latency –Typical applications: web surfing, file transfer, VPN access –Low cost infrastructure

7 Mobility to outrun fixed networks Subscriptions world-wide (Mio) Mobile Subscribers Fixed Subscribers Mobile Internet Users Fixed Internet Users

8 Option Has Consistently Developed Products At The Forefront Of Wireless Technology Voice / Limited Data (<19.2 Kbps) Increasing Bandwidth 3G3G 2G GSM GPRS Early 90’s 2.5G Voice / Data (19.2 Kbps – 384 Kbps) Voice / Data / Video (384 Kbps – 2.5 Mbps) (> 2.5 Mbps) WLAN/GPRS 2002 WLAN/GPRS PC Card Embedded Module and PC Card 3G UMTS PC Card UMTS/GPRS

9 Consistency in Design GlobeTrotter GSM/GPRS Card GlobeTrotter Combo WLAN/GPRS Card

10 Option Wireless Interface – Mobility Manager

11 Business & Consumer buying trends  Business buying drivers –First time buyers focus on features and functionality, then price/ performance, security and ease of use –Existing users focus on upgrading their devices with the same manufacturer (brand), to maintain processes, support and compatibility across the organisation.  Consumer buying drivers –First time buyers focus on price –Existing users upgrading their devices focus on Brand, functionality and then price

12 Preparing for the Future! Today’s optimal solution is WLAN/GPRS combo card which allows a user to connect to the internet anytime, any place but limits the choice of connection to what is available. The future will allow the user more choice on the speed and hence cost of connection required. Today GPRS/WLAN TomorrowGPRS - WLAN – EDGE EDGE – WLAN – 3G (WiMAX) WLAN – (WiMAX) – 4G

13  Simplicity  Speed  Security  Service Summary It’s about… …for the user

14 It’s about You - Thank You