SAN JOSE, Calif. & TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aicent Inc. (www.aicent.com) and VMAX Telecom (www.vmax.net.tw) announced today the first-ever internetwork roaming between WiMAX networks. Using Aicent’s WiMAX Roaming eXchange (WRX), executives from a non-Asian WiMAX operator successfully used a USB dongle together with a username and password, as well as with embedded credentials from their company’s 4G WiMAX service to gain access to the VMAX WiMAX network in Taiwan. This successful connection marks the first time international roaming between WiMAX networks has been achieved.

“This event is a major milestone in the continuing and rapid deployment of WiMAX,” said Dr. Teddy Huang, president and CEO of VMAX. “To fulfill this promise of WiMAX, operators will have to partner together and allow subscribers to access each other’s networks, and Aicent facilitates these important relationships. With WiMAX roaming, VMAX customers from Northern Taiwan will be able to take their high speed wireless broadband service with them all around the world.”

VMAX Telecom, awarded a WiMAX operator permit by the National Communications Commission of Taiwan on July 26, 2007, is composed of and supported by an influential lineup of shareholders, including Tecom, Vibo Telecom, Intel Capital and Teco Electric & Machinery, to form a technically strong and financially solid team for providing WiMAX service in North Taiwan. VMAX Telecom is striving to be the leading WiMAX service provider in Taiwan by providing customers with anywhere, anytime high speed Internet Access, IPTV, VoIP, Online Games, and LBS (Location Based Service), as well as a variety of innovative value added services and applications. VMAX is building a customer-oriented wireless broadband network to deliver services that improve quality of life and work productivity though performance at affordable prices.

For roaming to be commercially viable, it has to be transparent and effortless to the end user. In this trial, VMAX wanted to ensure that subscribers from other WiMAX networks could take their equipment, in this case a USB modem that plugs into a laptop, and use the same username and password used for the home network to gain easy access to the VMAX network. Their tests met all the criteria to call it a success. This test also indicates that VMAX subscribers could likewise use their equipment, usernames and passwords to gain access to non-VMAX WiMAX networks.

“The entire communications industry stands on the precipice of immense change,” said Lynn Liu, president and CEO of Aicent. “People are traveling with great ease and more often than not bringing with them devices that need to connect to networks. There are important technical challenges to overcome to enable people to have ‘anywhere, anytime access’ to these important, often critical, data networking connections. Aicent is fortunate to work with partners like VMAX, bringing the innovations that will ultimately result in a worldwide ubiquitous WiMAX network.”

WiMAX has emerged as a key technology to support true 4G connectivity for both fixed wireless and mobile. Available spectrum in countries has been allocated to WiMAX and literally hundreds of new wireless operators are delivering services alongside traditional wireless operators. Today there are a growing number of devices supporting multiple radios for multimode WiMAX, WiMAX+Wi-Fi, WiMAX+EVDO and WiMAX+HSPA in the market. Aicent is already working with many CDMA, GSM, Wi-Fi and WiMAX operators to bring global and inter-standard roaming into commercial reality.

About Aicent Inc.

Serving more than one billion mobile users around the world, Aicent Inc. is a leading provider of data network services and solutions for global mobile operators. To enable interoperability between Aicent customers and other networks, Aicent operates one of the world's largest GPRS and 3G network exchanges, connecting to over 50 operators, including four of the world’s five largest. Through extensive peering arrangements, the Aicent network reaches nearly all GPRS/3G operators around the world. Aicent also operates integrated mobile messaging services, including one of the world’s first and largest multimedia messaging exchanges, and offers other value-added services to help carriers maximize revenue opportunities. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Aicent has regional offices in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe. For more information, please visit: www.aicent.com.

About VMAX

VMAX is now using this new generation of wireless broadband technology to build a high quality wireless broadband network to provide more convenient and higher quality wireless internet access services in the region which will serve a population of over 11 million in Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan County, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Miaoli County, Keelung City, Yilan County and Lienchiang County. For more information, please visit: www.vmax.net.tw.