OPTUS HOSTS LEADING DEVICE MANUFACTURERS AT FIRST ANNUAL DEVICE SUMMIT

Optus yesterday held its first annual Device Summit in Sydney attracting senior executives from some of the world's leading device manufacturers and related organisations.

Representatives from Google, HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Netgear, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and other partners in the device ecosystem attended the Summit which was hosted by Optus Chief Executive, Paul O'Sullivan and Andrew Buay, Managing Director, Optus Products and Delivery.

During the Summit, Optus executives briefed partners on the company's mobile strategy and roadmap for the year ahead. In addition, Patrick Lo, Chief Executive Officer, Netgear delivered a keynote address.

Andrew Buay, Managing Director, Products and Delivery, Optus said, "We pride ourselves in our ability to bring leading handsets to market with offers which make the most of those devices capability. We could not do this without working in close collaboration with our partners many of whom were present at yesterday's Device Summit.

"By sharing our strategy with our device partners, we aim to provide Optus customers with an even greater range of devices and offers, ensuring their needs are front and centre in the minds of device manufacturers as they develop and execute on their product roadmaps."

"2008 was a significant year for Optus with the extension of our 3G/HSPA network to 96% of the Australian population*. At the same time we upgraded our network and added additional capacity to meet the growing demand for wireless broadband and 3G services.

"From a handset perspective we successfully launched the iPhone 3G, were the first company to start selling the BlackBerry Bold in Australia and in February this year became the first Australian operator to launch the HTC Dream, the first android-powered phone released in this country. We aim to continue this trend over the coming year with the release of many exciting new handsets, ensuring the customer experience lives up to the promise that with communication anything is possible," Mr Buay said.

*Optus dual band (2100/900MHz) handset/device required to access 3G services in the Optus dual band coverage area. Many factors affect coverage including location and demand on the network. For more information please go to www.optus.com.au/coverage.

Media contact:
Elizabeth Greene
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 8082 7850