The World's First UMTS900 Call Made Using Option's HSDPA Data Card and Elisa's Mobile Communication Network


LEUVEN, Belgium and HELSINKI, Finland, November 13--Option (Euronext: OPTI, OPNVY), the wireless technology company and Elisa, a leading Finnish telecommunications company, today announced the world's first UMTS900 call. Elisa has always participated in supporting the development of mobile communications technology. The first 3G/HSDPA call using the 900 MHz frequency was placed using Elisa's mobile communications network in Finland, on Monday November 13th, in co-operation with Nokia and Option.

"The first GSM call in 1991 was made using Elisa's network. And now we have made the first 3G/HSDPA call based on UMTS900 technology," says Matti Vikkula, Executive Vice President, Consumer and Small Enterprise customers, Elisa Corporation. He continues, "We want to support the development of UMTS900 technology. It makes it possible to expand fast Internet connections and different mobile services to Finland's rural areas more cost efficiently than before."

The GSM900 calls made using Elisa's commercial network during the first UMTS900 call proved that both GSM and 3G/HSDPA calls can be handled at the same time using the 900 MHz frequency providing complementary services.

"Option is delighted to work with Elisa and Nokia to demonstrate the potential of 900 MHz UMTS. Our 3.6 Mbps HSDPA data card technology, which can be upgraded post-sale to 7.2 Mbps, offers consumers a flexible and versatile alternative to fixed broadband. Deployed in the 900 MHz band, with its extensive footprint and superior indoor coverage, UMTS900 will have a profound impact on the availability and delivery of wireless broadband services ", adds Jan Callewaert, CEO of Option.

About Elisa
Elisa Corporation is a leading Finnish telecommunications company offering private and corporate customers a comprehensive range of telecommunications services, including voice and data services, connections to the Internet and content services, customised communications and ICT solutions and network operator services. Elisa provides international services in association with its partners, Vodafone and Telenor.

Elisa Corporation is listed on the Helsinki Exchanges, and its revenue in 2005 amounted to 1.34 billion euros. Elisa has over 1.3 million fixed network subscriptions, of which approximately 479,000 are broadband subscriptions. As a broadband provider, Elisa is the market leader in Finland. The company's mobile network holds over 2.1 million subscriptions.

The company has approximately 3,600 employees. Saunalahti Group Oyj is a subsidiary of Elisa that offers Internet and telecommunications services to consumers.

About Option
(www.option.com, Euronext: OPTI, OPNVY)
Option, the wireless technology company, is a leading innovator in the design, development and manufacture of 3G WCDMA (HSPA and UMTS), EDGE, GPRS, GSM and WLAN technology products for wireless connectivity solutions. Option has built up an enviable reputation for creating exciting products that enhance the performance and functionality of wireless communications. Option's headquarters are in Leuven, Belgium. The company has Research & Development in Leuven, a Software and Applications development centre in Adelsried (Germany), a Wireless Router development centre in Stockholm (Sweden), an ISO 9002 production engineering and logistics facility in Cork, Ireland. Option also has sales & support operations in the US, Japan and Taiwan.

Further information:
Matti Vikkula,
Executive Vice President,
Consumer and Small Enterprise customers,
Elisa, Corporation,
tel. +358-45-6700606,
www.elisa.fi,

Douglas Ros,
Vice President Business Development & Marketing Option,
Tel +32-(0)16-317-411,
E-mail: d.ros@option.com,

Frederic Convent,
CFO Option,
Tel +32-(0)-16-317-471,
E-mail: investor@option.com

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