MDSI Mobile Data Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: MDSI; Toronto: MMD) has joined the Phone.com(TM) Alliance Program as an Application Developer.

Using the Phone.com UP.SDK(TM) software developers kit, MDSI(R) can now offer service providers worldwide access to its Advantex(TM) r7 wireless workforce management software suite from mobile phones equipped with Internet browsers, such as the Phone.com UP.Browser(TM) microbrowser.

Ken Miller, CEO of MDSI, commented, "With Phone.com and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), we gain access to new tiers of our traditional markets and new markets entirely, where potential customers previously could not justify the investment in more expensive mobile devices. We believe that this program provides MDSI with a much greater opportunity. Flexibility on the device side is key as service providers, big or small, need to extend mobile access to more and more people with varying information needs and to roll out wireless solutions quickly."

MDSI's new, fully Internet-enabled Advantex r7 software suite supports a wide variety of mobile devices, including digital mobile phones, other WAP-enabled devices such as pagers and personal digital assistants, as well as mobile computers and Windows CE handhelds, which were supported by previous version of Advantex.

Released in April, MDSI's Advantex r7 solution provides utility and telecommunications companies with a seamless and reliable means to wirelessly manage and communicate data to mobile workers and link them to a full array of enterprise and Internet data resources. The Advantex software suite increases operational efficiency and supports customer-oriented service practices that win more customers and keep them longer. Advantex lets organizations provide faster and better field service to their customers, with increased efficiency and lower cost. Advantex schedules appointments by matching customer requests with the best available mobile resource. It efficiently and automatically dispatches workers to ensure the fastest possible response time, tracks and records worker time and resources used on a job, and automatically transfers all information collected in the field to the appropriate enterprise or Internet data resources. It eliminates inefficiency and wasted time involved in creating and transferring paper or voice orders to mobile workers and order completion information back to the enterprise. Advantex also reports on operational performance to help management make decisions. And it all happens wirelessly, in real-time.

Kathy Simpson, Director of Developer Marketing for Phone.com, noted, "MDSI currently supports tens of thousands of mobile workers in markets where Internet-enabled phones have increasing appeal for their ability to link people to enterprise and Internet-based information. By extending their wireless expertise to Internet-enabled phones, MDSI provides customers with greater choice. We're delighted to welcome them into our developer community."

The Phone.com Alliance Program has two aims: to promote the concept of wireless information access, and to coordinate the exchange of ideas and information among Alliance Program members, other companies developing wireless Internet products and services, and Phone.com's network operators. MDSI joins a growing community of alliance members that includes content providers, application developers, tools providers and systems integrators using the Phone.com Product Family. For more information about Phone.com, please visit their Web site at http://www.phone.com.