Synchronica plc signs on 10th African carrier

ROYAL TUNBRIDGE WELLS, United Kingdom, TORONTO, Oct. 15 /CNW/ - Synchronica plc ("Synchronica") (AIM: SYNC) (TSX Venture: SYN) the international provider of push email, instant messaging and social networking services, announces that it has signed a framework agreement with a pan-African operator group ("the Operator").

The agreement for Synchronica Mobile Gateway covers all of the Operator's subsidiaries in Africa and purchase orders have been issued worth $752,000 (U.S.) for professional services and initial licences required for a pilot launch. Synchronica expects the Operator to launch Mobile Gateway shortly across all subsidiaries and expects expansion orders for further licences in due course. This is Synchronica's 10th agreement with an African carrier, this time a mobile operator group with subsidiaries across the continent.

"We are very pleased to have finally completed this deal" said Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO of Synchronica. "We look forward to a successful product rollout in Africa and we also have the opportunity to introduce our sought after push email, instant messaging and social networking services across the enlarged group."

According to the Ernst and Young study, Africa connected - A telecommunications growth story, the African region is one of the fastest-growing mobile markets in the world. Historical under-investment in telecommunications has rendered fixed line telecommunications largely insignificant, and average mobile penetration across the continent stands at 37 percent, expected to rise to 61 percent by 2012. Demand for mobile data services in the continent will continue to gain in popularity.

Synchronica believes that in emerging markets, where consumers are mostly reliant on internet cafes, the mobile phone is becoming the preferred avenue to accessing digital content. Underinvestment in the telecommunications sector in many emerging markets has rendered fixed line telecommunications largely insignificant. The mobile phone has become the communications lifeline in areas where legacy infrastructure is lacking. In these regions, new customers continue to sign up to mobile services in droves, and an innovative bouquet of value-added services provide a unique selling point to carriers that do not wish to compete on tariffs alone. Mobile Gateway's extensive handset support is particularly relevant in this market, as low-end mobile phones represent the vast majority of devices in use, while operators are keen to extend advanced value added services which supplement voice and SMS revenues.

About Synchronica plc
Synchronica plc is a leading developer of next-generation mobile messaging solutions based on open industry standards. The award-winning product portfolio includes the flagship product Mobile Gateway, providing push Email, synchronization, instant messaging (IM), backup and restore, and mobile connectivity to social networks. Synchronica's products are white-labelled and offered by mobile operators and device manufacturers in emerging and developed markets to provide mass market messaging services, increasing data revenues and reducing churn.

Synchronica Mobile Gateway provides a unique multi-protocol gateway combining Push IMAP, SyncML, ActiveSync, Email-to-MMS, and Email-to-SMS, delivering messaging services to literally any mobile phone currently in the market without requiring an additional client to be downloaded. Expanding instant messaging to mobile devices, Mobile Gateway establishes carrier-branded IM communities, using the industry standard XMPP and provides gateways to popular internet IM communities, connecting any IMPS-enabled handset. With the recent acquisition of Iseemedia, Synchronica will enable the fast delivery of rich email attachments with advanced streaming that reduces network bandwidth consumption by as much as 90 percent.

Headquartered in England, Synchronica also maintains development centres in Germany and the Philippines in addition to a regional presence in the USA, Hong Kong, Madrid and Dubai. Synchronica plc is a public company traded on the AIM list of the London Stock Exchange (SYNC.L). For further information, please visit www.synchronica.com.

Cautionary Statements

The foregoing information may contain forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of Synchronica plc. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance or results, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from Synchronica's plans and expectations. These plans, expectations, risks and uncertainties are detailed herein and from time to time in the public filings and announcements made by Synchronica, including those made with AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange, with the TSX Venture Exchange or with securities regulators.  Synchronica does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.   No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

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