GSMA Announces Barcelona, Milan, Munich and Paris as Finalists Competing to Become the Mobile World Capital

LONDON, January 25, 2011 - The GSMA today announced that Barcelona, Milan, Munich and Paris have
been selected as the short list of cities vying to become the "Mobile World
Capital(TM)". These four cities will now move to the next stage of the
selection process which will culminate in the winning city being named the
Mobile World Capital for the five-year period from 2013 to 2017. Launched in
November 2010, the concept of the Mobile World Capital includes not only the
industry-leading annual Mobile World Congress event, but also a range of
academic and business development opportunities, cultural festivals and
programmes, and the creation of a centre for the industry.

"We congratulate Barcelona, Milan, Munich and Paris as they move forward
in the last phase of the evaluation process to become the Mobile World
Capital," said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. "The quality of the proposals
from the candidate cities to date has been outstanding, making our decision
that much more difficult. The four finalists announced today each have a
clear, multi-faceted vision for how they will make their city the Mobile
World Capital, and we look forward to seeing these visions unfold as we move
through the process."

The GSMA's concept of the Mobile World Capital includes:

    -- The Mobile World Centre, which will be located in the heart of the
       city and will be the flagship element of the Mobile World Capital. The
       Mobile World Centre will include technology exhibits, museum features,
       a retail area, a mobile cafe, office space and more.
    -- The Mobile World Festival, a range of festivities that will be
       targeted to the general public and will take place separate from the
       Mobile World Congress. Dispersed around the Mobile World Capital city,
       the Mobile World Festival will incorporate mobile-driven festivities
       including concerts, music and movie festivals, application
       competitions and awards, and dialogues and debates, among others.
    -- The Mobile World Congress, which is widely considered the industry's
       "must-attend" event and is expected to draw more than 50,000 visitors
       at the 2011 Mobile World Congress next month. The four-day conference
       and exhibition attracts executives from the world's largest and most
       influential companies across the mobile industry and adjacent sectors,
       as well as government delegations.

"Barcelona is very honoured to have been selected among the four
remaining cities to bid for the Mobile World Capital 2013-2017," said Jordi
Hereu, Mayor of Barcelona. "We believe that our city is the perfect location
to develop a permanent platform for the innovative mobile industry and for
the new concept of a mobile festival and legacy. We look forward to the next
steps of the bid process and to the challenge of making our project a
reality."

"Milano is honoured and proud of having been selected among the finalists
for Mobile World Capital 2013-2017," said Letizia Moratti, Mayor of Milan.
"Both long-standing residents and newcomers in this truly multi-ethnic and
global city stand ready to contribute with their enthusiasm to make the
Mobile World Capital not only a must-attend event, but a continuous five-year
long flow of learning and networking opportunities, inspiration and
innovation - a common dream which we all share with the worldwide
international mobile community."

"We are delighted at the decision of the GSMA to make Munich one of the
four finalists in the bid for the Mobile World Capital," said Martin Zeil,
Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and
Technology and Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria. "By placing it on the
short list for the final round, the GSMA is confirming Munich's international
reputation as a high-tech location. This is both an honour and an incentive
for the final. Politics, industry and science offer the GSMA an ideal home
for Mobile World Capital."

"Paris is very proud to be considered as a host for the new Mobile World
Capital by the GSMA," commented M. Bertrand Delanoe, Mayor of Paris. "With
the help of our lively ICT and mobile community, we are committed to
expanding the magic of our city to the fantastic future of the mobile world."

The GSMA began its search for the Mobile World Capital by first
evaluating more than 30 cities, narrowing the list to six candidates in
August 2010, and has now arrived at Barcelona, Milan, Munich and Paris as the
finalists to move forward in the bid process. The GSMA expects to complete
the evaluation process and to announce the Mobile World Capital in mid-2011.
For more information on the Mobile World Capital, please visit
www.mobileworldcapital.com.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications
industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's
mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers,
Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is
focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its
membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile
communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online
portal for the mobile communications industry, at
www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at
www.gsmworld.com.

For the GSMA, Ben Evetts, bevetts at webershandwick.com, press at gsm.org, +44-(0)-7879-614941