Jun 29, 2011: Ambiq Technology and The VimpelCom Group Partner to Bring Latest NFC Technology to the St. Petersburg Transportation System

SAN JOSE, CA & ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, JUNE 14, 2011 – Ambiq Technology (“Ambiq”) and The VimpelCom Group (“Beeline”) have announced a partnership which will allow St. Petersburg Metro riders the ability to use their mobile phones to purchase tickets and ride public transportation. The phones utilize a highly secure Near Field Communication (NFC) module, designed and manufactured by Ambiq. These devices can be installed in existing mobile phones and work with the current Metro turnstiles, ground transport readers and ticket management system. The benefits of this solution include: significant paperwork reduction and improved efficiency for the city, as well as ease of use, and complete security for passengers.

“We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this project with Ambiq and the St. Petersburg Transportation Authority, and look forward to a long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation,” said Elena Shmatova, Executive Director of VimpelCom. “This innovative project will allow customers of Beeline with new opportunities and advancements through NFC technology.”

Along with the Metro pilot, Ambiq is partnering with Beeline to showcase some of its latest NFC technology at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, taking place June 16-18. Within Beeline’s exhibit, Ambiq will be demonstrating the benefits of NFC-enabled smart-posters, secure mobile identification and NFC payment systems.

“We are honored to be chosen as the NFC technology partner for Beeline, one of the largest and most recognized telecommunication providers in the world. Our partnership will lead to the availability and adoption of NFC, starting with the City of St. Petersburg and expanding to other parts of Russia and Europe,” said Misha Rozenberg, Ambiq’s CEO.

The Beeline partnership and transportation system deployment is the first step in implementing Ambiq’s unified services platform, Secure-Z™. The two companies have a longer term strategy of enabling a mobile payment infrastructure in St. Petersburg, which will eventually include other services, such as utility payments, mobile banking, and retail payments utilizing Ambiq’s hardware, as well as embedded NFC technology available in select phones starting this year.

About Ambiq Technology

Ambiq is headquartered in Hong Kong, with subsidiaries in the United States, Sri Lanka and Russia. The company was founded in 2009 with an objective of introducing a best-in-class, secure, end-to-end consumer mobile payment and services experience. Ambiq has created the only existing Unified Services Platform (Secure-Z), which enables a contactless and NFC Mobile Payment Infrastructure, supporting all major verticals and services. For more information, visit www.ambiqtech.com.

Ambiq Technology, its logo and Secure-Z are registered trademarks. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

Ambiq Contact Information
Alexis Graham, Marketing Manager
+1-408-236-7777
agraham@ambiqtech.com

About The VimpelCom Group

VimpelCom is one of the world’s largest groups of integrated telecommunications services operators offering a wide range of wireless, fixed, and broadband services in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Algeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Central African Republic, Italy and has an indirect equity shareholding in Globalive Wireless Canada (“Wind Mobile”). VimpelCom’s operations around the globe cover a territory with a total population of approximately 843 million people. The Company provides services under the "Beeline", "Kyivstar", "djuice", “Wind”, "Infostrada" “Mobilink”, “Leo”, “Banglalink”, “Telecel”, and “Djezzy” brands. As of December 31, 2010 VimpelCom had 181 million mobile subscribers. For more information, visit www.vimpelcom.com

Beeline Contact Information
Catherine Turtseva or Anna Aybasheva
Directors of External Communications
+7-495-725-07-08
media@beeline.ru