NetSTAR

TOKYOMarch 27th, 2008

NetSTAR Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Noboru Ogahara; hereinafter “NetSTAR”), the leading company in the Japanese web filtering industry, hereby announces that EMOBILE Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Sachio Semmoto; hereinafter “EMOBILE”) has adopted NetSTAR’s URL databases to provide a URL filtering service for EMOBILE’s mobile phone service.

To prevent problems that may arise as a result of accessing the web from mobile phones, EMOBILE will be offering a free service from late April, which will limit access to web contents that are inappropriate for minors.
This new service, structured and operated independently by EMOBILE, will make use of a “restriction list method (“Blacklist” method)”, and will provide access to a wide range of general websites while automatically filtering out websites considered harmful to the sound development of minors, such as adult-contents, dating sites, gambling, and illegal information. It will also filter out websites in categories that may lead to problems for adults, such as bogus billing scam websites.
This kind of filtering service relies on URL databases compiled by research and categorization of websites throughout the world. NetSTAR, a specialist in this field, will provide its URL databases-
already widely used in business and home filtering services-to EMOBILE’s new service.

This provision makes EMOBILE the fourth mobile phone operator to officially adopt NetSTAR’s URL databases, following SoftBank Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, and KDDI (au).

In 2004, NetSTAR responded to the sharp increase in mobile phone users and mobile-oriented websites, becoming one of the industry’s first companies to specialize in the collection and categorization of mobile-oriented websites. In 2005, Vodafone K.K. (now SoftBank Mobile) adopted NetSTAR’s URL databases for their unwanted mail filtering service, and mobile phone operators have since turned to NetSTAR in implementing their web filtering services (such as NTT DoCoMo’s “i-mode Filter”) and unwanted mail filtering services.

will society’s expectations on filtering services for mobile phones. NetSTAR will continue to work closely with mobile phone operators and government bodies to support the fight against such problems.

NetSTAR will also continue to commit to the global community by making Internet access safer for everyone, and for any terminal, be it a computer, mobile phone, or game console.

　

■NetSTAR’s History of URL Database Provision to Mobile Phone Operators
Feb. 2005: URL databases adopted by Vodafone K.K. (now SoftBank Mobile) for its unwanted mail filtering service.
June 2005: URL databases adopted by NTT DoCoMo for its “Kid’s i-mode” (now “i-mode Filter”) service.
Sep. 2005: URL databases adopted by Vodafone K.K. (now SoftBank Mobile) for its “Web Use Restriction” service.
Nov. 2006: URL databases adopted by NTT DoCoMo for its unwanted mail filtering service.
Mar. 2008: URL databases adopted by KDDI for its “EZ Safe Access Service: Category Restriction Course”.

■About NetSTAR, Inc.
NetSTAR specializes in the development of URL filtering technology, and in the collection, categorization, and delivery of URL databases.
Its URL databases boast the largest market share in Japan for corporate filtering products, at well over 40%, and are also used widely by home filtering services provided by ISPs and broadband routers.
For more information, visit http://netstar.jp.

■Contact Information for URL Database Provision to Manufacturers and Service Providers
Product Business Dept, NetSTAR, Inc.
Email: partner@netstar-inc.com

■Trademark Information
NetSTAR is a trademark or a registered trademark of NetSTAR, Inc. All other product names and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.