Sonera Zed expanding in Asia
Sonera Zed signs operator partnership with MobileOne in Singapore (April 17, 2000)
Sonera Zed Ltd today announced a partnership agreement with MobileOne (M1) in Singapore to offer Zed mobile value added services to M1's customers. The agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding gives M1 and Sonera Zed the possibility to jointly develop a range of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) services for Mi World, M1's Internet portal. Topping the list will be mobile commerce as well as services for travel, information, directory enquiries and communication needs such as messaging and greeting cards. Sonera Zed Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sonera Corporation.
Mobile and paging service provider M1
(http://www.m1.com.sg) currently has about 570,000 post and pre-paid mobile customers. The company is a consortium of the Keppel Group, Singapore Press Holdings, Cable & Wireless and Cable & Wireless HKT. The Internet portal Mi World was launched by M1 in January this year with a suite of value-added services for customers with WAP-enabled mobile phones.
Neil Montefiore, Chief Executive Officer of M1, says: "The partnership between Sonera Zed Ltd and M1 is mutually beneficial and could not have happened at a better time. We are aggressively building up our Internet portal, and Sonera Zed offers leading edge technology and ready-made services on which we can leverage. At the same time, Sonera Zed is looking to establish its brand globally and is tying up with key operators in the Asia Pacific region. M1 is happy to be working with them in Singapore."
"We are delighted with the new partnership. International distribution deals are vital for Zed's development into worldwide transaction and content services," says Juha Varelius, President and CEO of Sonera Zed Ltd. "
After its launch in October 1999, Zed received a lot of interest from mobile operators and content providers.
"Zed, while based on existing and proven technology, provides many advantages for operators. As Zed concepts and services are in operation and being piloted in Finland, the most advanced mobile communications market in the world, Zed offers its partners expert knowledge of customer usage and interests", Varelius continnues.
In addition to the new agreement with M1, Sonera Zed Ltd has operator partnerships in the U.S.A., in Turkey, in Germany, in the Philippines and in the Netherlands
About Zed
Zed is a service entity, which combines mobile and net communications. Zed, which brings the Internet into the mobile phone, offers several new mobile phone services, such as real time information retrieval and e-commerce. Zed is independent of the type of equipment: it functions in all mobile devices. The services are available both in SMS text messages and WAP service. Zed will also function in future solutions utilising UMTS technology. At the end of January 2000, Zed had over 600,000 users in Finland. The number of users registered at Zed's Finnish net service was close to 140,000.
Sonera Zed Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sonera Corporation. The company has its headquarters in the UK. More information on Sonera Zed at sonerazed.com
For further information, please contact:
Juha Varelius, President and CEO,
Sonera Zed Ltd
Tel. +1 617 928 3060, +358 2040 4013
e-mail: juha.varelius@sonera.com
Petri Karjalainen, Director,
Operator Relations, Sonera Zed Ltd
Tel. +44 20 8610 6696, +358 40 741 6041
e-mail: petri.karjalainen@sonera.com
Chua Swee Kiat Senior Manager,
Corporate Communications, MobileOne (Asia) Pte Ltd
Tel. +65 8951060
e-mail: chuask@m1.com.sg
Sonera (HEX: SRA, NASDAQ: SNRA) is an international forerunner in mobile communications and mobile-based services and applications. By combining its expertise in mobile communications, the Internet and service provision, Sonera aims to develop into a global communications operator and provider of transaction and content services. The company also provides advanced data communications solutions to businesses, and fixed network voice services in Finland and its nearby areas. In 1999, Sonera's revenues amounted to EUR 1.85 billion and profit before extraordinary items and taxes was EUR 0.5 billion.
sonera.fi
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