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Virgin Mobile Launches Personalized Wireless Messaging
By Jay Wrolstad, Wireless.NewsFactor.com
Virgin Mobile, having made substantial inroads in the highly competitive wireless phone market, is jonesing for a competitive edge with the launch of SMS (short message service) and WAP (wireless application protocol) services for its customers.
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The new messaging and information display offerings were built on the InfoSpace (Nasdaq: INSP - news) platform with Virgin Mobile's VirginXtras package, the companies said, adding that additional customer services based on the platform are in the pipeline.
Personalized Service Xtras
The arrangement builds on the deployment of a mobile data service by InfoSpace and Virgin Mobile that is based on InfoSpace's wireless technology platform. Since that deployment, VirginXtras has developed a strong following in the United Kingdom, especially with its SMS service, the company said.
VirginXtras delivers personalized information using a blend of voice, SMS and WAP services based on user preferences and profiles, according to Virgin. With the integration of InfoSpace's communication services suite, customers can send and receive e-mail messages and can access an electronic address book, calendar and task list.
A customer logging on to the Virgin Mobile Web site can identify preferences -- choosing among sports, music, entertainment, travel, shopping and fun -- on the Xtras list. Information then is delivered to the user's mobile phone.
Expanding Empire
Virgin Mobile, a joint venture between airline and entertainment mogul Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Deutsche Telekom subsidiary One2One, operates the fifth-largest wireless network in the UK. Earlier this year, the company reached a milestone when it passed the million-customer mark.
And Virgin's wireless empire has expanded with Virgin Mobile Australia -- a partnership with Optus -- and Virgin Mobile Asia, a similar joint venture between Virgin and Singapore Telecom.
Virgin Mobile also has said it expects to sign a deal with a U.S. carrier, leading the industry rumor mill to churn out reports earlier this year that a US$1 billion deal between Virgin Mobile and Sprint PCS was imminent. To date, there has been no confirmation of an agreement with Sprint or any other U.S. carrier.
InfoSpace provides communication, entertainment, gaming and speech applications, and e-commerce services to a wide range of companies, including Verizon, AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Alltel, Virgin Mobile, Charles Schwab, Intel, Lucent, Nortel, AOL, Microsoft, Lycos, National Discount Brokers and Bloomberg.
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