Vodafone AirTouch Selects the Sun-Netscape Alliance as Global
Partner For Internet Wireless Solutions
1/11/00 4:01:00 AM
Source: PR Newswire
Vodafone.net Service Deployed With iPlanet(TM) Messaging Products at Vodafone
Interactive in the United Kingdom
cnetinvestor.com
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Vodafone AirTouch and the Sun-Netscape Alliance today announced
their plan for the Alliance to provide a range of iPlanet(TM) products including infrastructure and communications software
for Vodafone AirTouch's global network of wireless carriers.
This announcement is part of a broader non-binding Letter of Intent,
subject to further negotiation and the closing of a definitive agreement,
between Sun Microsystems and Vodafone AirTouch. Sun
Microsystems will sell hardware products, Java technology, software,
professional services, support and education to Vodafone AirTouch.
These announcements will allow Vodafone AirTouch to provide
carrier-grade Internet services customized to individual preferences for
use anytime, in any country and in any language through all of
Vodafone AirTouch's partner networks and to other markets where
appropriate.
Vodafone AirTouch has worked with the Alliance as a design partner
for development of innovative, wireless access to the Alliance's
full-featured communications products. Wireless users will benefit from
convenient, device-appropriate access. They will save time with a
single mail and calendar store, have the ability to manage information
more easily and with greater privacy, will have rapid access to new services and will have more
choices at lower costs.
"We chose the Sun-Netscape Alliance due to their proven track record and market leadership in
providing an integrated, scalable platform for community-building services including innovative
Internet-based mail and calendar servers. We built Vodafone.net using the Alliance's customizable
interfaces for both wired and wireless clients. The Alliance's integrated management tools minimized
the cost and complexity of constructing Vodafone.net and fully supported our time-to-market goals,"
said Mike Caldwell, corporate communications manager, Vodafone AirTouch.
"Industry estimates suggest that wireless usage will double in the next two years and the need for
the rapid adoption of new, Internet-ready devices is driving the convergence of Internet and wireless
networks," said Stuart Wells, senior vice president for Infrastructure Products, Sun-Netscape
Alliance. "Vodafone AirTouch's global reach and vision perfectly complements our goal to provide an
extremely scalable, high-performance single server architecture for wireless and wireline access at
an extremely low cost per user."
Today's announcement builds upon an existing relationship between Vodafone AirTouch and the
Sun-Netscape Alliance. Vodafone Interactive, through its internet based products, is winning new
customers today with innovative messaging services like SMS (short message service) notification of
new email messages; email alerts about personalized news events; anytime, anywhere news
access; and sending brief emails from their Vodafone handsets, all in addition to on-line email from
their Vodafone Interactive message center. These capabilities were built using the iPlanet messaging
server and its web and wireless mail features.
About the Sun-Netscape Alliance
America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) and Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW)
formed the Sun-Netscape Alliance in order to provide comprehensive
user-friendly business and e-commerce solutions and services to business
partners and companies competing in the Net Economy. The Alliances product
portfolio offers its customers the markets most scalable and integrated
software and a family of production-ready e-commerce applications. The
products are available for the most common platforms on the market, including
DEC, HP, IBM, Linux, SGI, Microsoft Windows and Sun Microsystems. The
Alliances products include: messaging and calendar, web, application,
directory and certificate servers. The Alliance also offers production-ready
applications for e-commerce, including commercial exchange, procurement,
selling and billing. More information can be found at www.iplanet.com
About Vodafone AirTouch
Vodafone AirTouch is the world's largest mobile communications company
serving more than 35.5 million proportionate customers in 24 countries on five
continents and is the second largest UK FTSE company. Vodafone is the UK's
leading mobile operator with more than 7.94 million customers nation-wide.
Vodafone has led the market for mobile data and text messaging in the UK with
more than 86 million text messages being handled during December.
About America Online, Inc.
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the
world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and
e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet
services, America Online, with more than 18 million members, and CompuServe,
with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands
including ICQ and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM
portals; and the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers. Through its
strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers
easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies
operating in the Net Economy.
About Sun Microsystems
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- The Network Is The Computer(TM) -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc., to
its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that power the Internet and allow
companies worldwide to ".com" their businesses. With $12.4 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 170
countries and on the World Wide Web at sun.com. |
