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Telefonica Moviles Launches Information Access Services at SIMO TCI'99 in Madrid 28/10/99 - OLEADA (www.oleada.com) TELEF�NICA M�VILES MULTIPLIES ITS INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES Madrid, 28/10.- Telef�nica M�viles has today presented the company's new services for Telef�nica MoviStar customers who wish to access the world of the Internet using their mobile phones (Internet Mobile or Wireless Internet). At the same time, the company is launching on the market a wide series of information access services that the public will be able to see at SIMO TCI'99 which will be held in Madrid next week. Telef�nica M�viles' managing director, Luis Lada, signalled that, "We have been working on the development of information access services and interactive services in order to be provide the capacity of network access "anytime and anywhere" using WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) technology. We are also continuing to make advances in research into new technologies that improve data communication. In this way we are going to turn the mobile phone into a basic Internet access tool with content and interactive services of any kind that goes far beyond its normal use for voice communications". Telef�nica M�viles has in the last year devoted research resources and efforts to the field of Mobile Internet and to the development of data in the world of the mobile, basically along three main lines: MOBILE - INTERNET INTEGRATION OLEADA -developed in cooperation with Terra Networks- is the name given to Telef�nica MoviStar's mobile node (Wireless Portal), and through it a wide range of general information content, MoviStar/Internet convergent services and personal services will be offered, in addition to being able to freely surf the net. The information held at Oleada can be obtained either through a PC or from WAP mobile phones when they start being sold. Telef�nica MoviStar will programme the Oleada node address when the new handsets become available to provide access to all of the services. Nevertheless, and thanks to the new MoviStar Menu developed by Telef�nica M�viles, all non-WAP mobile phones that support the new SIM Application Toolkit (SATK) card shall have direct access to the information services by means of a voice call (Antena3 news, Spanish National Radio, Sports information from EFE -under trial-, meteorological and traffic information, etc.) or by means of a check using a text message (CNN, Reuters, Lotteries, etc.). In addition, any MoviStar phone will be able to integrate with the Internet and allow e-mail to be sent from the handset. In addition, since it is not easy to remember the access number for each and every one of the different services, Telef�nica MoviStar has created the Single Number: 800 808. A call to the 808 number will provide a voice message that lists the services available. During the call it will be possible to choose one of the voice-based services (e.g. Antenna 3 MoviStar) by pressing the appropriate keys. Information will also be received about services based on text messages.
Telef�nica M�viles, the first Spanish operator to join the WAP Forum (the international organisation that works on the development of this technology: Wireless Application Protocol), has been carrying out tests for more than six months that have been led by other major companies in this field such as Nokia, Motorola, Alcatel and Phone.Com (previously Unwired Planet) and already has the second version of its own WAP platform. The Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo -the world's mobile phone giant with 26 million customers and with whom Telef�nica M�viles has a strategic collaborative agreement that was signed in 1998- will be exhibiting its i-mode services at Telef�nica MoviStar's stand at SIMO. This system is similar to WAP in that it provides Internet access from mobile phones and it has revolutionised the ways of relating to the mobile in Japan. Two million i-mode users have been captured in just the first seven months of its existence and the system enables users to connect to the Internet 24 hours a day using the mobile phone. In August this year more than 90% of all new phones sold in Japan for the NTT DoCoMo network were i-mode, and it is hoped that all phones will soon use the system. Terra Networks, in much the same way as other important nodes and Internet service providers, is preparing its platforms and content in order to enrich service provision and applications for mobile handsets. Direct connection to Oleada will provide Telef�nica MoviStar users with access to those sites. Telef�nica M�viles will also present the first national experience in Message Dissemination -also known as Cell Broadcast, a service that will soon become commercially available. This new technology will allow communications channels to be created with mobiles in a specific geographical so that it becomes a powerful tool for local information services or those associated with the phone location. It makes it possible to select a subject or channel of interest to the user (News, Sport, Weather Information, Traffic Information, Duty Pharmacies, Taxis, etc.) INTERNET MESSENGER SERVICES Also in relation to messenger services aimed at the Internet, Telef�nica M�viles is presenting the new Correo MoviStar (MoviStar Mail), which will allow Telef�nica MoviStar users to send, receive and reply to e-mail from the mobile, providing every user with an e-mail account and an IP address for each handset (e.g. [email protected]). There will be two versions of this messenger service, one personal and the corporate, something that will provide a new and powerful mail management tool to all MoviStar Corporativo 2000 clients. Thanks to an agreement between Telef�nica M�viles, IBM and Lotus, customers will have mobile access to Lotus Notes and Domino from hand-held computers (PDAs), WAP phones and phones with the new MoviStar Menu. At the same time, Microsoft and Telef�nica M�viles, in collaboration with Compaq, have developed a Microsoft Outlook mail and fax plug-in to enable text messages and e-mail to be sent from PCs that have this application. Microsoft Outlook is an office application developed by Microsoft to provide workgroups with e-mail, directory, database and other tools. IMPROVED DATA ACCESS FROM MOBILES The ability to reach the Internet more quickly, reliably and economically is another of Telef�nica M�viles' commitments in the world of the Mobile Internet. To this end the company presents two new service modes, one of which is a world first: MoviStar Internet Premium and MoviStar Internet Direct. MoviStar Internet Premium introduces Spain to the concept of the work session, meaning that the customer pays on the basis of the information received and not for the length of time on line. This service also guarantees that the session will be stored from the moment it is interrupted in the case of an error or loss of connection. In this way, Telef�nica M�viles stays a step ahead of one of the main new advantages that GPRS packet transmission technology will bring next year. The charge rates for this new service are very attractive for MoviStar customers: 1 peseta for downloading more than 2 Kbytes of information from the Internet. With MoviStar Internet Direct, the Telef�nica MoviStar customer will be able to surf the Internet from his or her WAP mobile, without the need for an account with a service provider or ISP (user: movistar; key: movistar). MoviStar Intranet, on the other hand, offers a safe and reliable connection to business applications. MoviStar Intranet is based on a direct continuous link between MoviStar and a large business's computer network. Telef�nica M�viles continues to work on the development of other technologies like GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone System). GPRS, for which commercial availability of handsets is forecast for the second quarter of the year 2000, introduces the concept of the work session and payment on the basis of how much information is received, and not on the length of connection time. This makes always on a reality. One of the advantages of GPRS is the higher access speed. Telef�nica M�viles has installed a GPRS prototype in its laboratories, and it will be demonstrated at SIMO in conjunction with Motorola. In UMTS, also known as 3rd Generation mobiles, Telef�nica M�viles is also taking the first steps with attention focusing on what is happening in Japan where the cellular phone operator NTT DoCoMo has already announced that it is to be the first to market this type of service, specifically in March in the year 2001. TELEF�NICA M�VILES, with more than 7.8 million customers, is Spain's leading mobile phone operator and the sixth in Europe. Nearly 60% of the customers use prepay services and more than 7 million currently use Telef�nica MoviStar, the dual GSM service, whilst some 750,000 are Telef�nica MoviLine users. Para m�s informaci�n / For further information:
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©2001 Wireless Application Protocol Forum Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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