Nokia and Agence France-Presse team up to develop WAP-based mobile news services

December 22, 1999 Nokia and Agence France-Presse (AFP), one of the three world's leading news and photo agencies, have signed a global co-operation agreement to develop news services based on the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).

The services, which are now available in French and English, have been developed to work with the Nokia end-to-end WAP solution, including the Nokia Artus Messaging Platform and the Nokia 7110 media phone. AFP's WAP based mobile news services will include the latest general news, sports news and financial news in English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese.

"The launch of our WAP services builds on AFP's strong presence on the Internet,moving us now into the new era of mobile access to the Internet. This reflects AFP's dynamism and determination to be at the forefront of new technological development, and through this partnership with Nokia, we will be able to deliver a wide range of news and information to people who need to be on the move" says Monique Villa, AFP's Director for Strategy, Business Development and Partnerships.

Pekka Salonoja, Vice President, Messaging and Service Platforms, Nokia, says,"Nokia is leading the way in the development and deployment of WAP applications services - several organisations and operators throughout the world have already launched mobile Internet services using Nokia technology. We believe that AFP, as one of the world's three leading news providers, has an important role to play in the development of mobile global news services. "

Nokia can offer operators what few others in the industry can; a complete end-to-end WAP solution, including WAP gateways, mobile terminals, browsers, and tools for WAP -based content creation and delivery. Nokia provides a range of infrastructure products that support WAP such as the Nokia Artus Messaging Platform and the Nokia Artus SMS Center.

AFP's WAP services are made up of easy-to-navigate news categories covering the latest in international news, national news, sports news and business news. Stories are updated throughout the day, seven days a week. The AFP mobile service is independent of mobile phone manufacturer, gateway server manufacturer or network provider.

AFP is one of the three worldwide news agencies, with 1,200 reporters, 200 photographers and 2,000 stringers working in 165 countries. It is recognized as the premier supplier of information in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with services in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic. AFP provides multimedia news services to more than 150 web sites in 20 countries. ImageForum, AFP's online photo database, provides instant internet access through a browser interface to AFP's award-winning international photo service, with up to 600 new photos per day, and a comprehensive picture archive.

Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products and solutions. Nokia is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks including related services. It also supplies multimedia terminals and computer displays. In 1998, net sales totaled EUR 13.3 billion (USD 15.7 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 53,000 people.

Further information:

Ms Arja Suominen,
Vice President, Communications Nokia Networks
Tel. (Int.) + 358 9 5113 8193
Fax (Int.) + 358 9 5113 8199
Web www.nokia.com
Email [email protected]

Agn�s Caradec,
Directrice de la Communication Agence France-Presse
Tel (Int.) + 33 1 40 41 76 79
Fax (Int.) + 33 1 40 41 46 32
Web www.afp.com
Email [email protected]

Notes to Editors: