ICQ AND E-PLUS LAUNCH ICQ FOR I-MODETM WIRELESS MESSAGING SERVICES IN GERMANY
Agreement Will Enable i-modeTM Subscribers of E-Plus to Send and Receive ICQ Messages Anywhere, Anytime from Various Mobile DevicesDulles, VA, and Germany - January, 2003 -- ICQ ("I Seek You"), a world leading online communications community and international service from America Online, Inc., and E-Plus, a leading wireless carrier and pioneer in mobile multimedia in Germany, today announced an agreement that will enable E-Plus' i-modeTM subscribers to communicate in real time via wireless devices with friends, family and business associates who are part of ICQ's global community of over 140 million users. i-modeTM is one of the world's most successful wireless services offering rich content and information, web browsing, e-mail and multimedia from mobile phones and ICQ is now enabling E-Plus subscribers to use instant messaging applications based on i-modeTM technology.
With ICQ for i-modeTM, E-Plus subscribers can send and receive instant messages using their i-modeTM enabled phones with any ICQ user. ICQ for i-modeTM allows E-plus subscribers to access their list of ICQ friends on the phone, see who is online and available to chat at any given moment. ICQ for i-modeTM also allows users to search for new or old friends by using their names, email addresses or specific keywords. ICQ users worldwide also have the ability to send messages using the ICQ messaging center on the ICQ web site, or the ICQ application on desktops, cellular phones or PDAs directly to i-modeTM subscribers of E-Plus.
"We are pleased to launch the new ICQ for i-modeTM service with E-Plus. By providing quick and easy access to ICQ's powerful suite of services for mobile devices, users will have more ways than ever to stay in touch with their friends and family around the globe," said Ariel Yarnitsky, co-general manager of ICQ. "We look forward to further extending our ICQ Anywhere strategy to the German market, making it even more convenient to send messages across any number of different platforms."
E-Plus is the first i-modeTM provider in Germany and already has over 100,000 paying subscribers for the service, and ICQ has pioneered the use of multiple technologies in the wireless arena, including ICQ's SMS versions, WAP versions, J2ME versions and Symbian versions. With these products, ICQ is connecting its vast global community to subscribers of wireless carriers worldwide. i-modeTM has recently been introduced in Europe and is forecasted to be available to over one million European subscribers by the end of 2003. i-modeTM was first introduced in Japan in 1999 by NTT DoCoMo and instantly created a huge market within Japanese mobile multimedia services, soaring to over 35 million subscribers by 2002.
E-Plus is partially owned by KPN, which owns several other wireless carriers in Europe that offer i-mode services. Concurrent with the launch of this new service with E-plus, ICQ is also launching an I-mode instant messaging service with KPN Mobile in the Netherlands. KPN has also introduced ICQ to other i-mode providers in the KPN group.
About ICQ
ICQ is wholly owned by America Online, Inc. ICQ was created in 1996 by the Israel-based company, Mirabilis, and acquired by AOL in 1998. ICQ is a world leading communications community with over 140 million registered users worldwide. On days when connected to ICQ, users spend an average of over 4 hours on the service. ICQ offers the most robust instant messaging and enhanced communications features in the market today. The product is available for free at www.ICQ.com.
About E-Plus
With around 7.1 million subscribers (end of September 2002), E-Plus is the third largest mobile phone provider in Germany. E-Plus business is based on profitable growth and its activities are guided strictly by operating results. Therefore E-Plus focuses on business and private target groups with a high turnover.
E-Plus is one of the pioneers in mobile multimedia in Germany and with i-modeTM E-Plus offers access to mobile services at a quality previously unheard of in Europe. i-modeTM is fast and colorful and offers a comprehensive range of information, services and entertainment. Thanks to i-modeTM, mail multimedia messaging with E?Plus has already become a reality.
The choice of E-Plus services will become even greater with the start of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System). E-Plus is one of the companies that will roll out and run a modern UMTS network in Germany in the next few years. E-Plus' shareholders are KPN Mobile N.V. with 77.49 per cent and Royal KPN N.V. with 22.51 per cent.