ICQ AND FAREASTONE ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO BRING ICQ WIRELESS MESSAGING SERVICES TO TAIWANESE MARKET
New Chinese Language Services Let Users Send Instant Messages Anywhere, Anytime from Various Mobile DevicesAgreement Includes ICQ SMS and Inaugural Offering of ICQ for WAP - GPRS
Dulles, VA, and Taipei, Taiwan -- July , 2002 -- ICQ ("I Seek You"), the world's most popular online communications community and international service from America Online, Inc., and FarEasTone (FET), Taiwan's leading innovator in wireless services, today announced an agreement that enables them to provide a Chinese-language ICQ wireless messaging service in the Taiwanese market, allowing consumers to communicate in real time via wireless devices with friends, family and business associates around the world. The ICQ messaging service offers FET's five million subscribers use of the ICQ 2-WAY SMS , ICQ for WAP (including GPRS) and ICQ for Java products on their wireless devices. The service is available today on Far EasTone on ICQ
With ICQ 2-WAY SMS, FET subscribers can send and receive instant messages from their SMS enabled phones with any ICQ user connected via a desktop, mobile phone, PDA or other wireless device. ICQ users worldwide, also have the ability to send messages directly between the desktop, mobile devices or PDAs and FET wireless subscribers (as well as subscribers of 150 networks globally). ICQ users can send SMS text messages around the world from both the ICQ client and , also from the messaging center on the ICQ web site to FET subscribers . Although the cellular phones receiving these messages must be SMS-enabled, the recipients do not need to be ICQ users.
The ICQ for WAP product allows the cellular phone subscriber to see his/her list of ICQ friends, see who is on-line and available to chat at any given moment, search for new or old friends, register to ICQ using the phone, etc. This agreement also marks the inaugural offering of ICQ for WAP.
The ICQ Java product makes use of the enhanced Java phones capabilities to make the ICQ experience even better.
Together, the 3 products complement each other, by bringing the ICQ experience to the cellular phones while catering to the different phone technologies, different user preferences, and different user needs.
"We are pleased to welcome FET's 5 million subscribers to ICQ's family of 130 million registered users. By providing quick and easy access to ICQ's powerful suite of services for mobile devices -- including ICQ 2-WAY SMS and our first offering of ICQ for WAP -- 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 Taiwanese market, making it even more convenient to send messages across any number of different platforms."
"This relationship with ICQ, one of the leading international players in the wireless arena, reflects FET's commitment to providing the most powerful, diverse and convenient wireless messaging tools to the Taiwanese market," said XXX at FET. "Not only will this link our subscribers with the world's largest online community but it will also help speed the convergence of the Internet and mobile communications through the new ICQ suite of products. Our users are sure to make these invaluable communication tools a central part of their daily lives."
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 the world's largest communications community with over 130 million registered users worldwide. On days when connected to ICQ, users spend an average of over 3.5 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.
ICQ is now part of AOL Web Properties, an online network featuring some of the most popular brands on the Internet, including Netscape, CompuServe, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, MapQuest and MovieFone. The AOL Web properties network reaches the widest audience on the Internet representing more than 60 percent of Internet audience at work or home.
About FarEasTone
FET, one of the three leading wireless carriers in Taiwan, was the first mobile company in Taiwan to launch integrated services for mobile devices and the Internet. Since its inception, FET has been adopting the world's latest wireless and Internet communications technology and setting the trends for Taiwan's wireless telecommunications industry. FET was the first to offer Taiwan consumers numerous value-added services such as mobile banking, m-commerce, mobile fax and mail and real-time access to financial, entertainment and news.
About America Online, Inc.
America Online, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: AOL) 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.