Airwide Solutions and Tecnotree have entered into a non-exclusive global distribution agreement. Both will make available to operators worldwide a leading portfolio of next generation messaging infrastructure, OSS/BSS and Value-Added Services (VAS) solutions. The collaboration is expected to help both companies more extensively serve mobile operators in developed markets like Western Europe, and emerging markets like Africa and Latin America.

Emerging regions are increasingly tapping into mobile phone technology to improve quality of life in the region. For example, many operators are now offering low-cost but high-quality VAS to millions of people in the developing world. As a key underpinning of these services, operators need infrastructure that meets the increased demand, conforms to security and reliability requirements, and offers flexibility for tomorrow’s unseen innovative service offerings.

(Additionally, Airwide’s and Tecnotree’s comprehensive portfolio is of interest to operators in developed markets like Western Europe, enabling operators to optimise service delivery infrastructure, create an efficient service creation environment for launching profitable services in the shortest time-to-market, monetise their network investments by enhancing third-party services and applications, and drive new revenue from existing assets, making them ad-funded, for example.

“Working together with Airwide will extend our value and reach we can provide to operators in both emerging and developed markets. Together we can offer powerful VAS solutions to operators worldwide, satisfying their needs for today and tomorrow. We expect this to be a fruitful relationship for both our company and our joint customers,” said Leena Koskelainen, Director, Tecnotree VAS Solution Center.

“We are very pleased to work with Tecnotree and expect the comprehensive nature of our combined solutions, as well as our mutual experience in both developed and emerging regions, will bring high value to operators in all parts of the globe,” said Antero Norkio, Head of Channels for Airwide Solutions. “With the portfolio of next-generation messaging and VAS solutions, we have the tool set that enables operators to create segmented, interactive and profitable services.”

* Airwide Solutions provides next-generation mobile messaging and wireless Internet infrastructure, applications and solutions. Its products have “helped more than 150 wireless operators worldwide drive mobile messaging usage and revenues and enable them to leverage multiple delivery channels and next-generation infrastructure in new and more powerful ways.” Airwide claims several firsts, eg, the first text message ever sent, the introduction of the first SMS router, and the first A2P MMS push gateway and mobile service control. Airwide operates globally with offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, India, the Middle East and Africa.

** Tecnotree, founded in 1978, is one of the leading suppliers of Business and Operations Support Systems (BSS/OSS) and Value Added Services (VAS) for operators worldwide. Tecnotree markets and sells its products and services through its own organisation, as well as through global and local partners, and has supplied its products to more than 120 customers around the world. Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Tecnotree has about 800 employees working in 20 locations worldwide.

more info:

• www.airwidesolutions.com
• www.tecnotree.com

Eagle Mobile, the newest Albanian mobile operator, has announced a radical increase in completed calls since the launch of Auto-Voice-SMS on its network across Albania. The Auto-Voice-SMS solution has been sourced from Kirusa, the vendor of Voice SMS and developer of mobile Value-Added Services. Eagle Mobile has now launched Auto-Voice-SMS across Albania.

Kirusa’s describes Auto-Voice-SMS as a “must-have” service for carriers to increase call completion and customer satisfaction. It is a service that “completes the call in all inevitable situations like getting a busy tone, phone not being answered or rejected by a recipient, out of coverage, or network congestion.”

When a caller does not get through to the dialed number, he or she has the option of leaving a Voice SMS while being on the same call. Once the caller leaves a Voice SMS, the recipient will immediately get an SMS notification of the Voice SMS message. Eagle callers and callers from other mobile operators in Albania, as well as international callers, can leave Auto Voice SMS messages for Eagle subscribers. Eagle subscribers can retrieve the messages directly from the SMS, and can also reply to the message with voice.

Kirusa Auto-Voice-SMS was made available to Albanian subscribers in January. In the short period of one month, the service has been adopted by more than 22% of Eagle subscribers.

For carriers who adopt Auto Voice SMS there is an increase in ARPU: revenue generated from calls that would otherwise not be completed. There is also an increase in customer satisfaction through customer stickiness and word of mouth growth.

Commenting on the launch, Alban Tartari, Head of Public & Media Relations Department of Eagle Mobile Albania, said, “When one subscriber calls another, he or she has a compelling reason to communicate his or her thoughts. Kirusa Auto-Voice-SMS facilitates the sender to communicate in real-time despite not being able to reach the other party. At the same time, the process for the recipient to listen and reply to the message is very easy. Our subscribers find Kirusa Auto-Voice-SMS a great value-add to their communication need. Kirusa was chosen for this product as Voice SMS from Kirusa has been receiving an overwhelming response from our subscribers since its launch.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Inderpal Singh Mumick, CEO and Founder of Kirusa, said, “We are delighted with the successful adoption of Kirusa Auto-Voice-SMS by the Eagle Mobile subscribers.” He further added, “Kirusa continues to innovate and bring to market new Mobile Value-Added Services (MVAS) that generate revenue for our customers. The successful adoption of Auto Voice SMS by Eagle subscribers is another validation of the value Kirusa provides to its customers.”

* Eagle Mobile is the youngest mobile operator in Albania. It was established in 2003 by the Albanian government as a company owned by Alb Telecom. Eagle Mobile broke a record by entering the Albanian telecommunication market in March 2008, the company reaching full coverage of the territory in six months. Eagle Mobile as of end-2008 covered 97% of the population and 90.7% of Albania. One year after entering the market, Eagle Mobile has reached 380 thousand subscribers, and is roaming in 200 countries with nearly 400 operators.

more info:

• www.kirusa.com
• www.eaglemobile.al

Out There Media has signed an agreement with VimpelCom, an  international provider of telecommunications services operating in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and South-East Asia. Within the framework of the agreement, Out There Media will enable VimpelCom to offer targeted mobile advertising through Mobucks, its multi-channel mobile advertising market-place technology. In addition, Out There Media is also responsible for monetisation, sales, business development and operations support.

After careful analysis, Out There Media was determined to be the partner to fulfill VimpelCom’s business needs. The two companies have imminent plans to roll out a range of mobile advertising commercial pilot projects in Russia this year, using WAP, SMS, MMS and USSD-channels (VimpelCom has a total subscriber base of 64 million, including 51 million in Russia.)

The partnership will be the first to use the newest version of the Out There Media multi-channel mobile advertising marketplace technology, Mobucks 2.5, which will be released shortly. Integrating the advertising solution with advanced-permission marketing capabilities, Mobucks 2.5 presents "significant new advantages" such as the large diversity of advertising channels, the collection of targeted data across all channels, and efficient cross-channel user segmentation and targeting.

Commenting on the partnership announcement, Kerstin Trikalitis, CEO of Out There Media, said: "We are very pleased to be expanding our reach to Russia in collaboration with a leading mobile operator such as VimpelCom. We believe that Russia is an exciting market with tremendous potential and we are looking forward to working with VimpelCom to design and run award-winning Mobile Advertising campaigns".

* Out There Media is headquartered in Vienna, has subsidiaries in Athens, Los Angeles, Kiev, Sofia and Singapore, and partnership agreements with 17 network operators across 16 countries. It reaches over 184 million subscribers (70 million exclusive) via its mobile advertising marketplace, Mobucks. Mobucks is a cross-operator, cross-advertiser marketplace that matches demand and supply for advertising over mobile telephones.

** VimpelCom comprises telecoms operators providing voice and data services through a range of mobile, fixed and broadband technologies. The Group includes companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia, as well as in Vietnam and Cambodia. VimpelCom has licences to operate in territories with a total population of about 340 million, providing services under the Beeline brand.. VimpelCom was the first Russian company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VIP.

more info:

• www.out-there-media.com
• www.vimpelcom.com

MoreMagic Solutions International Recharge Hub leverages an extensive network of hundreds of thousands of retail locations in the United States, where customers can send airtime to Movistar customers in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru.

“Movistar customers are asking friends and family throughout the world to help them stay connected in a cost-effective and convenient way, and we are pleased to work with MoreMagic Solutions to meet their needs,” said Jaime Grau, Transactional Services Director at Telefónica Latinoamérica.  “In communities throughout the United States, customers can purchase a gift of airtime at their neighborhood convenience store, or via the internet at etopuponline.com, and the Movistar mobile phone back home is immediately credited.”

 “Mobile customers throughout Latin America are asking friends and family to try out international recharge, knowing that a gift of airtime is affordable and that the airtime is immediately available,” said Pankaj Gulati, chairman and CEO, MoreMagic Solutions.  “MoreMagic Solutions is pleased to work with Telefónica to enable gifts of airtime for Movistar mobile phones is so many countries, sent from our extensive network of stores, or our internet portal, etopuponline.com.”

More info:

• www.telefonica.com
• www.moremagic.com

Critical Path surveyed seven countries to gauge the social networking habits of consumers in Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Northern Europe as part of a continuing series of global consumer research initiatives. Almost half (46%) of the respondents are dissatisfied with their devices’ facility to share contact information, with only 36% of respondents always updating changes to contact information across each of their social address books. Most (57%) consumers are frustrated with the process of informing people about a change in their contact details, while approximately two thirds find integrating other people’s changes into their various address books even more frustrating.

Out of the 3,500 respondents surveyed: 

• 94% would like to be able to update all of their contacts with new contact information automatically
• 96% would like the option to back up and restore address book information
• 95% want choice over the types of updates they receive from social networking sites
• 49% of consumers would be willing to pay for a service that updates and manages contacts and social networks in one place

 “Our latest research shows social networks are becoming increasingly important in consumers’ daily online interactions”, says Mark Palomba, CEO Critical Path. “While user preferences vary from region to region, there is a clear demand for an intuitive solution that unifies fragmented contact information across social networks.”

Country specific statistics: 

Latin America 

• 81% of respondents from Brazil would pay €2 per month for a service which allowed them to update and manage all of their contacts and social networking updates
• 94% of respondents from Brazil would like to use a service which allows them to receive updates from all social networking sites in one place
• 94% of respondents from Argentina would like a service to protect their address book information by backing up all the data so it can be restored quickly and easily to the mobile

 Asia-Pacific 

• 75% of respondents from China said they would be willing pay for a service that allowed them to update and manage all of their contacts and social networking updates
• Indian respondents are split on willingness to pay, with 33% preferring a one-time fee of €5 and a per sync fee of €0.5…
• …While 44% of respondents from India would prefer to pay €2 per month for unlimited synchronisation

Northern Europe 

• Only 26% of respondents from the Czech Republic always update contact information across each of their social address books
• 81% of respondents from Poland place affordability as a high priority when looking at features of a possible service

 About the research

The research was carried out online by Vanson Bourne during December 2009 amongst a nationally representative sample of 3,500 consumers across Latin America, AsiaPac and Northern Europe, aged 16+. The consumers were from seven countries: Brazil, Argentina, China, Hong Kong, India, Poland and Czech Republic.

More info:

• www.criticalpath.net.