Wind, one of Italy’s largest mobile operators has selected Followap, the leader in mobile IM, Presence and Interconnect solutions to power its own-branded instant messaging service. Followap’s IMSC (Instant Messaging Service Centre) together with an array of pre-loaded and downloadable clients, will deliver instant messaging to mobile phone subscribers, enabling real-time messaging which is being hailed as the “next generation SMS”.
This service supports Personal IM (PIM), a GSMA initiative launched at 3GSM Barcelona this year. PIM is set on operator CEO’s agendas worldwide as a key revenue driver. Differentiating Wind from its competitors, this new service answers the needs of mobile users by providing them with an advanced messaging system integrated into a “dynamic address book”, which enables subscribers to see the availability status of contacts also signed up to the service.
“The iFollow IMSC and iFollow Clients have been chosen to provide our subscribers with Instant Messaging on their mobile devices. The mobile IM solution is further proof of our position as an innovative and industry leading operator,” said Maximo Ibarra, Marketing Director at Wind. “This service will answer the needs of our customers, who enjoy SMS today, and are looking for real-time, presence-enabled communications. Our subscribers will now be able to keep connected on the go.” concluded Maximo Ibarra.
“By seeing who’s free to chat, and who’s not, means communications don’t have to be intrusive”, said Simon Brown, VP Global Sales and Customer Operations at Followap.
“Wind subscribers will be able to see the “presence’ status of their contacts in one single view through their mobile device, so they can decide the best way to get in touch. Followap is pleased to be working with Wind to provide its customers with operator-branded next generation services.” concluded Brown.
About Wind
Founded in 1997, Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA is one of the few European telecom operator which offers integrated fixed, mobile and Internet services. In Italy, Wind is the third Italian mobile operator with a market share of over 19% and the first alternative fixed operator. Libero.it is the first Italian Internet Portal and is among the major Italian Internet Service providers.
Wind has signed an exclusive agreement to offer the innovative i-modeTM service, created by the Japanese company NTT DoCoMo in 1999 with the aim of transferring Internet services and content on mobile phones. The i-modeTM platform is available via 2G (GPRS) and 3G (UMTS).
For more information, please visit www.wind.it
About iFollow IMSC
Followap’s drive for IM and Presence interconnectivity builds on Followap’s lead in the operator-branded IM market. First launched in 2000, Followap’s iFollow IMSC (Instant Messaging Service Centre) powers over 15 operator-owned communities worldwide. Followap is providing this connectivity using its Interconnect Platform (ICP).
