BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 16, 2009 — Today at Mobile World Congress 2009, Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. and Microsoft Corp. announced a new alliance enabling them to distribute Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger on mobile phones in Orascom Telecom’s key markets. The services will be introduced to customers in a phased rollout through Orascom’s affiliate partners.
“With Orascom, we will be able to tap the great growth potential of the mobile market in the Middle East,” said Tom Bailey, senior director of product management for Windows Live for Mobile services at Microsoft. “Through our new alliance, we have the ability to extend the mobile Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger experience for our mutual customers.”
“From text messaging to the mobile Internet, our customers will be able to easily access the Windows Live experiences from the mobile phone,” said Emad Farid, group chief operating officer at Orascom Telecom. “This alliance with Microsoft is a part of our strategy to offer our subscribers first-rate mobile services.”
About Windows Live
More than 500 million customers around the world rely on Windows Live for e-mail, messaging, and sharing photos and files within their networks of friends, family, business associates and more. With localized versions being made available globally in 54 countries and 48 languages by early 2009, the next generation of Windows Live brings enhanced tools to make online activities easier, more integrated and more intuitive. The new Windows Live experience is also enhanced by alliances — with feeds from third-party sites that enable users to stay up to date on what’s new with friends and family and see information from other online services such as Flickr, LinkedIn and Pandora — all in a single set of services where they already spend time every day. Over the coming weeks, the next generation of Windows Live will become available at http://www.windowslive.com.
About Orascom Telecom
Orascom Telecom is a leading international telecommunications company operating GSM networks in high growth markets in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, having a total population under license of approximately 453 million with an average mobile telephony penetration of approximately 46% as of September 30th, 2008. Orascom Telecom operates GSM networks in Algeria (“OTA”), Pakistan (“Mobilink”), Egypt (“Mobinil”), Tunisia (“Tunisiana”), Bangladesh (“banglalink”), Zimbabwe (“Telecel Zimbabwe”), and North Korea (“Koryolink”). Through its subsidiary Telecel Globe, OTH also operates in Burundi, the Central African Republic and Namibia. Orascom Telecom had over 79 million subscribers as of September 30th, 2008.
Orascom Telecom is traded on the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchange under the symbol (ORTE.CA, ORAT EY), and on the London Stock Exchange its GDR is traded under the symbol (ORTEq.L, OTLD LI).
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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