MIAMI, March 21, 2000 — Telmex and Microsoft Corp. today announced the formation of T1msn, the result of a joint venture agreement signed last year between the two companies. T1msn will create and operate a leading Spanish-language Internet portal, launched today at http://www.t1msn.com/ . The new portal will offer consumers rich content and best-of-breed services in Spanish, such as the MSN TM Hotmail® Web-based e-mail service, MSN Messenger and MSN Web Communities, to bring the Everyday Web to Latin American and Spanish-speaking consumers across the continent.
“Telmex and Microsoft each provide a wide range of high-quality products and services, have great experience in the telecommunications sector, and share a common business vision,”
said Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect.
“Our relationship will enable users and business partners of T1msn to gain access to the best Internet expertise.”
“This joint venture draws on the skills and strengths of both companies,”
said Carlos Slim, chairman of the board of Telmex.
“Because of our strategy to work with the best content providers in each local market, I am confident T1msn will provide consumers with the richest and most useful Internet experience and will quickly become established as the leading portal for Spanish-speaking users in the Americas.”
Gerardo Villarreal, who was appointed CEO of T1msn, added,
“Our vision is to unite leading content providers to offer users a diverse mix of information and services that suit their needs. We recognize that each market has cultural differences and similarities, so we plan to eventually offer portal sites for different markets throughout the region under the T1msn umbrella. T1msn is seeking to position itself in the market as a unique and distinctive portal tailored to the needs of users.”
T1msn’s Latin American portal is now active at http://www.t1msn.com/ . Over the next year the company will launch a series of regional portals, beginning with Mexico. T1msn is based in Mexico and has plans to expand its operations as the new venture grows.
About Telmex
Telmex (BMV
“TELMEX”
; NYSE
“TMX”
) is the leading telecommunications company in Mexico with more than 10.8 million phone lines and 5.2 million wireless customers, offering telecommunications services through a 33,000 kilometer fiber-optics digital network and telecommunications investments in three countries. Telmex and its subsidiaries offer a wide range of advanced services, including wired and wireless communications, data and video broadcasting, Internet access and integral solutions, as well as advertising and publicity in phone books. Information about Telmex is available at http://www.telmex.com.mx/ .
About MSN
MSN is the network of Internet services from Microsoft that helps people better organize the Web around what’s important to them. The network of MSN services, located on the Web at MSN.com ( http://msn.com/ ), helps people easily stay in touch with friends and colleagues, make smart and secure purchasing decisions, and get more done. MSN offers award-winning e-mail functionality; personal communications services; wireless services information; customizable access to news; popular sites for personal finance, travel, automotive services, shopping and more; an online community; a Web search engine and directories; and top-rated Internet access.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
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