STOCKHOLM, Sweden, June 5, 2000 — Telef
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a and Microsoft Corp. today began extensive trials of new corporate and consumer advanced wireless Internet services. The trials build on a Telef
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a and Microsoft agreement announced earlier this year to develop wireless Internet products and services. Commercial deployments of the new corporate and consumer wireless Internet services are expected in Spring 2001.
Telef
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a, a significant development partner for Microsoft, has eleven million subscribers in Spain, a market that currently has a forty five percent mobile phone penetration rate.
The corporate trial will assess new services that allow enterprise customers to send and receive email as well as access, in real-time, their Microsoft Exchange-based calendaring, contacts, personalised Web content and online information services from their mobile phones. The consumer trial will evaluate new services that allow customers to send and receive email as well as access personalised Web content and online information services from their mobile phones. Both trials will take place using established radio interfaces.
The new services are based on Microsoft’s technology including Internet Cellular Smart Access, Corporate Access technology, Mobile Explorer, Exchange 2000, SQL Server, Windows NT and Windows 2000.
These trials will help Telef
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a and Microsoft asses the market, gather detailed feedback on how customers will use emerging mobile data services and prepare for a sizeable commercial deployment expected in Spring 2001. In addition, the success achieved by the new services created during the trial in Telef
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a could mean that they are deployed later by other operators of its corporation in Latin American markets
Telef
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a and Microsoft intend to use Sony’s CMD-Z5 and Benefon’s Benefon Q GSM mobile phones for the trial, both of which are powered by Microsoft Mobile Explorer, Microsoft’s modular software platform for Internet-enabled mobile phones.
“After launching WAP as the first steps in the provision of new mobile internet access services we are focusing now to enhance our portfolio of wireless value added services specifically focusing on Corporations, SME and SOHO market segments,” said Luis Lada, CEO of Telef
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a. “Our partnership with Microsoft in this trial will allow us to keep our leading position, considering its market share in corporate Intranets and personal computing applications.”
“These trials mean that Microsoft has taken another step closer to achieving its goal of enabling users to access the Internet at any time, any place and from any device,” said Paul Gross, senior vice president, Microsoft Mobile Collaboration Group. “We look forward to the valuable customer feedback we will receive and are eager to work with Telef
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a, in this dynamic Spanish market, to build on this experience and provide wireless data solutions for corporate and consumer customers worldwide.”
About Telef
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Telef
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a, with 11 million clients, is the market leader in mobile telephony in Spain. In the last year the company has focused its resources and efforts on research into the field of Wireless Internet and data development in the wireless world. In order to advance the integration of wireless technologies and the Internet, and for the mobile phone to become an always on terminal, or one that is permanently hooked up, Telef
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a has created a specialised area in Wireless Internet, with the aim of developing new services in this field.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies 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.
Microsoft and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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