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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | ||
www.yahoo.com.au announces the only instant messaging SMS service that extends to all top three mobile carriers
SYDNEY, 29 April 2003 - Yahoo! Australia & NZ (www.yahoo.com.au) has today announced that Yahoo! Messenger on SMS is the first of the big four instant messaging services to become available to around 98 per cent of the Australian mobile marketplace. With the signing and activation of the top three mobile carriers, Telstra, Vodafone and Optus, Yahoo! has beaten other major players to market. No other mobile instant messaging service can claim the same coverage. According to the most recent ABN Amro Australian Telecommunications Market Report (December 2003), the top three carriers control roughly 98 per cent of the Australian mobile marketplace*, meaning that the Yahoo! service extends much further than any of its competitors. Additionally, Yahoo! announced that it has developed a world first for the Australian market, by developing Yahoo! Messenger for use on the new Telstra Mobile Loop** service. This application will further solidify Yahoo! as the predominate mobile player in the instant messaging space. With instant messaging products remaining proprietary and not yet interoperable, the widest possible availability is crucial. Yahoo! Messenger enables people to see if their friends and colleagues are online and instantly message them in real time. Because text based communication, like SMS, is often the lowest common denominator, by extending the Yahoo! Messenger service to SMS means that people can interchange their phone or computer to always show their availability to friends, family and colleagues, this is called presence. "Presence" is the ability to let others instantly see if you are online and it's what differentiates instant messaging from the telephone or email. It helps people identify the best way to contact someone and is as easy to use as sending an SMS which is an obvious advantage. The new service assists in making mobile phones and computers even more interchangeable. It's a strong marriage of web based technology with mobile portability. "We are so proud to be the first instant messaging service to reach 98% coverage in the Australian market," said David Gowdey, Corporate Development Manager, Yahoo! Australia & NZ. "It's a great way to help people stay in touch and connected to friends and colleagues online, regardless of where they are or what device they're on." Yahoo! Australia & NZ is a leader in the mobile space, and over the past few months has shown it's fully committed to further developing or leveraging applications or services for the Australian mobile market. With more than half the Australian population now using mobile phones, and SMS-use growing exponentially, Yahoo! has recognised the need to combine the online presence of the Internet with the portability of a mobile. Yahoo! Messenger on SMS is a service that is already having a profound implication for consumers and businesses who need to benefit from a high level of accessibility. "We were the first to strike and launch significant deals with all the major Australian carriers which means that Yahoo! Messenger is now available on SMS to 98% of over 12 million Australian mobile phone users," continued Gowdey. "It is a tremendous accomplishment for our team and we are proud to have the greatest reach of any instant messaging service in the country," he said.
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* There are currently around 12.3 million mobile phone subscribers in Australia, or roughly 65% penetration across the entire population. The ABS believes mobile phone use by adults over the age of 15 is at 80%.
About Yahoo! Messenger Yahoo! Australia & NZ (www.yahoo.com.au) is one of the most recognised Internet brands in the region. www.yahoo.com.au and the online auction site SOLD.com.au are part of the global network of Yahoo! sites. By working with leading local companies, Yahoo! Australia & NZ provides comprehensive online products and services to over four million Australians and New Zealand consumers and businesses each month. For further information, photos or interviews, please contact:
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