13th Feb 2007 07:03
Vodafone Group Plc13 February 2007 13 February 2007 VODAFONE AND YAHOO! TO EXTEND THEIR PARTNERSHIP IN EUROPE Partners to forge closer ties to create a seamless communications experience between the PC and mobile Vodafone and Yahoo! have agreed to extend their partnership to bring theirinstant messaging services to both the mobile phone and PC, providing customerswith a seamless mobile Internet communications experience. The integrated communications services will be based on a co-branded applicationthat can work on both PCs and mobile devices. As a result, customers will beable to send messages from PC to mobile and vice versa, while enjoying thebenefits of easy access to their contacts and friends. The new service means that customers will be able to use the address bookfunctionality to see whether their friends are online and exchange messages whenthese friends are either on their PC or mobile devices. "Vodafone announced last year that we would seek to bring the PC and mobileworlds together for our customers, offering them the best of Internetcommunications on the mobile," said Frank H Rovekamp, Global Chief MarketingOfficer, Vodafone. "The partnership of two of the biggest names from the worldsof mobile and Internet is going to greatly accelerate the speed at whichcustomers will receive a seamless communications experience between their PCsand mobiles." "This partnership is significant as mobile phones play an important role in howcustomers communicate and stay connected to their Internet community," saidMarco Boerries, Senior Vice President, Connected Life, Yahoo!. "The combinedexpertise of Vodafone and Yahoo! means that we will be able to deliver anexciting and relevant experience to consumers across both their mobile and PC." Vodafone and Yahoo! intend to further develop their partnership by exploring thecreation of next generation communication services. The companies firstestablished their partnership in November 2006 when Vodafone named Yahoo! theirexclusive display advertising partner in the UK. Together the companies arecreating an innovative mobile advertising business to enhance the customerexperience on mobile phones while providing both companies with a new revenuestream. -ends- About Vodafone Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group withoperations in 25 countries across five continents and over 200 millionproportionate customers by the end of January 2007, as well as 36 partnernetworks. For further information, please visit www.vodafone.com About Yahoo! Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most traffickedInternet destinations worldwide. Yahoo!'s mission is to connect people to theirpassions, their communities, and the world's knowledge. Yahoo! is headquarteredin Sunnyvale, California. # # # Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo!Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of theirrespective owners. For Further Information Vodafone Group Media RelationsTel: + 44 1635 664444 Yahoo! Inc. Nicole LeverichTel: +1 [email protected] This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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