GENEVA-Sonera, the Finnish telecommunications operator, announced it plans to enter the wireless portal business. The company said it initially will focus its efforts on Western Europe and the United States, competing head to head with U.S. firms such as Phone.com.
Called Sonera Zed, the service will allow mobile users to personalize the short message service and Wireless Application Protocol information they receive on mobile handsets. The company plans to test the service in Finland and international markets through the end of the year, and commercially launch service in the spring.
Sonera, which owns stakes in Powertel Inc. and Aerial Communications Inc. in the United States and wireless systems in Turkey and Hungary, will package its own and third-party content provider services, which will allow a user to configure the information that is downloaded to a handset. A user can choose to have stock quotes sent to a wireless phone at noon every day, for example.
In a related announcement, Sonera bought the ByeDesk business from Fujitsu as a means of accomplishing this. Fujitsu’s TeamWARE subsidiary had sold the ByeDesk mobile remote access solution to GSM carriers and private corporations before the sale. With Sonera owning the platform, the ByeDesk application will be integrated into the Sonera Zed portal and sold only to carriers. (See related story page 25).
“The launching of the mobile portal business is a significant step for Sonera, as it allows us to expand the provision of our mobile communications services to areas where we don’t have our own mobile network,” said Kaj-Erik Relander, executive vice president for Sonera’s international operations and mobile and media.
Mobile penetration in Finland is greater than 60 percent, and Sonera’s share of the Finnish GSM market is 62 percent. Sonera also holds 39 percent of Finland’s corporate Internet subscriptions and serves 42 percent of residential Internet customers. Sonera was the first operator to launch information services intended for WAP-compliant mobile phones at the end of August.
Sonera is investing 50 million euros into the new venture, and business development will be concentrated in London.
The company initially is targeting corporate users, allowing Sonera Zed to be the gateway to a company’s corporate intranet. The offering will allow Sonera to become a services company, vs. only an operator, within the next five to seven years, said Juha Varelius, executive vice president for Sonera Services. “We’re changing the earnings logic of the company,” he said.
U.S. companies such as Phone.com recently announced similar services for carriers. Sonera is one of the first European firms to offer a wireless Internet portal service.
In line with the announcement, Sonera recently divided its offerings into two businesses-a telecom division focusing on its fixed line projects and a mobile and media division targeting the data and wireless segments, including Sonera Zed.
Sonera also announced a new technology that incorporates a set of intelligent network functions into an Internet Protocol environment that can be managed with a WAP user interface. The technology will allow mobile users to manage intelligent voice-over-IP services and other applications based on the IN platform, such as conferencing, fax, e-mail and directory services. New WAP IN applications include service management and dynamic user profile management and registration, said Sonera.
The technology could reduce the cost of installing IN systems by eliminating the need for specialized IN equipment and enable IN to be used for a wider range of applications.
