BPL Mobile, MSN India and Mobile 365 Bring Mobility to Subscribers in India

(I-Newswire) December 23, 2004 - MSN India, a leading online destination featuring more than 360 million users worldwide, and Mobile 365 (newly merged Mobileway-InphoMatch) today further extend their relationship in Asia by forging a strategic mobile alliance with BPL Mobile, India's best and most trusted mobile phone service provider. Starting today, over 2.4 million BPL Mobile subscribers across Mumbai, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry will be able to access their Hotmail e-mails and chat with their MSN buddies on SMS anywhere, anytime.

Called Mobile-mail, BPL Mobile subscribers will be able to access their MSN Hotmail accounts via two-way short message service (SMS). With this service, users of MSN Hotmail will have the option to receive email sent to their MSN Hotmail accounts by SMS on their mobile phones-whenever and wherever they are. They will also be able to reply to those email messages directly to the sender's inbox via SMS, as well as perform other common tasks directly from their phone.

BPL Mobile subscribers will also be able to send and receive messages using MSN Messenger via a mobile phone. The "MSN Messenger over SMS" service is a form of two-way SMS that enables users and their MSN Messenger buddies to keep in touch with each other via a PC and any mobile phone that supports the SMS technology.

When a user is logged on to MSN Messenger on a PC, he/she can keep in touch with family and friends via their mobile phone simply by creating and saving a mobile MSN Messenger number for each of their buddies.

"From now on, BPL Mobile subscribers can use their mobile phones to access their personal email accounts and connect with their online buddies anytime, anyplace, and while on the move," said Mr. Krishna Angara, Executive VP-Business Operations, BPL Mobile.

"BPL Mobile leads the market in offering our subscribers the latest innovations and newest technologies to enhance their handset experience. Mobile-mail revolutionises the way our subscribers keep in contact with friends, relatives, and business associates-they no longer need to sit in front of their computers to wait for email to download. 'MSN Messenger over SMS' greatly enriches our messaging service portfolio, offering an effective way for our subscribers to manage personal communications while away from the office or home," added Mr. Angara.

The services, which have been immensely popular and successful since their launch across Asia, will present BPL Mobile additional sources of revenues while rendering more competitive and compelling mobile services to its over 2.4 million subscribers, thereby increasing customer loyalty.

"MSN India and Mobile 365 are bridging three popular and widely used communication tools-the mobile phone in combination with MSN Hotmail and Messenger-to enable on-the-go consumers in Asia to keep in touch with those most important to them," said Rohit Dadwal, Head, CSMP, South Asia, MSN. "The youth market in India, in particular, is burgeoning furiously. Mobility, flexibility, and connectivity are central to Indian lives today. The alliance with BPL and Mobile 365-which provides us more 150 direct connections with mobile operators worldwide-extends our capability to offer mobile carriers the capacity to provide their consumers with access to MSN Hotmail and Messenger anywhere in the world," he added.

"India, the world's second-largest mobile market after China, presents exciting opportunities for companies seeking entry into the country," said Matthew Talbot, Managing Director, Mobile 365 Asia. "The youth market consists of a sizeable group-the majority of people below 25 years of age are tremendously mobile phone savvy. For the youth, possessing a mobile phone is, in some ways, a status symbol. For business professionals, it is a business lifeline, and a hefty chunk of business is transacted via mobile devices. SMS, in particular, has been one of the biggest mobile service successes to date."

According to Gartner Group, the number of mobile phones in India is expected to exceed fixed lines by the end of 2004 or early 2005. Growth is expected to continue based on increased use of SMS for text-based information or entertainment services on demand, games, and marketing.

About BPL Mobile
BPL Mobile is proud to be India's best mobile service in the latest nationwide survey conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) across GSM & CDMA service providers. Another recent report by AC Nielsen-ORG Marg published in The Economic Times Brand Equity has also rated BPL Mobile amongst the top admired and trusted telecom brands in the country.

Today, over 2.4 million subscribers across 209 cities, in the markets of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry & Goa enjoy India's best service through world-class technology and services and a network that gives Superior Coverage and Amazing Clarity. It has revolutionized the mobile communications industry in India with its state of the art technology, which includes the unique network design, the Qualnet, Camel Phase 2 Intelligent Network (IN) platform and GPRS providing cutting edge services like Multimedia Messaging (MMS), mobile browsing, Java based mobile games amongst others. For more details, log on to www.bplmobile.com

About MSN
MSN is the world's most popular destination on the Web, attracting more than 360 million visitors per month. Available in 34 markets and 18 languages, MSN provides consumers with their home on the Web. MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and digital marketing solutions to businesses worldwide. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com. MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx.

In Singapore, MSN is located at www.msn.com.sg.

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 MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

About Mobile 365
Mobile 365, created by the merger of InphoMatch and Mobileway, is the global leader in mobile data services. Mobile 365 reliably delivers messages, premium content, and value-added services for the leading mobile operators, content providers, corporate brands, and media companies worldwide. Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, USA, Mobile 365 has global offices in Beijing, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, San Mateo (California USA), São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney, and Taipei. Major operator customers include Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, Telcel, Telefonica, and O2, and Mobile 365 has conducted thousands of mobile campaigns for hundreds of leading brands around the world. For more information, visit http://www.mobile365.com.

For media information, please contact:

Sanjay Nathani
BPL Mobile
Mobile: +91 98211 41000

Shefali Sapra
The PRactice (for MSN India)
Phone: +91 80 2520 3757 / 58

Jean Loh
Mobile 365 Asia
Senior Marketing Manager
Phone: +60 3 6203 2713

Jann Yip
Asian Publicis (for Mobile 365 Asia)
Phone: +65 6455 2812
Mobile: +65 9651 2844

###

Company Contact Information