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(Hong Kong, 29 June 2006) 3 Group, the global leader in the 3G arena, and Yahoo!, a leading internet media company, today announced a global agreement in which Yahoo! will provide its portfolio of rich mobile services to 3 worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will work together to offer key Internet services such as Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Mobile Web, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Mail, and Yahoo! Go for Mobile on 3's networks around the world. The companies also plan to make additional Yahoo! services available to 3 subscribers in the future.
This agreement breaks new ground in the convergence of the online and mobile experience by bringing some of the world's most popular online content and services to mobile broadband handsets. The first services will launch in the UK this summer, with the intention to launch thereafter in 3 Group's key European and Asia-Pacific markets including Italy, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Australia and on Hutchison Telecommunications International in Hong Kong and India. The companies will jointly market the services on the Yahoo! and 3 networks.
For 3, this is another step in a series of landmark deals that will open up a range of no-nonsense Internet-based services to its global customers and will drive customer acquisition, usage and traffic on 3's mobile networks. For Yahoo!, the relationship marks its first strategic alliance with a global 3G mobile broadband network operator.
The arrangement will use Yahoo!'s expertise in transcoding online content for mobile devices to allow 3 customers to surf the entire world wide web from their handsets for the first time. 3 will also now offer its customers full access to Yahoo! Search for both on and off portal search on mobile phones. The range of Yahoo! services, from search to photos to ringtones and graphics, will be accessible to subscribers either via the Internet browser on the handset or through client applications such as Yahoo! Ready or Yahoo! Go for Mobile on select devices. Country specific services will be made available in line with the phased roll out of the product portfolio.
Key services that will be available to consumers on 3's global network include:
Yahoo! Search (Web and Image)
Popular Communications Services
Christian Salbaing, Managing Director Europe Telecommunications at 3 Group, said:
"This relationship isn't just about us buying more content to put on our portal, its about a deep engagement between our two companies to bring some of the world's most popular Internet services and content to 3's networks. Our customers and Yahoo! users in our territories will be excited to access familiar Yahoo! services on 3's 3G mobile handsets and other broadband devices. Convergence between the Internet and mobile has been much talked about but this deal will really make it happen. We are delighted to partner with Yahoo! to leverage their knowledge of the Internet space, technical expertise and content and service portfolio for our customers. It is going to be fun."
Geraldine Wilson, Vice President, Connected Life, Yahoo! Europe, said:
"This announcement is another major milestone in Yahoo!'s strategy to extend our user experience 'beyond the browser' and across other platforms. 3 customers have already demonstrated their appetite for data services and will now be able to feed that appetite by accessing their favourite Yahoo! services via instantly familiar icons on 3 handsets. This arrangement gives us a new opportunity to take Yahoo! content and services to even more potential users - especially those that might not have ready or frequent access to the Internet via a PC."
About 3
A division of Hutchison Whampoa, the 3 Group together with Hutchison Telecommunications International, is the leading global player in the 3G arena, holding licences in 10 markets with total population coverage of approximately 175 million. In less than three years, the 3 Group has built an entirely new network, achieving probably the fastest rollout of a radio network in the entire telecom industry. Marketed globally under the 3 brand, the group is also the first operator in the world to provide dual-mode 3G services.
To date, commercial 3G services has been launched in Italy, the UK, Australia, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel and the Republic of Ireland. For more information about 3, please visit www.three.com
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! is a leading global internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! seeks to provide online products and services essential to users' lives, and offers a full range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users around the world. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
| For more information, please contact: 3 UK | |
| 3 Media Office Tel: (44) 20 7350 5696 Website: www.three.co.uk | Parys Communications Tel: (44) 20 7622 9951 Website: three@parys.com |
| Hutchison Whampoa Limited | |
| Laura Cheung Tel: (852) 2128 1289 Email: laurac@hwl.com.hk | Euginie Kwok Tel: (852) 2128 1343 Email: euginiek@hwl.com.hk |
| Yahoo! | |
| Alex Laity, Yahoo! Europe Tel: (44) 7131 1261 Email: alaity@yahoo-inc.com Pauline Wong, Yahoo! Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2837 6370 Email: pauline@yahoo-inc.com | Alex Eeles, Porter Novelli Tel: (44) 20 7853 2366 Email: alex.eeles@porternovelli.co.uk |
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