iTouch plc, the Cape Town-based specialist mobile information company, which listed on the London Stock Exchange last August, and MIH Asia, the Asian arm of MIH Limited, announced today that they have signed an agreement to provide wireless data services to mobile customers in China, Indonesia, Thailand and Greece.
Under the agreement, iTouch`s mobile technologies and applications - most of which are developed in Cape Town - will be rolled out rapidly through MIH`s operating subsidiaries in the four countries.
The agreement is in line with iTouch`s international growth strategy and will enable MIH business units to provide its growing customer base with its extensive range of content and commerce services over any wireless device, further extending the group`s `Anywhere` strategy. It also extends MIH`s positioning into the rapidly growing wireless data services market.
iTouch, focusing entirely on the mobile customer, currently operates in six countries where it offers a range of voice (IVR), short messaging (SMS) and WAP services.
The agreement with MIH will take iTouch`s global presence up to at least 10 countries by the end of 2001, either through direct subsidiaries or through preferred partnering arrangements with MIH. Under the new agreement services will be branded under the core identity of MIH, but `powered by iTouch`.
MIH is an international pay television, Internet and interactive technology company providing services in over 50 countries. The agreement allows for the transfer of relevant skills from iTouch to MIH in support of wireless services.
Wayne Pitout, joint managing director of iTouch plc, says that the international co-operation with MIH fitted perfectly into iTouch`s international strategy.
"It provides iTouch with an excellent platform to launch wireless solutions in four new countries by the end of 2001, and accelerates our international expansion.
"MIH is a major player in these four countries, and a superb partner for us in Asia with its huge populations and rapidly growing mobile data services markets. We look forward to working with them."
iTouch SA`s Chief Operating Officer Sean Stegmann says the agreement is a "major opportunity to showcase products and services developed with South Africa`s world-class technololgy skills".
Thomas Hansen, Vice President of Wireless Services for MIH, said that the formalised relationship between the two groups makes a great deal of sense.
"We have a rapidly growing customer base in these countries which is now receiving a very extensive offering of content and commerce. We can now service customers through any wireless device - anytime and anywhere. The agreement also further expands MIH`s `play` into the wireless arena which we, like iTouch, have identified as an important market."
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iTouch
iTouch provides information and commerce services to mobile consumers and mobile solutions to corporate clients. It aims to be a major international provider of value added services to mobile customers. By expanding our range of mobile services, it capitalises on the increasing penetration of mobile devices for personal and corporate use, and the convergence of mobile, Internet and other multimedia technologies.
Its mobile services to consumers comprise the provision of content and commerce services. Corporate services allow corporate clients to communicate with their mobile customers and employees on an individual or group basis. We deliver our services through multiple delivery mediums, which comprise IVR, SMS and WAP.
MIH Limited
The company`s activities are focused on three areas:
1) Television platforms:
The Group provides terrestrial and cable analogue, digital satellite and other pay television services to over 2 million households in Africa, the Mediterranean and Asia.
2) Technology:
Through Mindport, its technology subsidiary, the Group provides conditional access, security, provisioning, protection/insurance, commissioning, Internet/IP technology, content management, customer care and billing and other related services to channel and platform operators worldwide.
MIH Limited is the controlling shareholder of Silicon Valley based Open TV, the world`s leading interactive television and media solutions company. OpenTV builds a complete software and infrastructure platform that enables digital interactive television and brings on-demand content to other digital communications devices. OpenTV solutions are crafted to meet the needs of all digital communications networks and include operating middleware, content applications, content creation tools, professional services expertise and strategic consulting. OpenTV software has been shipped with or installed in more than 11 million digital set-top boxes worldwide and has been selected by 35 digital cable, satellite and terrestrial Communications Networks in over 50 countries,
3) Internet:
The Group has leading Internet operations in Africa, Thailand and China:
- A 16.8% interest in M-Web Africa. Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), M-Web is the leading South African on-line service provider and content portal. The company recently expanded its African Internet business to include Internet service provider operations in several sub-Saharan African countries, including Namibia, Zambia and Botswana.
- A 95% interest in M-Web Thailand which owns Sanook!.com, Thailand`s leading Thai content Internet portal.
- M-Web.com.cn, the company`s Internet business in China, was launched in April 2000.
The Group has recently established an Internet business Indonesia -- M-Web Indonesia.