AOL forms raft of wireless agreements
- Added:
- Feb 29, 2000
Under the agreements, AOL's mobile messenger service will be made available on a range of Motorola and Nokia wireless devices.
AOL is also partnering with Sprint PCS, a leading US wireless service provider, to deliver content over Sprint's internet-ready handsets. In addition, the company also struck a deal with BellSouth to deliver its mobile messaging services over the telco's wireless network.
These “high-level” alliances and recent strategic partnerships formed by AOL Europe with Ericsson, Nokia, and RTS Wireless, are part of America Online's aggressive plans to target the lucrative mobile market in North America and Europe. An AOL Europe spokesperson says that the company will be commercially trialing its WAP browser in the next few weeks.
The spokesperson also said that the next step will be to launch GPRS services, which are expected to offer speeds of around 56kbps. GPRS technology will allow mobile users to be “always connected” which will make instant messaging more attractive. He added that AOL's final goal is to introduce UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) based real-time applications. Such 3G networks will offer bandwidth up to 2Mbps.