SanomaWSOY will widen the distribution of its services developed for internet applications also to mobile networks. For this purpose it has established a company which will create an open mobile portal. The implementation of this open mobile portal, independent of operators, will require a tele-operation notification, and it will be submitted in March by the new company to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
The first version of the portal is expected to be ready for trial operation already in summer 2000. At the testing stage it will provide SanomaWSOY's services, and in addition to this new contents and services will be designed specifically for this platform. The mobile portal will make these services accessible to all consumers.
The objective of the new company is to expand quickly internationally. Since the key principle of the open portal is to be independent of operators, equipment manufacturers or content producers, the operating concept of the company can be implemented globally by selecting the operators, equipment manufacturers or content producers as partners according to the market situation and regulations of each market.
Part of SanomaWSOY's new-media strategy
The mobile portal is the second phase of SanomaWSOY's new-media strategy whose first phase, virtual portal, was announced last November. The next strategic phase will consist of inclusion of concepts based on digital TV as the distribution channel.
SanomaWSOY's new-media strategy is supported by the Group's solid expertise in meeting the requirements of consumers and advertisers of media products, its long experience from high-quality content production, management of customer information and profiling of target groups. SanomaWSOY has accumulated know-how from the development and management of more than 70 different internet services. The Group's strong marketing expertise is another powerful competitive advantage.
The basic idea of virtual portal is to offer consumers a portal providing access to an extensive offering of internet pages and services. The portal can be accessed through 70 currently active internet services of SanomaWSOY, gaining already today more than 700,000 visits a week. This allows advertisers to reach a huge number of users while benefiting from the highly developed customer data management and target group profiles of the system.
SanomaWSOY has currently nearly 300 persons working in a number of digital media projects. The newly established mobile portal company will start recruiting personnel in March.
SANOMA-WSOY OYJ
Raija Kariola
Vice President
Investor Relations and Group Communications
DISTRIBUTION
Helsinki Exchanges
Principal media