21 June 2006
Second hubbing agreement gives Plus SMS worldwide text messaging access
Plus SMS Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of NZAX listed Plus SMS Holdings Limited, has entered into an agreement for
the provision of international messaging services with Paris-based Mobile 365 Operator Services SAS (Mobile 365).
Mobile 365 is a subsidiary of the privately held global messaging leader, Mobile 365 Inc., based in Chantilly, Virginia.
As a result of this agreement, Plus SMS’s text messaging services will be progressively accessible to customers of
mobile operators throughout the world who are part of the Mobile 365 operator network. The initial deployments will
occur in south-east Asia.
Announcing the agreement, Plus SMS chairman, Jim Bracknell, says the agreement represents another important breakthrough
for the company as Mobile 365’s comprehensive network of interconnection partners represents many of the world’s leading
mobile networks, especially those in the USA.
Delivering two billion messages per month, Mobile 365 is the leader in the global delivery and settlement of mobile
messaging and data services, including SMS, MMS, and WAP. With reach to more than 500 mobile operators around the world,
Mobile 365 is at the forefront of mobile interoperability messaging and the distribution of premium content and
value-added services.
Headquartered outside of Washington, D.C., Mobile 365 has offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hamburg, Hong Kong,
Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, New Delhi, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore,
Sydney, and Taipei.
Major operator customers include Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile, Telcel, Telefonica, O2, China
Mobile, China Unicom, Hutchison, and Airtel. Major brand customers include Volvo, Sony Pictures, MSN, Citibank, Siemens,
Ogilvy, Yahoo!, and Dunkin' Donuts. (For more information contact www.mobile365.com)
Plus SMS is the leading enabler of interactive cross network messaging services to media companies, content providers,
retailers, brands and broadcasters. “Because of Mobile 365’s reach, Plus SMS’s clients who use our services, will soon
be able to reach huge audiences via SMS and MMS messaging easily and quickly on their mobile phones throughout the
world,” says Mr Bracknell.
Thousands of international short ‘vanity’ codes owned by Plus SMS can be used for marketing product brands, sports and
special events to achieve mass market penetration. Providing immediate international access, these vanity codes also
cover a wide range of brand-named codes in the transportation, entertainment and hospitality industries e.g. +Taxi,
+Bet, +Hotel.
The Gartner Group estimates there are presently some 670 million mobile phone users in the Asia-Pacific region, with
about 53 per cent on pre-paid cards for whom text messaging is the preferred method of communication. At least 200
million text or SMS messages are sent every day in the Philippines alone.
The Mobile 365 agreement represents the second in what will become Plus SMS’s network of hubbing partners, providing
access from hundreds of mobile telephone networks in the world to vanity SMS codes operated by Plus SMS Limited. The
first hubbing partnership was signed earlier this year with Hong Kong based Citic Telecom 1616 Ltd, giving Plus SMS
direct access to mobile operators throughout China.
ENDS