DoCoMo and COSMOTE Commence Partnership for i-mode in Greece
NTT DoCoMo, Inc., Japan’s leading mobile communications provider, and COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications S.A., the leading mobile operator in Greece, announce today that they have formed an exclusive strategic partnership agreement under which DoCoMo is licensing COSMOTE to launch i-modeｮ, the world’s most popular mobile service, in Greece. The two leading mobile operators have signed today an agreement, under which COSMOTE will offer its i-mode service over its 2.5G GPRS network and 3G UMTS network, with DoCoMo providing its know-how, technology and patents.
The service launch will be targeted to precede the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, for which COSMOTE is a Grand National Sponsor.In addition, COSMOTE and DoCoMo will cooperate on the introduction of i-mode services in other markets where COSMOTE either maintains subsidiaries (AMC in Albania) or manages operations (Globul in Bulgaria, and COSMOFON in Macedonia).COSMOTE CEO, Mr. Evangelos Martigopoulos, commented: “Keeping up with all the new technological developments in order to continue providing exciting and innovative services to all our customers remains a key strategic objective of our Company. COSMOTE as always is committed in satisfying its customers’ needs by offering simple and user friendly value-added services while at the same time paving the way for 3rd Generation services. We are very satisfied with today’s announcement which proves our agility and ability to respond to the challenges that are presented before us.”NTT DoCoMo President and CEO, Dr. Keiji Tachikawa, commented: “The expansion of i-mode has been quite steady and successful. We are very pleased with the present partnership, which represents i-mode’s entry into its seventh European market. COSMOTE, Greece’s leading mobile operator, has the experience and expertise to launch i-mode successfully. We look forward to this collaboration, and to further expanding international partnerships to provide i-mode to a growing community of users worldwide.”The agreement with COSMOTE in Greece marks DoCoMo’s eighth partnership for i-mode service. COSMOTE joins an international i-mode alliance that includes E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), KPN Mobile N.V. (Netherlands), KG Telecom (Taiwan), BASE N.V./S.A (Belgium), Bouygues Telecom S.A. (France), Telefonica Moviles Espana (Spain), and Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA (Italy)*.
* Service is scheduled to begin by the end of 2003With the launch of i-mode services, COSMOTE customers will enjoy a totally new experience that includes:Access to internet services with a large variety of content on their mobile phones Choice among a wide range of innovative, multifunctional handsets developed specially for i-mode partners around the world. i-mode, first launched in 1999 in Japan, is the world’s leading mobile internet service. i-mode provides subscribers with access to rich content, e-mail, and applications entirely through their mobile handsets. Content providers and businesses can provide a wide variety of services via i-mode, an open platform based on de facto internet standards.i-mode is used by more than 40 million subscribers in Japan today, about one-third of the Japanese population. Launched in a number of markets throughout Europe and Asia since 2002, i-mode services outside of Japan now total more than one million subscribers.
About NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is the world’s leading mobile communications company, with more than 47 million customers. The company provides a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services. These include i-modeｮ, the world’s most popular mobile internet service, which provides e-mail and internet access to over 40 million subscribers, and FOMAｮ, launched in 2001 as the world’s first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and North and South America, the company is expanding its global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and North and South America. NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM), and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.nttdocomo.comi-mode and FOMA are trademarks or registered trademarks of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries.
FOMA is only available for subscribers in Japan.
About COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications
COSMOTE, a member of the OTE Group, started commercial operations in April 1998, five years after its competitors and in only three and a half years of operation achieved the leading position in the Greek mobile market, both in terms of subscribers and growth rates but most importantly in terms of profitability. COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications is also the leading mobile operator in Albania (through its subsidiary AMC) and manages OTE’s mobile assets in Bulgaria (Globul) and Macedonia (COSMOFON).
In fiscal year 2002 COSMOTE had just over 37.5% market share and generated 1.2 billion euro in operating revenues and over 229 million euro in net profit. The Company’s EBITDA margin is among the highest in Europe (above 42%).
COSMOTE’s stock trades in the Athens and London Stock Exchange [Shares: Athens SE, Reuters COSr.AT. Bloomberg COSMO GA. ISIN GRS408333003. GDRs: LSE, Reuters COSq.L. Bloomberg CRM GR, CMBD LI]. For more information, visit www.cosmote.gr