Mannesmann Provides Today What Vodafone AirTouch Promises for Tomorrow
14 January 2000
Mannesmann Provides Today What Vodafone AirTouch Promises for Tomorrow
Integrated Strategy Offers Key to Capturing the Internet Future
DUSSELDORF, Germany, Jan. 14 -- Vodafone's Tuesday launch of
its internet and data strategy made bold claims for its ability to deliver
services from July 2000. The reality is that there is nothing that Vodafone
will offer in six months time that Mannesmann will not already have offered.
Moreover it is the integrated strategy which Mannesmann pursues that is the
key to capturing the growth in data and internet, not Vodafone's wireless only
strategy.
Mannesmann is today one of the leading Internet providers in Europe with
more than 2.6 million Internet subscribers as well as an European Internet
(IP)-network with guaranteed local access in those countries with Mannesmann
majority interest. Mannesmann owns with Omnitel 2000, Italia Online and
Germany. Net some excellent and well established brands in the respective
national languages. Orange started its internet portal (Orange.net) in
November 1999.
By contrast, the Internet platform version 1.0 that will be launched by
Vodafone in July 2000 in UK and Australia will offer services only in English.
As the following table shows, Vodafone's platform will include only a part of
what Mannesmann is offering already today:
THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN ISSUED BY, AND IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF,
MANNESMANN AG ("MANNESMANN") AND HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTION
57 OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES ACT, 1986 BY MERRILL LYNCH INTERNATIONAL
("MERRILL LYNCH"), MORGAN STANLEY & CO. LIMITED ("MORGAN STANLEY") AND
J.P.MORGAN SECURITIES LTD. ("J.P.MORGAN") WHICH ARE REGULATED IN THE UK BY THE
SECURITIES AND FUTURES AUTHORITY LIMITED AND ARE FINANCIAL ADVISERS TO
MANNESMANN IN CONNECTION WITH VODAFONE'S OFFER TO ACQUIRE MANNESMANN ("THE
VODAFONE OFFER"). MERRILL LYNCH, MORGAN STANLEY AND J.P.MORGAN ARE ADVISING
MANNESMANN IN RELATION TO THE VODAFONE OFFER AND NO-ONE ELSE AND WILL NOT BE
RESPONSIBLE TO ANYONE OTHER THAN MANNESMANN FOR PROVIDING THE PROTECTIONS
AFFORDED TO CUSTOMERS OF MERRILL LYNCH, MORGAN STANLEY AND J.P.MORGAN OR FOR
PROVIDING ADVICE IN RELATION TO THE VODAFONE OFFER.
Services announced by Availability of Mannesmann Services
Vodafone for July 2000
Access
WAP Phones 1999
SMS Phones 1995/1997
Personalisation via
landline February 2000
Desktop portal for user
customisation February 2000
Messaging
PIM with synchronization
of desktop applications June 2000
Webmail 1999
2-Way SMS 1995/1997
Information Services
(Games, News, Personalized
Information, Calendar,
Address Book, Weather, etc.) 1999
E-Commerce
Stock Trading 1999
Banking 2nd quarter 2000
In addition, since 1999 Mannesmann has already been offering the following
services, among others:
-- Stock portfolio
-- Auctions
-- E-Shop
-- Telematic with location-based services via GPS
(Mannesmann Passo)
-- Ticket sales
-- Unified messaging functionality (SMS/Email, Voice/Email)
For business customers Mannesmann offers integrated (fixed and mobile)
Virtual Private Networks, develops e-business-solutions and also provides
Web-Hosting services.
The integration of data and telecommunications requires the necessary
know-how in house, which Mannesmann has systematically supported for years.
New products and services are developed in centers of competence in Pisa,
Milan, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. Mannesmann is convinced that an integrated
Tele-commerce company cannot emerge by just buying know-how and technology.
Combining telecommunication and Internet is the precondition for building
a new Tele-commerce business. With Tele-commerce it is possible today to
offer bundled products and services irrespective of the type of Internet
access via mobile devices, fixed line or TV set.
Ultimately, added value for the customer is not only generated by
technology, but through multifaceted product and service offerings. It is up
to the customer to decide on which type of access and what type of service he
wants to use.