STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 27, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- This year's Vasalopp ski race will be the first to allow audiences to follow the progress of each individual skier directly via SMS to their mobile phones. Even though only half the Vasalopp week has passed, the service has already been a tremendous success. Together with Mobile Relations, Europolitan Vodafone has produced the mobile service for the Vasalopp ski race, which has registered more than 10,000 SMS inquiries from customers who wish to follow the progress of friends and relatives as they tackle the course.
"The response has been overwhelming and will be even greater as Sunday's Vasalopp race draws closer. The SMS service is part of our operator-neutral service initiative in which we offer content suppliers, in this case the Vasalopp race organizers, solutions that allow them to reach all Swedish operators' mobile telephony customers via us," said Marten Ulvsback, Business Manager in charge of applications at Europolitan Vodafone.
The Vasalopp race's SMS service uses a computer chip given to each competitor together with an ID number worn around the wrist. Sensors are then placed along the course of the Vasalopp, and when the skiers pass them, they register the time and send this information as an SMS to those who have ordered the service, regardless of which operator they use. Europolitan Vodafone's undertaking in the Vasalopp ski race is being carried out in collaboration with IBM, which is responsible for reporting the results of the race and the Vasalopp Web site.
Until now, it was difficult for content suppliers to reach all potential customers via SMS without signing contracts with each individual operator. But with Europolitan Vodafone's new Event SMS service, separate contracts are a thing of the past. Europolitan Vodafone and Mobile Relations handle the agreements with other operators on behalf of the content suppliers and also offer administrative and technical solutions tailored to their needs. The only thing the content suppliers need is a marketing channel to spread the word about their SMS service.
"Many companies and organizations are sitting on a goldmine of interesting information that can be made available via mobile telephones," said Goran Brandt, Managing Director of Mobile Relations. "SMS is a fantastic means for increasing the perceived value of an event or sending information to your customers. There is a clear trend whereby a growing number of companies and organizations are discovering the potential of SMS in terms of generating contacts, and our new service has effectively removed any obstacles to the use of this channel."
Read more about the service at www.vasaloppet.se.
Europolitan Vodafone is a mobile operator with a license to build 3G mobile telecoms networks. Our strength lies in our focus on developing international services, service and quality. Europolitan Vodafone's parent company, Europolitan Holdings is listed on the Attract 40 list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The company's majority owner is Vodafone of the U.K., with 71 per cent of Europolitan Holdings. Private shareholders, investment companies and pension funds own the remaining 29 per cent. The Vodafone Group is represented on five continents and has more than 200 million mobile telecoms users. During April 2002, Europolitan Vodafone will be changing its name to Vodafone to demonstrate that the company is part of the world's largest mobile telecoms groups. Visit our web sites at www.europolitan.se and www.vodafone.com/
Mobile Relations is 51 per cent owned by Europolitan Vodafone AB and 49 per cent owned by Nocom AB (publ). Mobile Relations offers operator-neutral and customized mobile IT solutions via GSM, GPRS and SMS at both national and international levels. Mobile Relations' services enable companies to give their customers and employees simple and secure access to both extranets and intranets. Visit the Web site at www.mobilerelations.se.
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