UNITED KINGDOM: VODAPHONE AIR TOUCH PLC SIGNS DEALS WITH OTHER INTERNET AND CELLPHONE PROVIDERS TO PREVENT TAKEOVER BY GERMAN COMPANY

Record ID: 337042

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: VODAPHONE AIR TOUCH PLC SIGNS DEALS WITH OTHER INTERNET AND CELLPHONE PROVIDERS TO PREVENT TAKEOVER BY GERMAN COMPANY
  • Date: 11th January 2000
  • Summary: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 11, 2000) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. CU VODAFONE AIRTOUCH POSTERS PULL OUT TO PRESS CONFERENCE 0.09 2. CLOSE OF VODAFONE MEDIA LITERATURE 0.13 3. SV JOURNALISTS AT PRESS CONFERENCE 0.18 4. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) VODAFONE CHIEF EXECUTIVE CHRIS GENT: "Today I am here, together with Erun Therein (phonet
  • Embargoed: 26th January 2000 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA9P1JF9FEP9PB0W3JMBQYY0RQS
  • Story Text: Cellphone giant Vodafone AirTouch Plc has signed deals
    with several internet technology and content providers, trying
    to bolster its hostile bid for German rival Mannesmann AG.

    Sending shares climbing, Vodafone launched a global
    platform and branded portal for mobile data and internet,
    linking with Sun Microsystems, International Business Machines
    Corp, Sweden's Ericsson AB, Finland's Nokia and Palm
    Computing, a 3Com company.

    Other partners include content and commerce services group
    Infospace.com, financial services firm Charles Schwab and
    travel company Travelocity.com/Sabre.

    As the clock ticks to the official February 7 close of
    Vodafone's record 134 billion euro (US$138 billion) hostile
    bid for Mannesmann AG, the British giant said it expected to
    derive significant increases in revenues as customers took up
    data and internet services.

    Vodafone Chief Executive Chris Gent said he wanted to
    empower cellphones to deliver top multimedia information and
    services -- audio, text, graphics and video -- anytime,
    anywhere.

    Vodafone AirTouch - the world's biggest mobile phone
    company - said by July 2000 it would launch the first version
    of its internet platform - an architecture of hardware and
    software that would provide world-class mobile data and
    internet services.

    The platform will be accessed through a portal --
    designed, built, managed and run by U.S giant IBM -- carrying
    a new global brand that would be announced in July, Vodafone
    said.

    Hoping to silence critics who say Vodafone has been
    outpaced by Mannesmann's strategic vision for the wireless
    future, Vodafone said it wanted to provide services ranging
    from messaging to desktop applications, information services
    and e-commerce on mobile phones and handheld computers.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register