VeriSign Endorses and Supports Mobile Marketing
Association’s Best Practices Guidelines for Mobile Content Services
Mobile Content Industry, Carriers and Consumers To
Benefit from New Standards
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - May 27, 2005 – VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:
VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for
the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced that the
company’s U.S. mobile content service, Jamster!, endorses and supports
the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) consumer best practices guidelines
for cross-carrier mobile content services.
VeriSign worked as a key contributor with the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), the Mobile Marketing
Association (MMA) and leading wireless carriers in the development of
these critical guidelines. The shared goal of the participating organizations
is to ensure a positive consumer experience when interacting with mobile
content services. The guidelines include a distinct set of best practices
ranging from advertising and promotion standards to opt-in and opt-out
requirements. The group was led by the largest carriers in the United
States, including Cingular, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, the
primary aggregators and the content providers like VeriSign.
The VeriSign Jamster! Mobile Content Service has catalyzed
the development of Premium SMS services throughout the United States.
Premium SMS is a purchase-and-billing mechanism that allows consumers
to efficiently request and receive mobile content, applications and
games “over-the-air.” Billing occurs through the customer’s wireless
carrier and is conveniently charged to the monthly bill.
“As mobility and entertainment services create exciting
new options for consumers, our industry must set clear and distinct
best practices for advertising and fulfillment,” said Vernon Irvin,
executive vice president, VeriSign Communications Services. “As VeriSign
enters new digital content markets, we will proactively work with industry
associations and service providers to ensure that our offerings are
aligned to consumer needs. Today, the MMA has taken an important step
forward in setting standards for the rapidly evolving mobile content
industry.”
"The MMA has worked extremely hard to create
a set of standards which we believe will create a positive mobile user
experience and ensure the success of the mobile content industry,” said
Jim Manis, global chairman of the MMA. "We are pleased to see that
carriers and companies such as VeriSign are quickly embracing these
standards and working to achieve the same standards that we set forth
in our original mission."
"With growing demand for wireless content and
the desire to personalize the user’s mobile experience, we will continue
to see the need for industry standards for wireless content and methods
of distribution," said Roger Entner, industry analyst and vice
president of wireless telecom at Ovum. "Companies who take the
first step to adhere to these standards and guidelines will show market
and thought leadership in the long run."
The standards that detail the necessary steps that
carriers and content aggregators must adopt to be in compliance are
available at www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), operates intelligent infrastructure services
that enable businesses and individuals to find, connect, secure and
transact across today’s complex global networks. Additional news and
information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.
About Jamster!
Jamster International Sarl, part of the VeriSign, Inc. family,
is a leading wireless content mediation company. Jamster! offers robust
mobile services by providing access to more than 50,000 pieces of content
including the latest ringtones, images, games and community services.
Jamster! services are offered as a managed service through the VeriSign
IC3 infrastructure service platform for commerce, communications and
content. With Jamster!, carriers can seamlessly deliver customized,
branded content acquisition portals without significant upfront licensing
costs or platform complexity. Jamster! branded services are now offered
in North America, UK and Australia and include market proven, end-to-end
solutions for content on-boarding, license aggregation, formatting,
catalog management, mediation, subscription management, rating and billing
and payment integration.
For more information, contact:
VeriSign Media Relations: Brian O’Shaughnessy, boshaughnessy@verisign.com,
650-426-5270
VeriSign Investor Relations: Tom McCallum, tmccallum@verisign.com,
650-426-3744
Statements in this announcement other than historical
data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ
materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements.
The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainty
of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly
operating results due to such factors as the risk that VeriSign's announced
strategic relationships may not result in additional products, services,
customers, profits or revenues; and increased competition and pricing
pressures. More information about potential factors that could affect
the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the
company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2004 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes no obligation
to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this
press release.
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