VIRGIN MOBILE SNAP HAPPY ABOUT THE ARRIVAL
OF INTER-CARRIER MULTI-MEDIA MESSAGING
Weird Pet Tricks and Random Pranks Rank as Favourite Picture Messages
(TORONTO, Ontario) June 29, 2005 – Virgin Mobile Canada applauds
the arrival of intercarrier multi-media messaging coming on July 1st,
which will allow all mobile customers with MMS-capable phones in Canada
to share pictures and other content. The agreement among Canada’s
wireless providers, announced today by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications
Association (CWTA), comes on the heels of the launch of Virgin Mobile’s
picture sharing service, called PXT.
Virgin Mobile customers can now send and receive picture
messages to and from each other and, on July 1st, from other mobile
customers across Canada. Any picture can be uploaded to a Virgin Mobile
customer’s online account for 50 cents, and then can be shared with
anyone and everyone for free. The company’s picture messaging
service is powered by LightSurf/VeriSign.
“We’re excited to be part of CWTA’s announcement and
to begin offering intercarrier multimedia sharing to our customers,”
said Andrew Black, President and CEO of Virgin Mobile in Canada.
“Just as intercarrier MMS has driven real value in picture messaging
around the world, we know our customers will be snap happy and really
embrace the service,” he added.
Picture sharing opens the door for spontaneity, creativity
and personalization among mobile customers. A survey conducted
by Virgin Mobile found that most mobile customers enjoy sending/receiving
pictures of just about anything and everything, and the more interesting
the better.
The top five favourite things customers have sent
a picture message of are:
- weird pet behaviour;
- friends pulling
random pranks;
- fashion crimes;
- outrageous party
stunts;
- accident scenes
“Picture and multi-media content sharing is really
about having fun with your mobile phone and capturing the moment.
Whether someone caught a friend in a compromising position or wearing
something they shouldn’t be, a picture is worth a thousand words,” said
Black.
About Virgin Mobile Canada
Launched in March 2005, Virgin Mobile Canada is a partnership
between Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and the Bell Mobility division
of Bell Canada, bringing together one of the world’s most respected
brands with Canada’s national leader in communications.
Virgin Mobile operates as a mobile virtual network
operator or MVNO in Canada, which has proven to be a successful business
approach for the company in other markets around the world. Virgin
Mobile was first launched in the United Kingdom in November 1999, in
Australia in 2000 and subsequently expanded to the U.S. in July 2002,
and together the companies have attracted more than 8.5 million customers
worldwide.
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.
For Further Information Please Contact:
Paula Lash
Virgin Mobile
(416) 607-8592
Leslie Rubin
VeriSign, Inc.
(650)426-5363
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