Message #16 From:
Stock News Bot Date: September 14, 2006 05:19:00 AM
AXL News Gemalto Provides O2 with Combined SIM and Handset Phonebook Backup Service; O2 Launches Complete Solution for Restoring Personal Contacts in Just a Few Clicks
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2006--Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, today announced that O2 Ireland, a Telefonica company, has launched an innovative service that provides users with the ability to restore both the SIM and the handset phonebooks. With this Gemalto solution, O2 Ireland subscribers can easily retrieve their personal contacts in case their mobile phone is lost or stolen. O2 Ireland is the first operator to launch such a complete phonebook backup solution in the Irish market.
Gemalto provided O2 Ireland with a comprehensive hosted solution that allows subscribers to easily manage and save their contacts on demand, directly from their handset or through the operator's website. On replacing a lost or stolen phone, users simply connect to the O2 Ireland dedicated website and restore both their SIM and handset phonebooks over-the-air. They can also select the "synchronize" option in the menu of their new mobile phone.
This twofold backup solution consists in saving and synchronizing the SIM and handset phonebooks on a Gemalto server. For O2 Ireland, outsourcing service management is a key benefit that allows the operator to focus on its core business - delivering premium quality services to its customers.
"The ability to restore phonebook content is immediately and powerfully attractive to subscribers," commented Colm Codd, head of consumer services, O2 Ireland. "Gemalto allowed us to meet a clear request from our customers: a hassle-free solution to recover their personal contact lists on demand, anytime, anywhere. We believe this compelling service will help us strengthen subscriber loyalty."
"Delivering a service that helps subscribers efficiently manage their essential personal data, like their phonebook, is a key differentiator for O2 Ireland," added Jacques Seneca, president Europe, Gemalto. "We are confident that our complete phonebook backup solution will provide O2 with a sustainable competitive edge."
About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is a leader in digital security with pro forma 2005 annual revenues of $2.2 billion, operations in 120 countries and 11,000 employees including 1,500 R&D engineers. The company's solutions make personal digital interactions secure and easy in a world where everything of value -from money to entertainment to identities- is increasingly represented as bits and bytes communicated over networks.
Gemalto thrives on creating and deploying secure platforms, portable and secure forms of software in highly personal objects like smart cards, SIMs, e-passports, readers and tokens. More than a billion people worldwide use the company's products and services for telecommunications, banking, e-government, identity management, multimedia content, digital rights management, IT security and other applications. Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and Gemplus International S.A. For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.
About O2
O2 consists of mobile network operators in the UK and Ireland, along with integrated fixed/mobile businesses in Germany and the Czech Republic (Cesky Telecom). It also owns 50% of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses in the U.K. and Germany respectively. In addition, the group includes O2 Airwave, which supplies secure digital communications to the emergency services and other public safety organizations. O2, a Telefonica company, is headquartered in Slough, UK, and has more than 35 million customers across Europe.
