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blah! Enters U.S.; Plans to Create World's Largest Wireless
URL(s): www.blah.com
Latin America's leading wireless 'infotainment' provider already has
11 carriers; 7 countries; 2 million users; 50 million messages per month
MIAMI, FL, May 22, 2003 - blah!, the leading provider of cool and
exciting 'infotainment' products for wireless carriers in Latin America,
announced today that it is entering the North American market as part of
its plan to create the world's largest wireless community.
blah!, which earlier this month announced that it had signed Verizon
Wireless as its first U.S.-based wireless carrier, has established a
North American headquarters and service hosting operation in Miami, and
has begun negotiations with other U.S carriers to offer its full range
of wireless services. blah! services allow users immediate access to a
community of 2 million users with whom they can meet, interact, have
fun, express themselves, and always be 'in-the-know'.
The Miami headquarters will serve as the company's base of operation to
service all carriers throughout the North American market. The company
also is hosting its services at Terremark Worldwide's (AMEX:TWW) NAP of
the Americas, a carrier-neutral Tier-1 Network Access Point that is
considered one of the leading hubs of connectivity and technology
services for the users of the worldwide Internet and large
communications networks.
"blah! partnered with 11 carriers in 7 countries to create a community
of 2 million users who send 50 million messages a month, all within our
first 2 years of operations." said Federico Pisani Massamormile, blah!
CEO. " With our success in Latin America, and the tremendous increase
of SMS traffic in the U.S., blah! is perfectly positioned to enter the
North American market and create the world's largest wireless
community."
Created in June, 2000 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, blah! is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM). blah! provides wireless
carriers with a unique array of value-added services, while offering
users fun, new ways to interact with others who share similar interests
and ideas. blah!'s services have proven to be a hit in all of the
markets it has entered by almost instantly raising carrier's average
revenue per user (ARPU). And, blah! introduces the mobile youth to a
dynamic world of interactivity, entertainment and information.
Specifically, blah! offers a broad range of fun, mobile-centric
products, categorized as follows:
· Connection (contact): connecting the global mobile youth while
creating
a sense of belonging to a whole. Products include one-on-one
anonymous
chat, user profile, group messaging, e-mail, love matchmakers,
mystical
features (oracle, tarot), voting, polls, reminders, etc.
· Personalization (express): allowing the mobile youth to
differentiate themselves from their peers. Products include ring
tones, icons, picture messages, wallpapers, screen savers, etc.
· Leisure (enjoy): helping the mobile youth escape from life's routine.
Products include futblah!, baseblah!, blah!game, gamezone (rankings
and
other features), quiz, etc.
· Channels (discover): keeping mobile youth plugged into what's
happening
around the world and around the block. Products include information
channels with top-notch content providers in Latin America (Globo.com,
MTV, Abril, etc.).
Furthermore, all blah! services are available in several:
· Languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese
· Networks: GSM/GPRS, TDMA, CDMA; and
· Technologies: SMS, MMS, WAP, Web, SIM Toolkit and Voice Portal
blah! services are plug & play. blah! hosts and maintains a centralized
platform in Miami that can be easily plugged into carriers' networks,
allowing them to offer their customers the full suite of services. blah!
also provides multilingual 24/7 customer support and comprehensive
training and marketing services.
blah! targets the mobile youth market, which has shown to be the early
adopters and trend setters. Industry research indicates there are more
than 50 million mobile youth in the U.S., 32% of which currently use SMS
services. And, according to eMarketer, the number of teenagers
subscribing to wireless services in the U.S. will quadruple by 2006.
"Demand for SMS - or text messaging - grew rapidly as the communication
means of choice for the youth in Latin America during the past two
years, thanks to the introduction of cool and exciting products," said
Pisani Massamormile. "SMS traffic in the U.S. has recently increased due
to the resolution of the inter-carrier text-messaging issue, increased
awareness about messaging, and the commitment of carriers to offer
innovative value added services (VAS). We expect text messaging to
become as big as it has in other parts of the world."
Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier, began offering
the service to customers on May 13. The new service enables English,
Spanish and Portuguese speaking customers of Verizon Wireless to chat
and play games one-on-one in a unique virtual community using Verizon
Wireless TXT Messaging service. Customers can search and chat with
others nationally or internationally, or play interactive games such as
futblah!, a one-on-one soccer penalty shoot-out game where they
challenge other players or have the system match them up.
About blah!
blah! is the leading provider of cool and exciting 'infotainment'
products for wireless carriers in Latin America, focused on the mobile
youth. blah! serves a community of 2 million users with 11 wireless
carriers in 7 countries. Created in June, 2000 in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, blah! is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telecom Italia Mobile
(TIM). blah! entered the U.S. market in 2003, with its North American
headquarters in Miami, Florida. For more information about blah!,
please visit www.blah.com.
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