The Zed service offered by Sonera Zed Ltd combines mobile and net communications. Zed, which brings the Internet into the mobile phone, offers several new mobile phone services, such as real time information retrieval and e-commerce. By combining its expertise in mobile communications, the Internet and service provision, Sonera aims to develop into a global communications operator and provider of transaction and content services.

The agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding provides for M1 and Sonera Zed to jointly develop a range of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) services for Mi World, M1's mobile portal. Topping the list will be mobile commerce as well as services for travel, information, directory enquiries and communication needs such as messaging and greeting cards.

Mi World was launched by M1 in January this year with a suite of value added services for customers with WAP-enabled mobile phones. Leading international and regional content providers already hosted by Mi World include Yahoo, BBC and AsiaOne.com.

A joint working party comprising staff from M1 and Sonera Zed will be formed under the MoU to look into commercial terms, service concepts and design and implementation plans. They will also develop customer service and branding strategies and the schedule for service roll-out.

Neil Montefiore, Chief Executive Officer of M1, says: "This partnership between Sonera Zed Ltd and M1 is mutually beneficial and could not have happened at a better time. We are aggressively building up our Internet portal and Sonera Zed offers leading edge technology and ready-made services that we can leverage on. At the same time, Sonera Zed is looking to establish their brand globally and tying up with key operators in the region and M1 is happy to be working with them in Singapore."

"We are delighted with the new partnership. International distribution deals are vital for Zed's development into worldwide transaction and content services", says Juha Varelius, President and CEO of Sonera Zed Ltd.

"After its launch in October 1999, Zed received a lot of interest from mobile operators and content providers. Zed, while based on existing and proven technology, provides many advantages for operators. Zed concepts and services are in operation and being piloted in Finland, the most advanced mobile communications market in the world."

"The area of mobile communications is creating new business opportunities. The move towards mobile advertising and mobile commerce opens up a huge potential for creating new earnings models such as sponsorship and product advertising in mobile content services," he adds.

About M1

M1, Singapore's most exciting and innovative mobile and paging service provider, is a consortium of the Keppel Group, Singapore Press Holdings, Cable & Wireless and Cable & Wireless HKT. Please refer to the M1 website www.m1.com.sg for more information.

About Zed

Zed is a service entity, which combines mobile and net communications. Zed, which brings the Internet into the mobile phone, offers several new mobile phone services, such as real time information retrieval and e-commerce. Zed is independent of type of equipment, it functions in all mobile devices. The services are available both in SMS text messages and WAP service. Zed will also function in future solutions utilising UMTS technology. At the end of January 2000, Zed had over 600,000 users in Finland. The number of users registered at Zed's Finnish net service was close to 140,000.

Sonera Zed Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sonera Corporation. The company has its headquarters in the UK. More information on Sonera Zed at http://www.sonerazed.com/

About Sonera

Sonera (HEX: SRA, NASDAQ: SNRA) is an international forerunner in mobile communications and mobile-based services and applications. By combining its expertise in mobile communications, the Internet and service provision, Sonera aims to develop into a global communications operator and provider of transaction and content services. The company also provides advanced data communications solutions to businesses, and fixed network voice services in Finland and its nearby areas. In 1999, Sonera's revenues amounted to EUR 1.85 billion and profit before extraordinary items and taxes was EUR 0.5 billion.

Note to Editors

All You Need to Know About Mi World

Mi World is M1's very own WAP-based mobile portal that provides a host of information and services which M1 customers can easily access from their WAP-enabled mobile phones, such as the Nokia 7110. Currently running at a speed of 14.4 kbps, Mi World has the potential to run at up to 10 times the current speed in the near future once M1's already installed GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) goes into commercial service towards the end of the year.

There are various categories of information and services in Mi World, such as :

Mi Times

Provides news on business technology and sports via reputable content providers like Yahoo!, BBC and AsiaOne, and information on traffic reports, events, weather updates and flight schedules. Customers are also able to do a product and service search from here.

Mi Money

Provides information on financial matters such as stock market movement, unit trust information, 4D, horse racing results and even IPO alerts.

Mi Mail

Enables customers to receive and send e-mails via mobile phones.

Mi Fun

Provides information on food guide, TV guide, travel, soccer results, horoscope, movie and MTV charts. Customers can also access auction sites and read sports news.

Mi Surf

Offers more news and information from reputable content provider AsiaOne and hotlinks to popular sites. Customers can also surf the web via other search engines.

Mi Mall

Provides information on books available in Singapore.

How to sign up for Mi World

There are two subscription packages to choose from :

Mi World

This gives you access to various categories of information in Mi World plus M1 e-data and M1 e-mail.

One-time registration fee : $20

Monthly subscription : $15

Usage charges : 10ct per min. (flat rate)

Mi World Plus

This offers you the Mi World service and M1 e-office (comprising M1-e-data, M1 e-fax, M1 e-mail and business news).

One-time registration fee : $20

Monthly subscription : $20

Usage charges : 10ct per min. (flat rate)

Promotions

We are currently having a promotion. Customers who sign up for Mi World now will have their registration and subscription waived, till 31 May 2000.

The WAP-enabled phone, Nokia 7110, is selling at a promotional price of $698.