Now also available in Macedonia
Oslo, Norway and Skopje, Macedonia – February 6, 2008
Opera Software, the only company that puts the Web on any device, and T-Mobile today announced the launch of T-Mobile’s Web’n’Walkâ„¢ service, powered by Opera Miniâ„¢, in Macedonia. Already used by more than one million subscribers in eight countries, the Opera Mini-powered Web’n’Walk service has changed the telecommunications landscape, leading to considerable growth in total mobile Web usage.
“Web’n’Walk is regarded as one of the most successful data services introduced by any operator on an international scale. Therefore, it is a logical step for T-Mobile Macedonia to offer this service to our subscribers,” says Michael Lawrence, CEO of T-Mobile Macedonia. “We are pleased to work with Opera Software to offer the best Internet experience through Web’n’Walk on the widest range of handsets.”
Return on investment
T-Mobile’s main objective behind its Web’n’Walk concept was to bring the mobile Web to the masses who use ordinary mobile phones. On its debut in June 2005, T-Mobile became the pioneer carrier to offer real Internet browsing, with unrestricted access to any Web site at super fast speeds, straight from a mobile phone. T-Mobile was one of the first operators to combine elements such as flat rate payment plans, full HTML browsers and easy access to existing mobile content in one powerful package. As announced recently by T-Mobile, revenues from mobile Internet and data usage across Europe surged 42% year on year in the first three quarters of 2007 to EUR 1.4 billion. For example, T-Mobile UK continues to see significant growth in the Web’n’Walk service, with year on year growth in non-voice revenue as a percentage of ARPU up from 17% to 20%.
“Together, Opera and T-Mobile are paving the way for more customers to enjoy the full Web on their handsets, anywhere, anytime,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “Opera is proud to have partnered with T-Mobile on their mission to redefine the Internet experience on mobile phones. We continue to work together to ensure an ultimate Web browsing experience which is fast, simple, intuitive and affordable.”
Opera Mini offers superior Web browsing performance in environments with limited memory and CPU resources. Today, the service is available on more than 50 handset devices across eight countries including UK, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Netherlands, with Macedonia as the latest addition.
Full, open Web
There is virtually no limitation or restriction on the Web sites which users can access. With Opera Mini-powered Web’n’Walk handsets, users can easily access all their favorite Web sites in a way that resembles the PC experience – all on the go. As the world’s most popular mobile browser, Opera Mini uses a remote server to fetch Web pages, reformats them using Opera’s Small Screen Rendering technology, and compresses them by 80-90% before displaying them on the handset. For the end user, this means fast access to the Internet. For operators such as T-Mobile, Opera Mini helps reduces bandwidth costs significantly and increases branding and brand loyalty among millions of users worldwide.
Consistent user experience
About 80 percent of all the mobile phones currently being sold by T-Mobile in Europe are Web’n’Walk-enabled. Opera Mini ensures a consistent user experience on any handheld device regardless of platform. Opera Mini leverages the versatility and power of Opera’s tested and trusted core technology to deliver enhanced network and content services to users.
About T-Mobile Macedonia
Т-Mobile is the first mobile operator in Macedonia and a leader in the mobile market. The company has been active since September 1996. In 2006 the company was re-branded into Т-Mobile Macedonia, becoming part of the international Т-Mobile family with almost 112 million customers. As a result of our customer centricity, best network quality and innovative easy to use services we have more than 1.2 million customers counting on us, as a highly reliable partner.