MobileActive Limited Corporate News site syndication http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com 2009-01-07T12:16:47+01:00 http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png text/html 2006-04-14T20:17:52+01:00 http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com/content/view/28/27/ Vodafone fines partner for breach of rulesAuthor: Emma ConnorsDate: 05/05/2006Words: 456Source: AFRPublication: The Financial ReviewSection: InformationPage: 69 Unwanted and expensive mobile content may cost its originators dearly, writes Emma Connors.Vodafone has fined a business partner for breaking new rules aimed at reducing spam on mobile phones.Two months ago, Vodafone introduced an accreditation program for its 39 managed partners.Content providers use these managed partners to funnel ring tones, mobile wallpaper and applications such as mobile voting and competitions to Vodafone's 3.2 million customers.Vodafone's rules mean it is up to managed partners to ensure the hundreds of content providers active in the mobile marketplace don't trick people into signing up to subscription services or engage in misleading or unclear advertising.They also make it simple for consumers to cancel such services.In 2004-05, consumers lodged 1807 complaints about premium mobile services, up from 132 the year before, and the numbers have continued to rise this year, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.Australian content providers believe it is mostly offshore companies that are the source of complaints. But dispute resolution can be difficult as the industry has not yet completed a code of practice to deal with complaints.If Vodafone's managed partners fail to resolve complaints within five days, the network operator issues a non-compliance notice and may levy fines or block traffic.The carrier has issued eight non-compliance notices and fined one company for a spam incident involving premium messages.Vodafone would not name the company involved or say how much it was fined. The carriers' accreditation guidelines cap the relevant fine at $300,000.Vodafone said one content provider active in Australia before the code was introduced had left the market because it did not want to comply with its rules.Mobile content specialists including MobileActive and Legion Interactive welcomed Vodafone's approach. Nothing is 100 per cent foolproof, but these types of codes mean the network operators can move faster to keep the bad guys out, said MobileActive managing director Neil Wiles. Legion Interactive chief executive David Burden said the codes developed by Vodafone and other carriers were a giant step forward in building consumer confidence in the product we provide .Vodafone general manager of new business David Green expected some businesses would decide the rules were not worth the trouble. Companies need to have a certain amount of scale to be in this business now. If you want to sell content in Australia, you need to comply with what is going on in Australia. If we could get everything we needed in [government and industry] regulations, that would be cool. But regulation takes time, he said.Meanwhile, the industry code of practice regarding premium services is edging closer to completion.It is understood the final document is likely to be based on a proposal from the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, the industry group representing network operators. text/html 2006-05-12T11:55:23+01:00 http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com/content/view/49/27/ (SYDNEY, Australia) 6 March 2006 - MobileActive Limited (ASX:MBA) a leading mobile phone content and entertainment company, has entered into a strategic alliance with Allphones Retail Pty Limited (Allphones), Australia’s largest independent mobile phone retailer. All business developed under the terms of the strategic alliance will be exclusive. MobileActive and Allphones will develop, market and distribute mobile phone content solutions to customers of Allphones via the latter’s 132 stores and through other channels to market such as online and direct to mobile. Allphones’ customers will be offered content from MobileActive’s extensive international content catalogue. Allphones grew its retail outlets by 30% last year and generated sales of approximately 500,000 handsets. The company has set a target of 250 stores by the end of next year. Chris Thorpe, MobileActive CEO, said “Allphones are a market leader and the alliance is in line with our strategic focus to expand our brands and marketing to a rapidly growing consumer base. By working together we are maximising the opportunity that exists with the growing consumer demand for personalisation of their next generation handsets with quality mobile content.” Mathew Donnellan, Allphones CEO, said “MobileActive are forerunners in the provision of mobile content personalisation and entertainment. This partnership enables us to provide the latest mobile phone content to our customers and to build incremental revenues for our stores”. MobileActive anticipates that significant revenue will start flowing from the Allphones alliance during the third quarter of 2006. The company continues to expand and diversify its mobile phone content offering, servicing the growing consumer demand that comes with the uptake of next generation handsets, the growth of 2.5G network access and the emerging 3G market place. - Ends - text/html 2006-04-28T19:13:48+01:00 http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com/content/view/20/27/ (SYDNEY, Australia) 4 April 2006 - MobileActive Limited (ASX:MBA), a global mobile content and entertainment provider, today announced the appointment of Neil Wiles as managing director and Peter Slater as chief financial officer and company secretary.Neil brings to MobileActive over 20 years experience in the entertainment industry and over ten years experience in the internet/IT and telecommunications industries. Prior to his appointment, Neil founded, developed and grew MobileActive’s wholly owned mobile/wireless subsidiary GlobalOne Mobile Entertainment Pty Ltd where he served as chief executive officer.“My role as managing director will be to implement our strategy for generating revenue through proprietary content development (IP), licensing and distribution as well as to manage the global expansion of our mobile content business and brands,” said Wiles.Neil sits on the Australian Direct Marketing Association’s Mobile Marketing Council and is chairman of the committee for Pre-assessment Guidelines for the Classification of Mobile Content.Peter joins MobileActive as chief financial officer and company secretary from Optus, where he served both as commercial manager and branded marketing commercial manager in the Mobile division. Peter brings to MobileActive over 15 years of commercial, financial and accounting experience.Peter has previously held several senior level executive positions in South Africa serving as chief financial officer at Peermont Global (Botswana) and group financial director at Sasani Limited, a publicly listed media company.“I am pleased that the cornerstones of the senior management team are now firmly in place,” commented Chris Thorpe, chief executive officer of MobileActive.“Their appointments give the company the skills and depth of experience necessary to derive the greatest benefit from the opportunities that continue to unfold, as the global market for mobile phone content grows and evolves. The rollout of 3G (high speed) mobile networks is just a taste of the exciting times ahead,” he added. - Ends - text/html 2006-04-16T18:59:49+01:00 http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com http://www.mobileactivecorporate.com/content/view/37/27/ Low cost of deployment and commission based revenue model key to US expansion(SYDNEY, Australia) 13 April 2006 - MobileActive Limited (ASX:MBA), a global mobile content and entertainment provider, today announced it is launching services in the US later this month as part of a planned major US roll out of its mobile content and entertainment offering, targeting the 200+ million US mobile handset market. “We have a unique business opportunity in that we are an estimated 18 months ahead of the US market in lead time as they have only recently launched premium rate SMS services. Our three years of experience and success in the Australian premium rate SMS market gives us a considerable competitive advantage,” said Chris Thorpe chief executive officer of MobileActive. “With the combination of the US and the Australian markets we will have an addressable consumer base of more than 218 million handsets.” MobileActive is entering the US market through a commission based revenue sharing agreement with Mobile Messenger, a leading mobile messaging and entertainment company. Within nine months of operation Mobile Messenger’s US revenues surpassed that of their Australian operations and they forecast revenues of US $40m for the next 12 months. “It’s an exciting time for Mobile Messenger. We have systems and technology that make expansion easier. We have been operating in the US for more than a year now, and have been in the market since the very beginning of premium SMS,” said Steve Taylor chief executive officer of Mobile Messenger. “We have the knowledge and systems in place to be successful in this enormous market. We look forward to maximising the opportunity with MobileActive and increasing our combined market share even further.” MobileActive’s initial services will utilise Mobile Messenger’s technology. MobileActive’s proprietary technology will be interfaced with Mobile Messenger’s proprietary technology as part of the rollout, allowing for fast deployment of services via the US telecommunication carriers. The consumer will download their mobile content directly from MobileActive over the internet to their handset. “As the market for mobile phone content and entertainment continues to evolve, our global expansion strategy is to grow through channel partners, such as Mobile Messenger. Our mission is to become one of the most recognisable mobile content and entertainment providers globally,” continued Thorpe. - Ends - About Mobile Messenger Mobile Messenger facilitates all aspects of mobile phone entertainment. From concept, creative, delivery, technology, billing, customer service to analysis the company provides a complete managed service to their clients. The company continues to be one of the fastest growing players in this expanding industry. As a company Mobile Messenger’s vision is to work in partnership with their clients to introduce and manage commercially viable mobile entertainment campaigns. The focus is on what works and what delivers revenue in all potential markets. For more information visit www.mobilemessenger.us (http://www.mobilemessenger.us)