CNN Interactive and Nokia join forces to offer CNN Mobile, 24-hour news service
for digital wireless phones
(September 22, 1999)
CNN Interactive and Nokia are pleased to offer CNN Mobile, the first mobile telephone
news and information service to be available globally, in the North American market.
CNN Interactive worked closely with Nokia to develop the Wireless Application Protocol
(WAP) 1.1 compliant platform for the service.
The Nokia 7100 Series, Nokia's new line of media phones, are designed to enable
easy access to content such as CNN Mobile.
"CNN Mobile launched in February and already is offered by 15 operators in 12 countries
and will be available to more than 30 million customers by the end of the year,"
said Scott Woelfel, CNN senior vice president, general manager and editor in chief,
CNN Interactive. "Our close cooperation with Nokia, the market leader in the wireless
world, has allowed CNN to develop a comprehensive news service that not only takes
advantage of the existing technologies, but also will have an evolutionary path
due to the latest developments in mobile phone technology."
CNN Mobile's content is optimized for SMS (Short Message Service) delivery and supports
the Smart Messaging concept developed by Nokia. CNN Mobile also is WAP 1.1 compliant
and launched commercially with Sonera in Finland on Aug. 31. The use of WAP technology
will allow CNN interactive to develop multimedia content to be delivered to the
screens of WAP mobile phone devices like the Nokia 7100 Series phones. The CNN Mobile
service is independent of mobile phone manufacturer, gateway server manufacturer
or network provider.
Produced by the same team responsible for the award-winning Web site CNN.com, CNN
Mobile features: breaking news, U.S. and world news; weather forecasts; business
news and market updates; sports news and scores; entertainment news; and features.
Operators will customize the service based on their market and their subscribers'
interests. CNN Interactive updates the CNN Mobile service 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. News headlines are updated every hour; market information is updated
every 15 minutes during the trading day;sports scores and weather forecasts are
updated regularly throughout the day; and breaking news is delivered immediately.
CNN Interactive commercially licenses and markets CNN Mobile.
About WAP
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open global standard for total mobile
solutions, including communication between a mobile handset and the Internet or
other computer application. WAP-based technology enables the design of advanced,
interactive and real-time mobile services, such as mobile banking or Internet-based
news services, which can be used in digital mobile phones or other mobile devices.
The WAP specification enables solutions from various suppliers to work consistently
for end-users on the digital networks.
About CNN Mobile
CNN Mobile leverages CNN's worldwide newsgathering organization encompassing more
than 3,500 news professionals in 34 bureaus and more than 800 broadcast affiliates
worldwide. A dedicated team of journalists produces the service from CNN Interactive's
newsroom in Atlanta. The CNN Mobile staff also will draw upon the international
and pan-regional news programming produced from CNN's production centers in Atlanta,
Berlin, Hong Kong, London, New York and Washington, D.C.
About CNN Interactive
CNN Interactive is responsible for the award-winning news site CNN.com, as well
as seven other Web sites and the distribution of CNN news content via other distribution
platforms such as PageNet pagers, iMagic's PowerPhones and PointCast. The CNN Web
sites generate more traffic and attract more unduplicated Internet users than any
other company's general news and information Web sites. The CNN Web sites have averaged
555 million page impressions per month during 1999 and has served more than 4.6
billion page impressions so far this year. For more information on CNN Mobile, visit
www.CNN.com/Mobile.
About Nokia
Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products
and solutions. Nokia is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier
of mobile, fixed and IP networks including related services. It also supplies multimedia
terminals and computer displays. In 1998, net sales totaled EUR 13.3 billion (USD
15.7 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK),
Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more
than 51,000 people worldwide. Visit us at www.nokiaUSA.com