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ITouch plc, the mobile services company, 50 percent owned by Independent News & Media, announced that it has won a contract to roll out services in Indonesia.
The deal, sealed by iTouch plc's strategic partner MIH Limited, will see the company roll out one of the first ringtone, two-tone ringtone, logo and picture message services in Indonesia and is part of iTouch's strategy to penetrate the wireless applications market in Asia.
ITouch plc is a provider of value-added services to the mobile world, offering real-time information services and mobile solutions to individuals and corporate customers internationally. MIH Limited's main line of business is to provide Pay-TV services and technology.
ITouch, through M-Web Indonesia, a subsidiary of MIH Limited, will supply these mobile services to the 850,000 pre-paid customers of Excelcomindo, an Indonesian GSM cellular operator. Furthermore, the deal makes iTouch plc one of the first Western operators to offer value-added mobile services in the local language, opening up the vast Asian marketplace for non-English mobile content and services.
Details of the value of the deal are not being released, Neil Canetty-Clarke finance director of iTouch plc told ElectricNews.Net. He said that the Indonesian contract is the first of a four-country deal done with MIH Limited. The other three countries are Thailand, Greece and China. The product is doing modestly, he said and he has every confidence it will succeed.
In fact, the company believes that the region represents considerable potential for profit and cites Pyramid Research estimates that there are currently 10 million pre-paid subscribers in Southeast Asia, a figure set to rise to 50 million by the year 2005.
Wayne Pitout, joint managing director of iTouch plc said, "The deal is testimony to our commitment to global expansion, and marks the first step in our drive to dominate this market."
Pitout said the company is delighted to have closed its first deal in Asia, which, he believes, will see it expand its international footprint even further. "The Asian market is experiencing explosive growth, and our successful partnership with MIH enables us to get in at ground level, to establish an early leadership position in what will become a key market for mobile applications," he said.
Earlier this month iTouch announced first-half losses of STG4.9 million before amortisation, depreciation and share incentive scheme charges. The past nine months have seen a series of acquisitions by the company, including a majority holding in the Australian IVR and SMS services company Telequity in July for an initial consideration of STG1.57 million. In December 2000 it bought out the New Zealand mobile office applications developer, Holliday, in a STG7.4 million deal.
iTouch plc has operations in the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and Israel while working as a mobile technology supplier to MIH in Indonesia, Thailand and Greece. It has contractual relationships with many mobile operators and media companies throughout the world.
In London at 10:48 am on Wednesday, iTouch was down 11.11 percent at STG0.16.
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