· Strong growth in Asia Pacific
VeriSign saw an approximate 30 percent increase in the total number of international mobile messages sent and received over its network in Q1 2009 from Q4 2008. Rapid growth in mobile messaging traffic volume was seen, especially in South Asia where the number of international mobile messages jumped almost tenfold.
The large migrant worker population, especially in South and Southeast Asia is expected to be a contributing factor to the increase in international mobile messaging. To this end, VeriSign announced that it has been chosen by PT Indosat Tbk in Indonesia and Warid Telecom International Ltd. in Bangladesh to provide international messaging to more destinations. Other drivers for the growth in Asia Pacific include festive holidays such as Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day, the high mobile penetration rates in emerging markets in Southeast Asia and Central Asia and reduced costs for international mobile messaging in Oceania.
· Combined Mobile Messaging (P2P/A2P) Enables Approximately 932 Million Messages A Day
In Q1 2009, the number of messages enabled by VeriSign’s combined mobile messaging networks was approximately 932 million per day, on average. This is an 18.5% increase from the previous quarter and a remarkable 96% rise over Q1 2008. In total, VeriSign delivered 82.3 Billion P2P[1] and over 1.6 Billion A2P messages in Q1 2009.
· Industry Leading Reliability and Global Reach with Mobile Messaging
VeriSign continues to strengthen its global reach with the addition of key Carrier and Enterprise customers throughout CALA and APAC. These wins further emphasize VeriSign’s commitment to extending its global reach and provide a great start to driving greater success in 2009.
Known for its unparalleled platform scalability and reliability, VeriSign continues to provide highly reliable service to its customers and have delivered 100% availability to five of VeriSign’s seven platforms in the first quarter.
· Strong growth in MMS and Mobile Content
During the quarter, the VeriSign® Inter-Carrier MMS and PictureMail platforms continued to see strong growth in the volume of MMS traffic carried through its network. When compared to Q1 2008 totals, these two platforms have realized the significant rise in traffic volume with an increase of 130% and 84% in MMS volume respectively. In total, over 1.1 Billion MMS messages were delivered in the first quarter of 2009.
Q1 2009 also saw an up swing in mobile media/mobile content messaging volumes through VeriSign’s Mobile Delivery Gateway (MDG). The addition of new mobile content providers and an increase in mobile content provider market activity has translated to a 27% increase in Premium SMS transactions from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009. MDG reached a monthly all time high in retail sales that translated to an increase of 35% in Q1 2009 from Q4 2008. With industry leading reliability, the MDG platform has achieved its 6th straight month of 100% availability.
· Financial Services Continue to Fuel Enterprise A2P Messaging Growth
VeriSign sees tremendous growth in this market with more and more enterprises leveraging the mobile channel to better serve customers as an increasing number of consumers of all ages use their mobile device to get the information they want. VeriSignÒ Mobile Enterprise Services (VMES) continues to reflect the growing interest in A2P enterprise applications as evident by an 88% year-over-year growth rate of messages delivered through its network from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009. Through its combined A2P platforms, VeriSign delivered 1.6 Billion messages in Q1 2009.
Specifically in financial services, VeriSign continues to see SMS as the preferred medium for mobile banking in North America and abroad with financial services customers driving a 63% increase in messaging traffic from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009. Financial institutions such as Western Union, U.S. Bank, Fifth Third Bank, and Huntington National are using VeriSign’s mobile financial services to improve their customers overall experience through alerts and other value-add mobile services. Utilizing VeriSign technology, Western Union recently launched a pilot project enabling Consumer Portfolio Service’s customers to trigger their monthly car payment directly from their mobile phone. Unlike mobile payment services that direct the consumer to a website or interactive voice response system (IVR), the new service allows consumers to quickly and easily initiate their payment using their phone’s text messaging service based on debit or credit card information entered online. Fifth Third Bank also selected VeriSign to provide mobile banking alert services through SMS messaging to its more than 1.3 million active online bankers. The company also most recently signed a deal with ICICI Bank, India’s largest private bank, to use VeriSign’s International Messaging Alert Services.
· VeriSign Recognized as the Industry’s Top Mobile Banking Solution
Frost & Sullivan has awarded VeriSign the 2009 Award for North American Messaging-based Mobile Banking Solution of the Year. VeriSign Messaging and Mobile Media has achieved significant momentum in North America as well as in global markets, as leading financial institutions continue to leverage the company’s mobile banking services to provide customers with near real-time secure mobile financial services via wireless devices. The Frost & Sullivan Award for Solution of the Year is presented each year to the company that has achieved the best combination of product performance and industry advancement within the Mobile and Wireless industry. The winning solution has surpassed the expectations of customers and offers more innovative capabilities than competing vendors and products.
“VeriSign is a key enabler in the mobile financial services markets and a deserving recipient of this year’s award for Mobile Banking Solution of the Year,” said Vikrant Gandhi, Frost & Sullivan industry analyst. “The company’s visionary approach and strong understanding of the key expectations of the value chain participants such as financial institutions, mobile operators and consumers is evident in its deployment strategy, and we expect VeriSign to maintain the growth through continuous innovation and operational excellence.”
VeriSign News Q1 2009 to Date
5/11/09 VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division Receives North American Messaging-Based Mobile Banking Solution of the Year Award from Frost & Sullivan
4/30/09 Western Union, Consumer Portfolio Service and VeriSign Team to Offer Mobile Bill Payment Solution
4/14/09 VeriSign Increases Momentum in Financial Services as Leading Institutions Worldwide Continue to Deploy Mobile Banking Services
4/14/09 Fifth Third Bank Selects VeriSign for Mobile Text Alert Services
2/12/09 OMG!R U Serious?! Wht a Gr8 Yr 4 Mobl Msging!
1/15/09 A Record of More than 1.4 Billion Mobile Messages Expected on Inauguration Day, VeriSign Says
Key
· SMS – Short Message Service. SMS is the most common form of mobile messaging, also referred to as “text” messaging.
· ICSMS – Inter-Carrier Short Message Service. ICSMS messages are text messages exchanged between carrier networks.
· MMS – Multimedia Messaging Service. MMS allows users to send multimedia messages that include images, video and audio.
· ICMMS – Inter-Carrier Multimedia Messaging Service. ICMMS messages are multimedia messages exchanged between carrier networks.
· P2P Messages – Person to person messages, or messages sent from one mobile user to another.
· A2P Messages – Application to person messages, or application-generated content such as news alerts, ring tones, promotional video clips, and enterprise messages that are sent to mobile users.
About VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division
VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division is a global provider of application services that reliably deliver short-message (SMS), multimedia message (MMS), and mobile content across wireless operators and mobile devices throughout the world. As a leader in mobile messaging, mobile banking and mobile content delivery, VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division offers a broad portfolio of mobile infrastructure and delivery services. Offering reliable delivery, a worldwide presence, and rapid and effective deployment, VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division has built a trusted and respected brand with global mobile operators, media content providers and enterprises.
VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division is focused on delivering massive message volumes with superior:
- Reach. VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division’s global presence is combined with local market knowledge and regional operator requirements to offer carriers, media content providers and enterprises with unparalleled penetration.
- Reliability: VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division’s application services are designed with the high reliability and scalability that a true global mobile delivery engine requires.
- Value Add. As a global partner with a local presence, VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division helps its partners maximize their revenues and reduce their costs.
The reach, reliability and value add of VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media Division’s services enable mobile operators, media content providers and enterprises to capitalize on the rapidly growing messaging and media content markets.
