Press Releases

Lisbon, 3 December 2001 – Vodafone has successfully carried out initial tests of its Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), which represents an important development of the popular SMS, incorporating as it does text, audio, images and video.

MMS offers all the same functions as SMS, but with the additional benefit of enabling the user to send multimedia content such as images, audio and video. Although MMS is a so-called “3G” (third generation) service, it will shortly be available using Vodafone’s existing GPRS network. Later, when UMTS is launched, the service will benefit from enhanced bandwidth, which will permit mobile messaging containing an even wider range of multimedia content such as video on the move.

Vodafone in Portugal thus retains its leadership in the new technologies required to handle mobile multimedia content (images, video and audio) and which will be available on the market even before the launch of 3G mobile communications – UMTS.

Tests have been carried out in recent months, incorporating into Vodafone’s GPRS network two platforms by different suppliers, CMG and Ericsson. It was possible for the first time to send MMS messages containing colour photographs and text between Ericsson T68 handsets. Other tests were also made – for example, sending MMS to e-mail and e-mail to MMS.

Vodafone has been establishing partnerships with various suppliers, which provide applications for added-value services using MMS.

A demonstration of the new service will be on show on Vodafone’s stand at the 11th Communications Fair (APDC) to be held in Lisbon at the FIL Exhibition Centre in Junqueira.