Messages Promote Convergence

During the past four months, several wireless carriers have announced alliances with Internet portals to provide instant-messaging services. Most of those carriers have described the inter-platform messaging deals as a way to give their customers choices, such as different mobile communications methods and the ability to use wireless phones as a link to users of other devices.

When Sprint PCS announced it would begin delivering AOL's Instant Messenger Service, Sprint PCS COO Charles Levine referred to instant messaging as the next transformation in wireless. The current popularity of tethered instant-messaging services provides a clue that Levine might be correct.

A recent research report by Jupiter Media Metrix revealed that Yahoo Messenger gained 10.6 million users between its introduction in June 1999 and August 2000. MSN Messenger Service's subscriber base grew to 10.3 million between its July 1999 launch and August 2000. And AOL Instant Messenger, which was introduced in May 1997, had racked up a subscriber base of 21.5 million by August 2000.

But will interest in wireless instant messaging prove equally impressive? The folks at Microsoft appear to think so. In July, Microsoft announced that its instant-messaging service would be available to MSN mobile subscribers, which, according to the company, reached 1.5 million by mid-October.

Plus, Cingular Wireless recently announced that its California and Nevada customers can now send instant messages via the MSN platform. Cingular plans to offer the service in other markets in early 2001.

Yahoo and AOL were contacted for this story but did not respond by press time.

The executives at Weblink Wireless are so convinced that wireless messaging will be huge that they've spent the last six years and about $600 million building out their 2-way data network, according to Eric Van Steenburg, Weblink public-relations manager.

"We know that paging is not the future," Van Steenburg said. "But we do know that short messages, instant messages and wireless e-mail is the future."

Although Weblink has it's own brand of instant messaging, the company recently partnered with Yahoo to offer the Internet portal's instant-messaging service. It's not up and running yet. But once it is, Yahoo's instant-messaging subscribers will be able to transmit messages via Weblink's network.

In addition, Steenburg said he thinks that instant messaging will extend into the business community.

"Our 2-way network became available in December 1998, and we started marketing to the business community then," he said.

David Wonderling, Motient public-relations manager, also said that businesses will adopt instant messaging as a form of communications. Wonderling said his company does not specifically market the service to business users, but places print advertisements in venues such as Delta Sky magazine and USA Today, which reach corporate and consumer readers.

When asked what value instant messaging would bring to the wireless world, a spokesperson for Microsoft gave an enthusiastic response.

"MSN Mobile is excited to work with carriers to provide consumers more services and features over the wireless Web," said Becky Zivney. "Wireless instant messaging provides many exciting opportunities for MSN Mobile to continue to bring consumers ongoing communication mediums."