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Maryann Karinch
The Open Group
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MDA
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Mobile Data Association Report Spotlights Business Benefits of Text Messaging

The Open Group Endorses MDA Guidance on Use and Value of Short Messaging Service

San Francisco, CA – September 23, 2002 – The Mobile Data Association, which is the sole entity authorized to collect and audit text messaging market data for all four of the United Kingdom’s cellular networks, today released its Professional Text Messaging Report to the US market. Citing the impact on companies’ profits and operational efficiency, the new report documents the sharp upward trend toward corporate reliance on Short Message Service (SMS) as a prime means of communicating with employees and customers.

“Companies worldwide should look to the Mobile Data Association for guidance on the future development of text messaging,” according to Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group in endorsing the report. “Text messaging is an important component of enterprise communication and this report highlights how companies can take maximum advantage of it.”

The report includes:

• Perceived advantages of texting compared to other forms of business communication
• Types of information relayed in business-use text messages
• The benefits businesses derive from using texting
• The effectiveness of “TXT speak” as a method of communication
• Case studies of texting use in business
• Audited data showing the growth of texting usage during the past 24 months
• A briefing on Short Message Service (SMS)
• Insight into the evolution and capabilities of texting, from SMS to Multimedia Messages Service (MMS)

The Open Group and MDA first forged an alliance built on complementary work programs in 2000 with the launch of The Open Group’s Mobile Management Forum (MMF).

About the Open Group

The Open Group, a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, has a vision of Boundaryless Information Flow achieved through global interoperability in a secure, reliable and timely manner. The Open Group’s mission is to drive the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow by working with customers to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies, and share best practices; working with suppliers, consortia and standards bodies to develop consensus and facilitate interoperability, to evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; offering a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and developing and operating the industry's premier certification service and encouraging procurement of certified products. More information on our organization can be found at www.opengroup.org.

About the Mobile Data Association

The Mobile Data Association (MDA) (www.mda-mobiledata.org) was established in 1994 to increase awareness of mobile data amongst users and their advisers. Over the past eight years, the Association has grown to become the forum for the international mobile data community.

As well as providing a focal point for industry participants to meet and share information on technical and business issues, the MDA actively works to promote the uses and benefits of wireless value added services through industry and business press; conferences; seminars and the maintenance of a web site.

The MDA announces the total numbers of chargeable person-to-person text messages sent on behalf of the four UK GSM Network operators. These figures are announced in the third week of the following month.

July 2002 marks the launch of Phase 3 of the MDA’s generic awareness campaign to promote the advantages of text messaging across all networks, building on the awareness of the ‘text.it’ brand established in Phase 1 & 2. The consumer campaign targets both users and non-SMS users. The corporate programme focuses on business and end-users and incorporates a web-based information service.