Under the contract, the full set of client modules offered by General Wireless will be available to KPN and its customers. The KPN SMS mail service is initially made available for desktop e-Mail users running Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, and through a standalone Windows client. A plug-in for Lotus Notes will be offered in the coming months. End users can download client software at no cost from KPN's website, and are only charged when using the service. It supports concatenated SMS messages, allowing messages up to 612 characters.

”We believe PC to mobile messaging will be a high-growth service segment for several years ahead,” said Jaap den Dulk, Manager New Products and Business for KPN in the Netherlands. “General Wireless has made a pioneering effort in this market with its eSMS Executive, and we believe this proven solution offers the best way for us to successfully launch our new SMS mail service”.

The KPN SMS mail service will be offered both to consumers (including prepaid users), and to corporate customers. In addition, a White Label version of the service will be targeted at KPN’s business partners.

“Adding KPN to our list of customers testifies to the validity of our messaging solutions in the marketplace,” said Anders Hardebring, CEO, General Wireless. “Targeting the KPN SMS mail service both to corporates and to consumers is a market approach which we believe will be closely followed by the industry.”

In its newly released report “European Fixed Messaging Markets”, Frost & Sullivan forecasts a rise in revenues from PC messaging from EUR 34.5 million in 2004 to a projected EUR 424.4 million in 2010. During the same period, the number of users is expected to increase from 490,000 to more than 12 million. According to Frost & Sullivan, General Wireless is the leading supplier in this market.

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