Tokyo, Japan, Apr 24, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - China Mobile, SOFTBANK and Vodafone have agreed
to establish a Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) to promote the development of new mobile
technologies, applications and services. The three companies expect the initiative will help to
accelerate the commercial deployment of mobile internet services.
The three companies will use the JIL as a platform to develop mobile services and drive
innovation and synergy in the industry to the benefit of their combined global customer base. The JIL will launch projects based on emerging technologies and market demand.
The JIL will focus on the rapidly growing areas of mobile internet services, such as mobile
widgets*. Initially, the JIL plans to develop a platform for mobile widgets to encourage the
development of innovative new services that can leverage mobile operators'unique
capabilities.
This move is expected to enable different widgets and applications to run seamlessly on
different handset platforms and operating systems across different mobile operators, while
safeguarding customer security, data privacy and billing systems. The development of a widget
platform is expected to benefit both developers and users. The JIL also welcomes the
co-operation of vendors and developers in the creation of new applications and services.
The establishment of the JIL and completion is subject to regulatory approvals and certain
customary closing conditions.
*A widget is a highly functional, small, web-based application that gives customers access to
useful services.
About Softbank Corporation
SOFTBANK GROUP (TSE: 9984) offers its customers a range of services including mobile
communications, broadband infrastructure, fixed-line telecommunications, internet culture,
e-Commerce, and others. SOFTBANK MOBILE achieved the No. 1 position in net additions for FY
2007 in the Japanese market, with a total of 18,586,200 subscribers as of March 2008. For more
information, please visit www.softbank.co.jp/en/
About Vodafone
Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group with over 252
million proportionate customers as at 31 December 2007. Vodafone currently has equity interests
in 25 countries across five continents and a further 41 partner networks worldwide. For more
information, please visit www.vodafone.com
About China Mobile
China Mobile is the world's largest mobile operator with more than 392 million subscribes (as
of March 31, 2008). China Mobile has been a leading player in the mobile communications
industry. In 10 years, China Mobile has established a world class mobile network with over
300,000 base stations, best coverage and best customer services. It ranks the first in the
world in terms of the network scale and the customer base. For more information, please visit
www.chinamobileltd.com/
Source: Softbank Corporation
Contact:SOFTBANK CORP.
Public Relations
Email: pr[at]softbank.co.jp
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