Vodafone and Orange said they will launch a joint instant-messaging service.
The British and French mobile carriers announced at the 3G wireless conference in Madrid they will work together under the open standard interoperability principles that will allow users from both companies to use each other's networks for sending messages.
"As we have seen over the last few years, service interoperability has unlocked the true potential for mobile. While we, as mobile operators, need to compete at the retail level, we must also continue to work together at the service interoperability level in order to stimulate customer demand and to continue to grow our industry," said Arun Sarin, chief executive at Vodafone.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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