American Express, MasterCard International, PacketVideo Join Personal Communications Industry Association -PCIA- To Advance M-Convergence Strategies.Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2001 Top Companies Join the PCIA PCIA Personal Communications Industry Association PCIA Personal Care Ingredients Asia PCIA Parent-Child Interaction Assessment (structured direct observation procedure) PCIA Professional Concepts Insurance Agency, Inc. Global Initiative in Pursuit of the Mobile Consumer American Express, MasterCard International, and PacketVideo are the latest in a string of companies to sign on with the Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA) to more fully understand the market potential in the estimated one billion people around the globe soon to be linked through mobile technologies. American Express, MasterCard International and PacketVideo recently became members of the PCIA Global Initiative, a combination of products and services designed to help members understand and navigate the fast-changing m-convergence global marketplace. "The global market will help shape the future for these highly respected companies," said Jay Kitchen, PCIA president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "They seek to understand the mobile consumer in key markets around the world, because no single industry sector, no single technology, and no single country or regulatory environment will determine their success," he added. The PCIA Global Initiative provides its members with tools and in-depth information about consumer attitudes and preferences, marketplace characteristics, technological issues, and regulatory topics in markets worldwide. Membership has more than doubled since its launch in the fall of last year in response to the need for leadership in the increasingly cluttered and competitive m-convergence market. "Worldwide mobile convergence--the collision of technology, commerce, and content in pursuit of the mobile customer--holds enormous opportunities," said Kitchen. "But it's confusing and fast-paced. The PCIA Global Initiative offers participating companies the tools and contacts to help them win in what amounts to a market revolution." "We will be best positioned to succeed if we understand how to meet the needs of the mobile consumer, and how those needs change from market to market and country to country," said Elizabeth Hurvitz, Senior Vice President of Interactive Enterprise Development at American Express. "We believe the PCIA Global Initiative can help us increase our understanding of the global mobile market so we can deliver valuable products and services to our customers." "The single most important trend we see for the card market in 2001 is technology integration, which will give consumers ubiquitous access to their MasterCard payment accounts wherever they are. Utilizing new technologies such as digital wallets, smart cards, and wireless devices, MasterCard member financial institutions will ultimately deliver payment services at whatever point-of-interaction is closest and most convenient to their customer," said Art Kranzley, senior vice president of Global e-Business at MasterCard International. "The PCIA Global Initiative will provide us additional insight into what consumers are looking for, and with it, a critical edge as we move forward with our e-Business strategy." PCIA has created additional products and services to help its members gain greater understanding of the m-convergence marketplace, notably the PCIA Global Market Monitor, which was unveiled to members last month. This online resource, exclusive for PCIA Global Initiative members, provides vital market and regulatory information, as well as an overview of the technical issues facing the industry. "Membership in the PCIA Global Initiative will provide us with important consumer research to help us better understand which multimedia applications will be compelling in the different regions of the world," said Fernando Corona, senior vice president of marketing for PacketVideo. "This information will provide direction for the ongoing development of our technology platform that will in turn enable our wireless carrier customers to create loyal subscribers." The PCIA Global Initiative membership is comprised of the interdependent mix of industries that comprise m-convergence: payment solution companies, content providers, carriers, network computing vendors, Internet service providers, software developers, device and semiconductor manufacturers and application service providers. Member companies to date are: ADC (1) See A/D converter. (2) (Apple Display Connector) A peripheral connector from Apple that combines digital video display, USB and power in one cable. , Advertising.com, AeroComm, agentGO, Air2Web, American Express, Citibank, Clickservices, DMC DMC Devil May Cry (video game) DMC Detroit Medical Center DMC Darryl McDaniels (rapper) DMC Destination Management Company DMC Del Mar College (Corpus Christi, TX) Stratex Networks, Envoy Networks, fusionOne, Gwcom, Inc., Halfdome Systems, Idetic, Littlefeet, Inc., MasterCard International, MeshNetworks, MobileSys, Inc., OnMobile, Inc., PacketVideo Corporation, PCS (1) (Personal Communications Services) Refers to wireless services that emerged after the U.S. government auctioned commercial licenses in 1994 and 1995. This radio spectrum in the 1. Innovations, Psion, Sonera, Strategy.com(TM), TD Waterhouse Group, Inc., Ticketmaster, VISA International, and Weather.com. About PCIA PCIA is an association of companies seeking to compete in the global m-convergence marketplace. With roots in the wireless communications industry, the association is now dedicated to advancing seamless global communications through its strategic marketing, public policy expertise, events and educational programs. PCIA members include a broad base of interdependent mobile convergence players. PCIA is devoted to the rapid, cost effective deployment of mobile consumer-driven strategic products and services around the world. About American Express American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, investment products, insurance and international banking. For more information, visit www.americanexpress.com. About MasterCard International MasterCard International has the most comprehensive portfolio of payment brands in the world. More than 1 billion MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro logos are present on credit, charge and debit cards in circulation today. An association comprised of more than 20,000 member financial institutions, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses, both large and small, in 210 countries and territories. MasterCard is the leader in quality and innovation, offering a wide range of payment solutions in the virtual and traditional worlds. With more than 19 million acceptance locations, no card is accepted in more places and by more merchants than the MasterCard Card. In 1999, gross dollar volume exceeded US$725 billion. MasterCard can be reached through its World Wide Web site at http://www.mastercard.com. About PacketVideo PacketVideo, the global leader in wireless multimedia, develops MPEG-4 compliant software that enables the delivery, management and viewing of video and audio over current wireless networks to mobile information devices such as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants. The company markets its software to wireless operators to ultimately enable mobile consumers to access a variety of applications, including news and financial stories, sports highlights, music videos, weather and traffic reports, and home or work security cameras, from any location. PacketVideo's investors include Credit Suisse First Boston Credit Suisse First Boston was originally the trading name of the Financière Crédit Suisse-First Boston, a London-based 50-50 investment banking joint venture formed in 1978 between the First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse. , Intel Capital (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :INTC INTC Intel (NASDAQ symbol) INTC Intercept INTC Interrupt Controller ), Motorola, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : MOT), Nexus Group LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , Philips (NYSE: PHG), QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM QCOM Qualcomm, Inc. (stock symbol) ), Reuters Group PLC (NASDAQ:RTRSY), members of the Rockefeller family, Siemens Mustang Ventures, Sonera (HEX: SRA SrA abbr. senior airman , NASDAQ:SNRA SNRA Sawtooth National Recreation Area (Idaho) SNRA Swedish National Road Administration SNRA Système National de Recherche Agricole ), Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SCA) is the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation. It is based in Inglewood, California. It is the umbrella company under which all Sony companies operate in the United States. Subsidiaries
SNE Sony Corporation (stock symbol) SNE Syndicat National de l'edition (French Publisher's Association) SNE Society for Nutrition Education ), Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW SUNW Sun Microsystems, Inc (former stock symbol; now JAVA) SUNW Stanford University Network Workstation (Sun Microsystems, Inc) ), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN TXN Texas Instruments (stock symbol) TXN Transaction (databases) TXN Tunxi, China (Airport Code) TXN Tarxien (postal locality, Malta) ), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX (TeletypeWriter eXchange Service) A U.S. and Canadian dial-up communications service that became part of Telex. In 1971, the Bell System sold TWX to Western Union. TWX transmitted 5-bit Murray code or 7-bit ASCII code at up to 150 bps. See Telex. ), and others. To learn more, visit www.pv.com. |
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