Vivendi Universal Net USA Poised for Lead Role in U.S. Mobile Media Services Industry Through Ownership of Premium Wireless Services, Inc.Business/High-Tech/Entertainment Editors LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 18, 2002 PWS See personal Web server. President and Chief Strategy Officer Named Vivendi Universal Net USA--the U.S. arm of VUNet, the Paris-based Internet and technology unit under media and entertainment group Vivendi Universal--announced that its recent acquisition of Premium Wireless Services, Inc. offers the industry new services and solutions in the rapidly expanding mobile media services industry. PWS is the number one mobile media solutions company in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and a wireless content and services leader worldwide. Through the acquisition of PWS, completed in January 2002, VUNet USA is well-positioned to leverage its strong relationships with top content providers including its parent company, Vivendi Universal, to service the growing consumer demand for content, such as ringtones, games, logos and other digital media, over wireless devices. PWS delivers leading wireless media solutions, including private-label, mobile content distribution, to the world's largest network operators/carriers, mobile device manufacturers, entertainment and media companies and retailers. Through its consumer entertainment network, PWS has delivered more than 90 million ringtones to more than 12 million users in 85 countries. The relationship with VUNet USA builds an even stronger strategy for companies deploying mobile content services to their customers. "Consumer demand for digital media over wireless platforms is pent up. VUNet USA will meet this demand by supplying the content and constructing the innovative campaigns required to serve this explosive market," said Philippe Germond, 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. of VUNet. "Our early movement in this booming industry is also aligned with my mission of concentrating our efforts on digital businesses that produce transaction or subscription-based revenues," added Robin D. Richards, CEO of VUNet USA. PWS Management Team The PWS management team is led by veterans from the wireless, entertainment and technology industries. Shawn Conahan, PWS president, has a deep background in emerging technologies after years at MP3.com, Universal Music Group and Gartner Group (company) Gartner Group - One of the biggest IT industry research firms. Address: Connecticut, USA. . Anthony Stonefield, PWS co-founder, is the company's chief strategy officer. Stonefield established PWS in 1994 after founding Global Music One, a company specializing in the secure delivery of electronic entertainment. Stonefield has worked as an independent music producer, developer of the Internet Underground Music Archive The Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) was a pioneer of on-line music. IUMA was started by Rob Lord, Jeff Patterson and Jon Luini from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1993, for the purpose of providing a venue for unsigned artists to share their music and , and pioneer of MP2 downloads. Additional executive positions will be announced shortly. About Premium Wireless Services, Inc. Premium Wireless Services, Inc. is a leading provider of mobile media products and services that power the continuing growth of the worldwide wireless industry. PWS delivers turnkey wireless entertainment solutions to network operators, device manufacturers, retailers and entertainment companies worldwide, including Bell Mobility, Cingular Wireless, Rogers AT&T Wireless, VoiceStream Wireless, Microcell, Midwest Wireless Midwest Wireless was a wireless telephone company serving southern Minnesota, northern Iowa and western Wisconsin in the United States. The company served roughly 400,000 customers and used CDMA phone technology. The company's slogan was "We answer to you. , BT Cellnet, Kyocera, Sony Ericsson For an arrangement of Sony Ericsson products, see list of Sony Ericsson products Sony Ericsson is a joint venture established in 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to make mobile phones. , News Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment is a major global record label controlled by the Sony Corporation. In 1988, Sony Corporation acquired CBS Records, Inc. for $2 billion. CBS Inc., now CBS Corporation, retained the rights to the CBS name, and Sony renamed the label and Vivendi Universal. Through the company's mobile entertainment network, PWS has distributed over 90 million mobile media downloads, such as ringtones, games and graphics, to 12 million consumers in 85 countries. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. , Calif., with representatives in Miami, London, Paris, Sydney, Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. , Tokyo and Johannesburg. For more information on PWS, visit www.pws.ws. About Vivendi Universal Net USA Group, Inc. Vivendi Universal Net USA Group, Inc. - the U.S. arm of VUNet, Vivendi Universal's Paris-based Internet and technology unit - provides world-class digital entertainment and education content to tens of millions of media consumers each month through the aggregation of its prominent Internet brands including MP3.com, MP4.com, EMusic.com, GetMusic.com, RollingStone.com, the Flipside Network and Education.com. Through its ownership of Premium Wireless Services, Inc., the company has also established a leadership position in the growing mobile media services industry. In addition, VUNet USA is a global leader in creating innovative online applications and infrastructure technologies. Established in October 2001 and headed by CEO Robin D. Richards, VUNet USA is headquartered in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. with operations in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . This press release contains "forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. " as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, including but not limited to: the risk that recently acquired operations will not be integrated successfully; that the synergies expected to be created as a result of recent acquisitions will not materialize; that Vivendi Universal will be unable to further identify, develop and achieve success for new products, services and technologies; that Vivendi Universal will face increased competition and that the effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues of such competition will limit or reduce Vivendi Universal's revenue and/or income; that Vivendi Universal will be unable to establish and maintain relationships with commerce, advertising, marketing, technology, and content providers; and that Vivendi Universal will be unable to obtain or retain, upon acceptable terms, the licenses and permits necessary to operate and expand its businesses; as well as the risks described in the documents Vivendi Universal has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors and security holders are urged to read those documents at the Commission's web site at www.sec.gov. Those documents may also be obtained free of charge from Vivendi Universal. |
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