Contract Win with African Han

RNS Number : 1382Z

Synchronica PLC

10 January 2011

 



Synchronica plc

('Synchronica' or 'the Company')

Synchronica Signs Initial US$500,000+ Contract with Mass Market-focused African Handset Manufacturer

Highlights:

·     Initial deal value includes software licences (US$400,000) plus first-year service fees ($123,000) plus 
a monthly per user hosting fee

·     The 2010 deal, with paperwork concluded in 2011, is  the 33rd customer for Synchronica in the MEA 
 region

·     The device manufacturer plans to launch a range of affordable, MediaTek-based handsets bundled 
 with Mobile Gateway 5 in the African market in Q1 2011

·     Deal underlines Synchronica's strategy of targeting device manufacturers as well as mobile 
operators in emerging markets with its mobile messaging software

Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK: January 10th, 2011. - Synchronica plc, the international provider of next-generation mobile messaging services, has secured an initial contract worth more than US$500,000 with a device manufacturer targeting the African mass market. The device manufacturer will bundle the white-labelled Synchronica Mobile Gateway with a number of MediaTek-based handsets, enabling consumers in Africa to experience a BlackBerry-like service on a range of low-cost devices.

The deal comes just days after the announcement of an initial US$1.25 million+ contract with an Indian handset manufacturer, and consolidates Synchronica's position as a vendor of choice for both device manufacturers and mobile operators in emerging markets. Today's win will provide Synchronica with a monthly per user hosting fee, in addition to licence fees and a 12-month support and maintenance contract. Mobile Gateway will enable the device manufacturer to provide users with mobile email, calendar/contacts synchronization and instant messaging as well as connectivity to social networking sites and RSS feeds.

Synchronica is already a significant player in the fast-growing market for mobile data services in the MEA region, with 31 of its more than 70 customer wins to date coming from this region.

According to the Informa report "Africa's Mobile Telecoms Market" (April 2010), there is tremendous potential for subscriber growth in Africa given that there were just over 450 million active subscriptions across the region at the end of 2009, a penetration rate below 45 percent. The significant market potential in Africa is illustrated by Informa's forecast that mobile data revenues will rise from US$4.45 billion in 2009 to US$10.64 billion in 2014.

Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO of Synchronica, said: "This latest contract win underlines how well suited Synchronica's advanced messaging solutions are for handset manufacturers and mobile operators in high-growth emerging markets who want to differentiate their offerings through VAS. This is the second contract in a matter of days from an emerging markets-based device manufacturer using the MediaTek platform. Synchronica Mobile Gateway appeals to device manufacturers because it supports any handset and can be bundled easily and cost-effectively to deliver an attractive range of phones aimed at the mass market."

For more information, please contact:

Synchronica plc www.synchronica.com	Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO Angus Dent, CFO Nicole Meissner, COO	[phone] [phone] [phone]
finnCap	Clive Carver , Nomad Charlotte Stranner, Corporate Finance Stephen Norcross, Corporate Broker	[phone] [phone] [phone]
Walbrook PR Ltd		0207 933 8780
	Paul Cornelius	[e-mail]
	Helen Westaway	[e-mail]

About Synchronica

Synchronica plc is a leading developer of next-generation mobile messaging solutions. Mobile Gateway, Synchronica's flagship product, provides push email, synchronization, instant messaging (IM), and social networking services to any mobile phone currently in use. Synchronica's patented transcoding engine uses advanced streaming to download email attachments and can dramatically reduce the consumption of network bandwidth by as much as 90 percent.

Mobile operators and device manufacturers from emerging and developed markets rely on Synchronica's white-labelled product for providing mass market messaging services across the entire customer base, diversifying revenues and reducing churn.

Headquartered in England, Synchronica also maintains a development centre in Germany and the Philippines in addition to a regional presence in Canada, the USA, Hong Kong, Spain, and Dubai. Synchronica plc is a public company traded on the AIM list of the London Stock Exchange (SYNC) and the Venture Exchange of the Toronto Stock Exchange (SYN). For further information, please visit www.synchronica.com 

 

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