Science & Technology 
Science and Technology
Science and Technology 
Thu, February 12, 2009
VeriSign, Inc.: OMG! R U Serious?! Wht a Gr8 Yr 4 Mobl Msging!
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - February 12, 2009) - Thanks to continued worldwide growth of text messaging and its usage for social purposes, VeriSign, Inc. (
The numbers also led VeriSign, which owns 60 percent of the U.S. inter-carrier market(1), to make a record-breaking prediction for Valentine's Day for the third year running. This year, VeriSign expects 1.7 billion inter-carrier and a total of 3.5 billion SMS messages to be sent in North America on February 14 -- typically a very high-volume day as texters send love notes.
"Mobile messaging continues to play an even greater role in how the world communicates," said Charles Landry, vice president and general manager, products and innovation, for VeriSign's Messaging and Mobile Media division. "Record usage growth requires a reliable, scalable network to ensure messages reach their intended destination -- and as 2008 showed, VeriSign continues to deliver with ease. And as we've seen several years running, we're expecting people to use our network to communicate in record numbers come Valentine's Day. We'll be ready when cupid's arrows are let loose."
Calendar year 2008 was a banner year for mobile messaging as VeriSign's Messaging and Mobile Media Division delivered more than 224 billion messages, which not only shattered its original estimates of 200 billion messages, but it also saw a 134 percent increase in its total messages delivered from 2007. This success can be partially attributed to an expanding international footprint and continued growth in both P2P and A2P messaging services.
VeriSign facilitated an average of 772 million messages per day in Q4 2008, compared to 634 million messages per day in Q3 2008 and 352 million messages per day in Q4 2007. Its combined mobile messaging networks achieved new milestones when VeriSign, together with RealNetworks, successfully delivered more than 1.1 billion inter-carrier SMS messages on Christmas Day, and a new single-day record is expected to fall on Valentine's Day. The growth corresponded to more than $2.6 billion in revenue generated for VeriSign's customers in Q4 2008, and more than $8.3 billion for the year.
Mobile messaging also demonstrated strong growth within enterprises and financial institutions during 2008. The total number of Enterprise A2P messages delivered rose to nearly 1 billion in 2008, marking a 114 percent increase from 2007. In the fourth quarter of 2008, PayPal announced a new way for members to add even more security to their PayPal accounts using their mobile phones through SMS functionality provided by VeriSign. VeriSign's global mobile banking and financial services customer base now includes seven of the top 10 U.S. banking brands, three of the top five credit card issuers, and a global leader in online payment solutions.
VeriSign's Messaging and Mobile Media Division delivers messages on behalf of carriers and content providers around the world. VeriSign's combined mobile messaging networks (P2P and A2P) connect to more than 700 carriers in over 200 countries and reach more than 3 billion wireless subscribers. VeriSign offers one of the most robust and reliable mobile messaging delivery engines across carrier, enterprise, and media/entertainment networks, generating billions of dollars in revenue for its customers. Together with RealNetworks, it powers inter-carrier mobile messaging for eight of the top 10 wireless carriers in North America and other major operators throughout the world.
To view the full index, please visit [ http://www.verisign.com/static/044499.pdf ].
About VeriSign Messaging and Mobile Media
VeriSign Messaging and Mobile Media is a division of VeriSign, the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world. Through this business unit, VeriSign provides global application services that reliably deliver short-messages (SMS), multimedia messages (MMS), and mobile content across wireless operators and mobile devices throughout the world. As a leader in mobile messaging, mobile banking and mobile content delivery, VeriSign offers a broad portfolio of mobile infrastructure and delivery services. Offering reliable delivery, a worldwide presence, and rapid and effective deployment, VeriSign has built a trusted and respected brand with global mobile operators, media content providers and enterprises. The reach, reliability and value add of VeriSign services enable these companies to capitalize on the rapidly growing messaging and media content markets.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (
Forward-Looking Statement
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
(1) Inter-carrier SMS messaging and interoperability services are provided by VeriSign and RealNetworks under the service name “Metcalf.”
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