KPN Picks First Hop for VAS

HELSINKI -- KPN, the leading Dutch mobile operator, has selected the First Hop® Wireless Broker(tm) service control suite to replace its existing messaging system. KPN will additionally deploy the First Hop Business Intelligence solution to improve VAS traffic and revenue reporting, subscriber analytics and personalisation. The Dutch operator is the second company within the KPN Group to select First Hop and joins a growing list of mobile operators using business intelligence to drive VAS usage amongst users.

KPN will also benefit from First Hop's expertise in upgrading legacy VAS systems to help operators secure new revenue streams from data services. The First Hop® Wireless Broker(tm) will enable KPN to increase the number of data services it delivers through channels such as SMS, WAP Push, MMS and email. The First Hop® Wireless Broker(tm) is a complete service delivery platform that enables third party content providers to access KPN's network to deliver content directly to users.

Timo Laaksonen, the Chief Executive Officer, of First Hop, said: "This is another significant new business win for First Hop and needless to say, we are absolutely delighted to be working again with the KPN Group. The KPN affiliate, BASE of Belgium deployed a First Hop messaging solution earlier this year."

Laaksonen continued: "Operators need to look beyond just the service delivery and complement it with customer analytics to be able to react to changes in the market. Our business intelligence solution enables operators to make decisions about mobile services based on real time data rather than market research."

First Hop Ltd.