Yahoo! Everywhere And Verizon Wireless Team To Offer Yahoo! Messenger For Verizon Wireless Mobile Web Subscribers

SANTA CLARA, CA and BEDMINSTER, NJ — Announcing a major deal at the CTIA Wireless 2001 show in Las Vegas today, Verizon Wireless, the largest and most popular wireless service provider in the U.S. and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company, said they will offer Yahoo!® Messenger optimized for the Verizon Wireless network, as well as a variety of Yahoo! content and services for Verizon Wireless Mobile Web customers.

The two companies are collaborating to provide a range of tools and services to Verizon Wireless customers nationwide, including Yahoo! Messenger. With Yahoo! Messenger, the popular instant messaging, information and notification service, Verizon Wireless Mobile Web subscribers can send and receive instant messages from their phones, across the Verizon Wireless digital network. On-the-go customers can stay in touch with friends, family and co-workers, instantly.

In addition to Yahoo! Messenger for Verizon Wireless, Mobile Web subscribers will have mobile access to essential, personalized, local and timely information, with a wide range of popular Yahoo! products such as Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Local Info, and Yahoo! News.

"We are pleased to be working with Verizon Wireless to bring Yahoo! services into the hands of Verizon Wireless Mobile Web subscribers nationwide. This relationship furthers Yahoo! Everywhere's mission to extend Yahoo! beyond the desktop, and to provide access to Yahoo!'s essential services anytime and everywhere," said Sridhar Ranganathan, general manager, Yahoo! Everywhere, Yahoo! Inc. "Yahoo! Messenger is one of the Web's most widely used instant messaging applications and a perfect complementary service for the subscribers of the country's largest wireless network."

Gary Schulman, president of the Wireless Data & Internet Division of Verizon Wireless, said, "We are excited to be working with Yahoo! to offer Yahoo! Messenger for Verizon Wireless along with additional Yahoo! content. Yahoo! Messenger on the Mobile Web will be a big draw for the vast majority of Americans who aren't yet connected to the wireless Internet."

Get Yahoo! Messenger - Everywhere with the Verizon Wireless Mobile Web

To use the service, subscribers simply click on a link to Yahoo! Messenger that will appear on the start deck of the Mobile Web on Verizon Wireless phones. Yahoo! Messenger is server based, which can lead to a great experience whether using the product wirelessly or on a PC. For example, names added to a Yahoo! Messenger "friend list" wirelessly are automatically updated the next time the Verizon Wireless Mobile Web customer logs into Yahoo! Messenger on their PC, and vice versa. Current Yahoo! users with a Yahoo! I.D. and access to a PC client version of the Yahoo! Messenger can also communicate with Mobile Web subscribers.

Verizon Wireless Mobile Web customers can choose to receive alerts for incoming messages and to receive alerts when friends go on or off-line. And customers have four different ways to send a message from their wireless phone: they can compose one on their own using the keypad on their phone; express emotions in the form of smileys; select from a list of customized pre-written "quick" messages; or use "quick" messages created by Yahoo!.

To get a version of Yahoo! Messenger co-branded with Verizon Wireless for their PC, consumers will be able to download it from My Verizon or http://messenger.yahoo.com.

Verizon Wireless has the most extensive and most popular wireless network in the nation, with 27.5 million customers. Yahoo! has the largest global mobile audience and the greatest breadth of wireless services of any Web content provider. Yahoo! Everywhere is a corporate initiative committed to working in partnership with operators and device manufacturers to extend Yahoo! beyond the desktop and provide access to essential, personalized and timely information. To date, Yahoo! Everywhere has entered 40 agreements with service providers and manufacturers of Web-connected devices in 27 countries and 14 languages.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) is a global Internet communications, commerce and media company that offers a comprehensive branded network of services to more than 185 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, http://www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach. Yahoo! is the most recognized and valuable Internet brand globally, and is ranked the No. 38 leading consumer brand worldwide. The company also provides online business and enterprise services designed to enhance the productivity and Web presence of Yahoo!'s clients. These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming; store hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 24 World properties. Yahoo! has offices in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Canada and the United States, and is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the largest wireless communications provider in the U.S. with 27.5 million wireless voice and data customers. The new coast-to-coast wireless provider was formed by the combination of the U.S. wireless businesses of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp -- now Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) -- and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). The new company includes the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, AirTouch Cellular, GTE Wireless, PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. The company has a footprint covering nearly 90 percent of the U.S. population, 49 of the top 50 and 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, is 38,000 employees strong. Reporters and editors can find more information about the company on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

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