US / Europe : Aicent Inc. announced its partnership with mobile media company 3 in the UK to instantly deliver more Multimedia Service messaging worldwide.

Awarded Best Messaging Service at 3GSM in February, 3 is a market leader in mobile communications, entertainment and information. Its decision to use Aicent MMS Gateway will allow 3 customers in the UK to send large, content-rich multimedia messages to more than 600 mobile operators worldwide.

Aicent MMS Gateway operates as a platform for sending MMS and overcomes a major challenge for inter-network MMS delivery. Previously the MMS sender’s operator required a relationship with the recipient’s operator or the message could not be delivered. However Aicent MMS Gateway acts as a hub able to connect operators to other networks without individual agreements. This is an advantageous progression which increases the number of networks to which they can deliver messages – allowing operators to deliver the best possible service to customers.

“3’s customers in the UK generate one of the highest MMS message volume per subscriber in the industry,” said Adil Pastakia, Aicent’s general manager for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “With Aicent MMS Gateway, they can now send messages to millions more people all over the world.”

“We are the leader in the convergence of communications, entertainment and information services for customers on the move,” said David Cooper, CTO of 3 UK. “As MMS traffic continues to grow and customers’ expectations increase we need to ensure their ability to send MMS to friends, family and colleagues anywhere in the world. With Aicent we have the best solution in the market.”

About Aicent, Inc.

Serving more than one billion mobile users around the world, Aicent Inc. is a leading provider of data network services and solutions for global mobile operators. To enable mobile data roaming and interoperability between Aicent customers and other networks, Aicent operates one of world's largest GPRS, 3G network and data application exchanges, connecting to over 100 operators, including four of the world’s five largest. Through extensive peering arrangements, the Aicent network reaches nearly all GPRS/3G operators around the world. Aicent also operates integrated mobile messaging services, including one of world's first and largest multimedia messaging exchanges, and offers other value-added services to help carriers maximize revenue opportunities. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Jose, California Aicent has regional offices in Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.