DALLAS-Paging Network Inc. last week signed agreements with LottoNet and Yahoo!, furthering its
goal to provide various Internet-based information services to its paging subscribers.
LottoNet is an Internet-based
lottery information provider. The agreement will allow PageNet subscribers choosing the service to receive their state’s
lottery results on their pagers immediately after they are announced.
The LottoNet agreement marks the latest
addition to the company’s growing suite of information services, which it plans to offer to customers about mid-
year.
According to Bill Binnig, PageNet vice president of content services, the company wants to compile a core
suite of information services before offering them en masse to customers. To date, PageNet has formed relationships
with CNN ESPN, Forbes, AcuWeather, The Golf Channel, Tribune Media Services and others.
He said PageNet
would like to secure agreements with companies offering financial stock information, as well as enhance its options in
entertainment news, government and education news before making the entire package available to
subscribers.
Once offered commercially, Binnig said he expects the information package to attract other information
providers, as more and more companies are looking for non-traditional ways to promote their brand and content, and
PageNet will add services indefinitely.
While most paging carriers plan to offer information services, PageNet is
committed to being its own content provider, placing a great degree of importance on branding that information, rather
than relying on generic sources.
Binnig said PageNet will price the information suite based on a tiered model-the
more services subscribed to, the more it will cost per month.
In order to convince customers to pay for these
services, Binnig said PageNet plans to offer great leeway in customizing the information options, not only in terms of
what information customers receive, but how they receive it.
While PageNet will broadcast all information to its
paging subscribers, only the information selected by each subscriber will appear on his or her pager display. Also, the
pager will not always sound an alert when it receives information.
PageNet also signed an agreement to distribute
personalized Internet services from Yahoo! to its paging subscribers. Content includes Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo!
Calender, as well as personalized new features, stock quotes, weather, sports scores and horoscopes.
Via the
agreement, PageNet subscribers can access the Yahoo! Web site and set up a personalized calendar, detailing important
dates and appointments. When those dates and times near, subscribers will receive notification on their pager of the
impending appointment. Additionally, subscribers can have their Yahoo! e-mail forwarded to their pagers, filtered by
subject or sender.
Additionally, Yahoo! will add a link to PageNet’s Web site where customers may go to subscribe
to PageNet goods and services. PageNet said it plans to have the service available in the second quarter.
