Sonera Oy, Finland’s incumbent telco, is set to spin off two subsidiaries which develop security and content customization services for mobile phones. With the mobile commerce market rapidly attracting heavyweights from all corners of the IT sector, Sonera said that the two divisions were too small and needed greater visibility to be able to compete effectively in the corporate market. The firm also conceded that its e-business units are losing time routing potential decisions through the Helsinki headquarters and it needed to be nimbler.
The two subsidiaries set be given their independence are SmartTrust, a mobile commerce security developer, and Sonera Zed, a WAP systems house. SmartTrust was set up earlier this year to develop security software to turn mobile phones into online buying devices using digital certificates. Despite competition from major players such as Ericsson, Microsoft and Swisscom, SmartTrust is confident that its launch in Finland last month gives it the lead in the sector. We’re live, we’re making money now, says Joe Krull, vice president of SmartTrust. Finnish bank Leonia and Finnish brokerage eQ Online are the first users of the software.
Sonera Zed allows wireless application protocol (WAP) mobile users to select relevant content and download it automatically from a WAP server. Zed mobile users access the information they want from Phone.com WAP servers, although Sonera plans to enlist more WAP stack authors. Zed provides mobile operator customers with consultancy, customization technology and security, encrypting the data both ways with 1024-bit RSA encryption.
The Finnish firm declined to comment on possible flotation for the two subsidiaries, which will be 100% owned by Sonera. That is a strong possibility, particularly as Sonera needs to move fast and grow swiftly to make the most of the lead to which it lays claim. SmartTrust officials did not deny the attractiveness of the IPO option. That’s the logical assumption, says Krull.
Both spin-offs will be headquartered in Stockley Park, London, although they will be registered in Helsinki. The subsidiaries will join Sonera’s corporate finance division, also currently located in London.
