VeriSign Acquires m-Qube

by Ed Oswald

March 20, 2006, 12:05 PM

VeriSign continued its efforts to break into the mobile media business Monday with the acquisition of m-Qube, a company that assists in the development, delivery, and billing for mobile content. The purchase is VeriSign's third in the sector, following 3united and Kontiki.

While it is better known for Internet security and management of the .com and .net domains, VeriSign also runs a mobile content business. However, it only contributes about a fifth of the company's overall revenue.

m-Qube already runs premium messaging and content services for several major brands, including Sony Pictures, CBS, Major League Baseball, Warner Music, and Reuters. These services have the capability of reaching 200 million subscribers in North America.

Through the acquisition, VeriSign said the added expertise would better its content delivery services for carriers, Internet portals, media companies and consumer brands.

"VeriSign is combining its world-class expertise, applications and infrastructure to make content convergence over any network and any device a reality. m-Qube will increase our leadership and expand our services in this emerging category," VeriSign's executive vice president of communications services Vernon Irvin said.

The company paid $250 million for m-Qube. The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

Add a Comment

0 Comments

Name E-mail

Betanews reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Foul language and personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Tiny netbooks, simple video set Sony sailing through CES

It's only the first set of Sony announcements, but the product assortment at...

Live from the Panasonic press conference

No longer "Matsushita," and given a big boost with the pending acquisition of...

Sony's big news: the Vaio P 'Lifestyle PC'

The question in advance of Sony's first press conference at CES (there will...

Samsung shows slimmer LED TVs, slimmer Blu-ray console

In an era when HDTVs are being measured in terms of pinky-width, Samsung...

Sharp stays (mostly) on point at lunchtime CES event

A very big room, journalists on the feedbag, and the tricky task of pitching...

Audiovox flashback features Elvis and rabbit-ears

Elvis! The season's first sighting of the King occurred at the Audiovox press...

Live from the Cisco press conference at CES 2009

Known worldwide as an infrastructure company, Cisco now plays a bigger role...

Toshiba focuses on mid-range DTV for everyone

Toshiba's press conference at CES 2009 this morning featured announcements in...

LG unleashes its annual flood of announcements

Holding down its traditional CES-opening spot at 8:00 am, LG on Wednesday ran...

Netgear debuts a BitTorrent-enabled set-top box

The first of NetGear's three big product announcements at CES this morning is...

Live from the LG press conference at CES 2009

Speaking to an overflow crowd in Las Vegas Wednesday morning, executives from...

CES Unveiled event provides a high-energy opener

If CES is a banquet, CES Unveiled -- the opening press event -- is like a...