WIN Plc says it has opened the doors to Greece for premium mobile content services to be sold by large brands and media owners. According to WIN, the Greek market had previously been difficult to penetrate, as it uses a different billing system to most countries, and the technology required to make it accessible is expensive. But with all the major Greek networks on board and QTelecom joining imminently, says WIN, the service is ready to go. 
WIN has made it possible for its customers to take their subscription-based services to Greece by setting up a Mobile Terminated (MT) billing connection. This allows consumers to text in a keyword to a shortcode and receive alerts-based messages, or to join clubs to receive the latest mobile content. Until this point, Greek mobile network operators only had the option of Mobile Originate (MO) premium billing. WIN says that it has been proved that that MO systems, which rely on the customer to send a message to content providers before being billed, do not suit the subscription business model. 
With a mobile penetration of 138% and roughly three times more mobile traffic than any other European territory, Greece is a key emerging market with a lot of opportunity. Mindful of this, WIN has an Athens office, form which it says it can offer its customers local knowledge and significant media contacts to help them broker marketing and promotional deals. Services such as front line customer support can also be delivered from base, meaning consumers have access to local language speakers.
WIN has also tackled the technological expense its customers face when reaching into new markets. They can use their existing API connections to easily integrate their existing service frameworks. The solution is not only affordable, says WIN, but also minimises the headache of setting up a new network infrastructure, can be quickly implemented, and keeps running costs low. Feedback from customers who have already launched in Greece has been impressive, says WIN, with some already exceeding their KPI targets.
We love our mobiles in Greece, believe me its hard to get us off them,` says says WIN Plc Greece Managing Director, Kerstin Trikalitis. Our obsession is something WIN clients are already reaping benefits from. Early reports suggest high growth curves for the first wave of companies using us to deliver subscription-based services; and were expecting a lot more enquires in the months and year to come.