Opera Unleashes Web Pass Service for Carriers, Promises Cost-Efficient Mobile Browsing

Opera officially launched its Web Pass service for carriers that want to offer better and cost-efficient mobile browsing to their customers.

With Web Pass, operators will be able to package time or site-specific data offerings to their subscribers who want cheap, efficient browsing on their mobile phones.

Basically, customers will be able to pay for only 1 hour of Internet, or they can pay only for accessing certain websites.

Carriers will be able to set up their own Opera Web Pass offerings, along with specific price points for the respective market.

“We see this as a great way of lowering the bar for millions of users who are taking their first steps out to the mobile web. We are excited about working with our operator partners and making the web even more accessible and tailored to the needs of a growing mobile internet community,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software.

Although Opera Software has more than 100 carrier partners around the world, only a few are now offering the Web Pass service to their customers.

The first operator to offer this mobile browsing service to its customers is DiGi Telecommunications, in Malaysia. The reason behind this move is the fact that Web Pass was developed and tested by Opera and DiGi.

However, we expect more carriers to start making their own offerings aimed at mobile subscribers without data plans. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

“Providing a flexible and cost-efficient way for DiGi customers to access the internet on the move makes good business sense, as there are millions of mobile subscribers in Malaysia who are not looking to be constantly online, but who wish to stay connected at an extremely affordable rate. Opera’s latest product offering meets this growing need, and we are happy to play a pivotal role in jointly developing the product with them,” says Albern Murty, CMO of DiGi.