Mobile instant messaging · 2000–2008
In November 2000, Followap and Eircell announced the world’s first commercial mobile instant messenger; it went live in Ireland that December. Over the six years that followed, its iFollow platform carried presence and messaging for Vodafone, Orange, Turkcell, 3, Wind and Mobinil — and the GSMA programme it was built for became RCS, the messaging in your phone today.
Presence — knowing whether someone is available, busy, driving or in a meeting before you interrupt them — was the idea underneath the whole platform.
Operators that ran the platform
The first instant messaging service commercially available on mobile phones, with Eircell in Ireland.
Announced Nov, live Dec 2000Mobile operators running the platform, including Vodafone, 3, Orange, Telecom Italia, Turkcell and Beeline.
As reported, February 2008Combined subscriber base across customer networks at its peak — reported as “close to 300 million”.
2006–2007Cash acquisition by NeuStar (NYSE: NSR).
November 2006Our partnership with Followap allows us to deliver the world’s first mobile instant messaging service to our customers, and we are in no doubt that it will offer them real value.
2000 — 2008
Followap shipped the first commercial mobile messenger, then spent the rest of the decade making it something operators could sell, standardise, and finally connect to one another — the work that became RCS.
Before 2000
One idea underneath the company: that presence — knowing whether the person you want is actually reachable — belongs on the mobile network, attached to a phone number, not locked inside a PC application.
Nov 2000
Followap and Eircell sign on 23 November; ‘e-merge messenger’ goes live in Ireland that December — the first instant messaging service commercially available on mobile phones.
Read the releaseJul 2001
Vodafone Group signs a global agreement making Followap the sole provider of its instant messaging platform across its operating companies.
Read the releaseMay 2002
Omnitel Vodafone commercially launches mobile IM on iFollow, branded for its own subscriber base.
Read the releaseApr 2003
iFollow v2.2 passes OMA IMPS (Wireless Village) certification for Presence, Instant Messaging and Groups.
Read the release2003–04
Server-to-server tests with Jabber’s XMPP platform, presence inside Motorola’s IMS core, and a Presence Extension for Qualcomm’s BREW.
Read the releaseApr 2005
Turkcell — then among the five largest GSM operators in Europe — launches on the iFollow Presence Solution.
Read the releaseJun 2005
Sequoia backs the company, and iFollow’s Presence Platform is rebuilt to run as an application server over IMS core networks.
Read the releaseFeb 2006
At 3GSM in Barcelona, the first multi-national agreement to interconnect mobile IM communities. Followap supplies the gateway that makes it work, and demonstrates it to the major operators at a GSMA meeting in the city.
Read the releaseSep 2006
The LG U300 ships with a dedicated IM key running Followap’s embedded client — one press to your messenger community.
Read the releaseNov 2006
NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) acquires Followap for approximately $139 million in cash. Followap becomes NeuStar’s Next Generation Messaging group.
Read the releaseJan 2007
Steve Jobs announces the iPhone six weeks after the sale closes; the App Store follows in July 2008. The operator-controlled distribution the platform was built for starts to dissolve almost immediately.
2007–08
Beeline brings presence-enabled IM to 48 million VimpelCom subscribers; Celcom sets out to interconnect every mobile network in Malaysia — both under the GSMA’s Personal IM banner.
2008 → today
The GSMA takes Rich Communication Suite into its work programme; its founding features are Personal IM’s, plus in-call media sharing. RCS is now the messaging system on Android, and on the iPhone since 2024.
← Scroll the timeline →
Where it went
In 2006 the GSM Association set out to give operators one interconnected messaging community, addressed by phone number, with presence in the address book. It named the programme Personal IM, and Followap built the platform it ran on, and demonstrated the interconnect to the major operators at a GSMA meeting in Barcelona that February.
The same programme, under a new name, became RCS: on Android for years, and on the iPhone since 2024.
The platform
Four products that together let a mobile operator run its own messenger: a service centre, a presence layer, a federation gateway, and the clients that put it all in a subscriber’s hand.
IMSC
The operator’s own messaging community, addressed by mobile number rather than a screen name. Branded by the carrier, billed by the carrier, and built to the same availability expectations as SMS.
PSP
The layer underneath everything else: collecting, managing and distributing availability from many sources, with group management and privacy controls. Later re-engineered as a SIP application server over 3GPP IMS.
ICP
Federation for instant messaging. As with email, a message finds its recipient without either party caring which network or community they belong to — the piece that let Orange and Vodafone link their messengers.
Clients
The part subscribers actually touched: IM clients for 2G, 2.5G and 3G handsets, preloaded by manufacturers or downloaded, with the phonebook turned into a live buddy list.
Built to the open standards of its day
Partners and integrations
In their own words
Operators, handset makers and technology partners, quoted in the announcements at the time, on what they had bought and why.
“This is a significant step in our ability to offer our customers advanced mobile services on a global basis. SMS already contributes a significant amount of revenue to Vodafone. Instant Messaging will help drive a new wave of SMS communication across our networks generating further revenues in this important messaging sector.”
Vodafone · July 2001
Global Product Management Director
“We believe that Followap is uniquely positioned to be the leader in providing Mobile Instant Messaging solutions and become the standard for IMPL platforms.”
Siemens · June 2001
President of Solutions, Information and Communication Mobile Group
“Moreover, for the first time, we will be able to provide operators with mobile devices that will enable their customers to truly benefit from advanced messaging services. This is quite a revolution in the mobile messaging market.”
Samsung Electronics · February 2002
VP of Business Management Team
“We are excited to see Followap extend the power of the BREW solution with presence and look forward to seeing the introduction of new innovative presence-based applications.”
Qualcomm Internet Services · March 2004
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management
“We selected Followap’s presence offering due to its functional robustness and its open architecture. The iFollow Presence Server will extend the functionality of the HP SDP with the ability to manage the numerous presence-enabled services offered or developed on the SDP.”
HP · June 2004
Worldwide Director, Network Domain Solutions, HP Network and Service Provider Solutions
“By introducing Followap’s solution in our network and enhancing our portfolio of services with TurkcellMessenger, we expect to provide our subscribers with unprecedented ease-of-use and accessibility to new services as well as existing ones.”
Turkcell · April 2005
Chief Operations Officer
“As we have seen over the last few years, service interoperability has unlocked the true potential for mobile. … We hope to encourage all mobile operators to adopt this open, interoperable approach to instant messaging services.”
Vodafone · February 2006
Chief Executive, announcing the IM link with Orange. Followap built Vodafone’s side of it, switched on the same day
“We’re really excited about the potential of IM and building on the already proven success of text-based conversation … we expect it to be adopted by a much wider audience over time.”
Orange · February 2006
CEO, Orange Group, in the same announcement, linking Orange’s IM community to Vodafone’s
“Followap is the leader in its field, and has trusted, market proven embedded IM technology. We are developing handsets that meet our customers’ communication needs.”
LG Mobile · September 2006
Project Manager
“The iFollow IMSC and iFollow Clients have been chosen to provide our subscribers with Instant Messaging on their mobile devices. … This service will answer the needs of our customers, who enjoy SMS today, and are looking for real-time, presence-enabled communications.”
Wind · October 2006
Marketing Director
“We selected Followap’s IMSC and IM Clients to provide the best service to our customers, and we expect IM to become a core part of our service offering.”
Mobinil · October 2006
VP and Chief Operating Officer
“We selected NeuStar because of its experience in delivering reliable, convenient and revenue-generating IM solutions. We wanted to work with a company who shares our vision to enable personalised, advanced communications that will make a difference in how people use their mobile phones.”
VimpelCom · May 2007
Vice President of Marketing and Sales
From the archive
The company’s own announcements, 2000 to 2007. This is how mobile messaging got built, told by the people who built it.
Launch · 23 November 2000
Followap's iFollow, branded by Eircell as 'e-merge messenger', becomes the first instant messaging service commercially available on mobile phones — bridging WAP handsets and PCs.
Interconnect · 13 February 2006
At 3GSM Barcelona, Orange and Vodafone announce the first multi-national agreement to interconnect mobile IM communities under the GSMA's open-standard principles — the 'calling party pays' model applied to instant messaging.
Company · 27 November 2006
NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) buys Followap in cash, citing a customer base of 17 mobile network operators covering over 160 million subscribers. Followap becomes the core of NeuStar's Next Generation Messaging group.
Instant Messaging. Delivered.
Nine years before WhatsApp existed, Eircell customers were exchanging instant messages between mobile phones and PCs. This site keeps the record of how that happened.