Prodigy Teams with GiantBear to Build Wireless Portal

Seeking to keep up with big boys AOL Time Warner and EarthLink, Prodigy Communications Corp. Wednesday ramped up its Prodigy Everywhere initiative and turned to wireless application service provider GiantBear Inc. for help in developing and launching “Prodigy Wireless,” a mobile portal for Prodigy Internet members and non-members alike.

GiantBear will provide its proprietary technology — enabling users with WAP-enabled devices for TDMA, CDMA and GSM digital wireless networks — to the project.

AOL Time Warner unveiled its own AOL Anywhere initiative late last year. AOL’s push includes Web-based services for its members and the AOL by Phone portal, a voice-driven telephone portal that reads e-mail to users. EarthLink unveiled its latest efforts in its EarthLink Anywhere initiative Wednesday, cutting a deal to offer EarthLink services on Motorola’s Talkabout T900 device.

Prodigy’s wireless Web portal will give personalized access to Prodigy Internet services including local and national content, e-commerce services, and customizable alerts on topics like news, sports, stock quotes, horse racing and lottery results, horoscopes and traffic and travel-related information.

“This partnership with GiantBear lays the foundation for Prodigy to provide its members with a richer experience through content and applications that are easy to use, wherever they are,” said Gregory G. Williams, chief operating officer of Prodigy. “GiantBear’s wireless offering provides a platform that extends the Prodigy Everywhere experience to many mobile devices, allowing us to offer a wireless Internet experience that is industry leading and sets a new standard in terms of navigation and personalization.”