Mobile software and messaging service provider Sybase Inc. has partnered with international communications firm Cable&Wireless to market and sell mobile data roaming services.

As part of the deal, Sybase has acquired Cable&Wireless's international inter-operator multimedia messaging service hub, which will be integrated into subsidiary Sybase 365. Sybase said that its platform will be compatible with all carrier networks worldwide and that the new deal will enable the global exchange of MMS messages.

"We're constantly trying to expand our scale and reach and scope, and we're always trying to improve on our model and improve customer satisfaction," said Gregory Dunn, vice president for the Americas at Sybase 365, Dublin, CA. "This deal helps us accomplish that because now we'll have the rights to market Cable&Wireless's GRX platform, and we acquired their MMS portfolio."

Sybase 365 claims that it is now the world's largest GRX network provider with 73 direct operator clients, 13 peer agreements and a reach of almost 500 carriers.

GRX stands for general packet radio service roaming exchange, a centralized IP routing network for carriers that lets their subscribers roam across multiple wireless operators and still access their home network data services, including wireless e-mail, WAP browsing, MMS and SMS.

According to the company, it is also now the world's largest international MMS interoperability provider in terms of traffic volume. Sybase has direct peering agreements with 40 customers and a reach of more than 250 carriers.

Overall, that means Sybase 365's platform connects to more than 700 carriers worldwide. The company said that it handles around 12 billion messages per month, taking into account both SMS and MMS.

"Our MMS business grew last year over 400 percent, and it's a very viral offering," Mr. Dunn said. "Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are asking, 'How can we expand access for our subscribers and get them access to the rest of the world?' and this agreement helps us provide a solution."

Sybase's platform will let carriers offer 3G and 4G services such as VoIP, video streaming, video sharing and other broadcast and point-to-point services within specified service levels that can span multiple operators.

"The U.S. market is very divergent in the sense of the variety of technologies, and we've done very well in the U.S.," Mr. Dunn said. "This expands and solidifies our position, and now we can deliver SMS and MMS traffic not just to the U.S. market, but to the rest of the world as well."

The deal with Cable&Wireless is calculated to expand Sybase 365's scope to compete with SMS and MMS competitors worldwide.

"We've added connections that we did not have in the past, letting us take our technology and port that globally," Mr. Dunn said. "We don't care what the device is, what type of connectivity you have, we'll be able to deliver these services."

"Today the mobile market is evolving much quicker than it used to, and future-looking technologies are the real key," he said. "Our GRX reach will give us the ability to grow the ecosystem, develop IP and IMS solutions and bring those to market quickly."