Start-up Net-Express has signed a cooperation agreement with Pele-Phone and Sunny Telecom's joint wireless portal GO NEXT. Under the agreement, Net-Express's routing engine will be used to supply services through the Internet. The portal will be officially launched next month.
Net-Express was founded in May 1999. The company provides a service, which allows Internet sites to be reached through use of key words. The surfer will not have to type the exact address of the site. Net-Express is currently constructing the menus for GO NEXT portal users.
The software was developed by youngster Aviv Refua, who recently began his regular military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). His father, Zeev Refua, is company chairperson, and Shlomo Gradman is general manager. Financing for setting up the company came from a US investor and IOL invested $1 million in the company for 25% of the shares.
Gradman spent the week at the CeBIT exhibition in Hannover, Germany, which closed yesterday, in order to meet managers of European companies. Gradman told "Globes" that Net-Express has signed an agreement with one of Europe's largest telecommunications companies, which owns the Yellow Pages company and a wireless portal.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on March 2, 2000