Visto today announced that it had signed a licensing agreement with NTP and that NTP had acquired an equity stake in Visto. NTP's patents, which include a broad spectrum of claims centered on the transmission of wireless data, complement Visto's own significant IP portfolio of 25 patents that relate to mobile access to email and data.

The agreement gives Visto access to NTP's patents for the life of those patents, providing Visto's customers and partners with access to Visto's industry's leading technology in the mobile email market and stability in these turbulent times.

"This license agreement further reinforces the strength and validity of NTP founder Thomas Campana's life-long work in the mobile communications industry as an inventor and a visionary," said Donald E. Stout, co-founder of NTP, Inc. "Additionally, this is a clear win for mobile email users everywhere as it provides them with a viable alternative to RIM that protects them from any NTP litigation risk. Users of Visto Mobile can be assured of access to mobile email and data as they are licensed to use NTP's intellectual property. We are excited about our ownership stake in Visto's future."

The Visto platform enables the instantaneous and secure two-way delivery of email, contacts and calendar updates to the broadest set of mobile phones across all operating systems. Visto's open solution enables e-mail for the mass market, targeting large enterprises, small businesses and mobile professionals. 

Visto already provides business-focused mobile mail services across Europe, USA and Asia through major agreements with the Vodafone Group, Sprint-Nextel, and Rogers Wireless among others.