GrameenPhone selects Kirusa technology to launch Voice SMS

Kirusa’s unique next-generation messaging application blends voice and SMS; enables GrameenPhone subscribers to be the first in South Asia to send SMS messages with their voice

Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Edison, New Jersey – September 29, 2005: GrameenPhone Ltd., the leading mobile telecom Operator in Bangladesh, and Kirusa, the leading provider of multimodal solutions enabling mobile applications delivery, announced that GrameenPhone has launched the Voice SMS service to its customers, based upon patent pending technology from Kirusa.

The Voice SMS service is available nationwide, to all of GrameenPhone’s prepaid and postpaid subscribers, on all mobile handsets, as of the first day of launch. The Voice SMS service allows a user to leave a voice message without having the phone ring (RingFree MessagingSM). The recipient is not disturbed, and can pick up the message at his leisure. The service also provides for sending SMS messages without the pain of typing the messages on small mobile keypads. A user simply dials “*” followed by the recipient’s phone number, and speaks a short message, in the language of his choice. The recipient gets an SMS message, and can dial a short code to retrieve the voice message. The recipient can also reply to the Voice SMS message. Several other enhanced features will be available in a forthcoming release.

The Voice SMS service at GrameenPhone is Kirusa’s first multimodal deployment in Asia, following closely on heels of Europe’s first multimodal deployment in Spain earlier this quarter. To bring the service to market, Kirusa and GrameenPhone have customized Kirusa’s innovative KV.SMSTM application to the needs of Bangladesh’s mobile users. Kirusa has delivered and deployed the Kirusa Multimodal platform, the Voxpilot Open Media Platform, and the customized KV.SMSTM application in GrameenPhone’s data centre in Bangladesh, and has integrated the solution into GrameenPhone’s wireless network.

“Mobile phones are all about communicating while on the move. The Voice SMS service provides a convenient and cost effective way for our customers to exchange messages and stay in touch with each other. Millions of our customers who do not like to type, now have the ability to send and reply to SMS messages by speaking, at a low cost”, said Shibly Zaman, Deputy General Manager, Market Research and Development, Products & Services at GrameenPhone. “We wanted to build the Voice SMS service using a platform that was robust, standards compliant, that could scale to all our customers, and that could be flexible to add additional services. After extensive testing and evaluation, we find the Kirusa multimodal platform and the KV.SMSTM application to be the most advanced, scalable, and flexible in the market.”

“Text messaging is the email of mobile phones. It lets callers leave a message without interrupting the recipient,” noted Bill Meisel, President of TMA Associates and publisher of Telephone Strategy News. “Unfortunately, many people find using the keypad to create the message slow and uncomfortable, and text messages are short and often cryptic. Voice SMS avoids the typing and length problem while avoiding the interruption of a phone call. Carriers are looking for additional revenues from subscribers, and this technology should expand the use of text messaging into new demographic groups.”

“The KV.SMSTM application is an easy to use application that fills the mobile user’s unmet need for asynchronous messaging using voice. At the same time, the application generates immediate revenue for mobile carriers with minimal capital expenses, and short deployment cycles”, says Damon Miller, Director of Business Development at Kirusa. “As the first adopter of the KV.SMSTM application in Asia, GrameenPhone is a key strategic customer of Kirusa that will accelerate adoption of the Voice SMS Service and other multimodal solutions amongst Asian carriers.” 

About GrameenPhone

The largest telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh, GrameenPhone presently has more than 4 million subscribers, of which the majority is prepaid subscribers. It has the largest network with the widest coverage around the country. Since introducing its service in March 1997, the company has always been a pioneer in launching innovative and new products and services in the local market. GrameenPhone is committed to providing the best service to its customers. GrameenPhone Ltd. is a joint venture between Telenor ASA (62%), the largest telecommunications company in Norway, and Grameen Telecom Corporation (38%), a subsidiary of the micro-credit pioneer Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.

For more information about GrameenPhone, please visit www.grameenphone.com

About Kirusa

Kirusa is one of the leading global developers of Mobile Social Media and Value Added Services enabling mobile subscribers to reach out to their family and friends. Kirusa’s solutions include the hugely successful Kirusa Voice SMS service, the world’s most advanced Voice SMS solution, used by over 30 carriers around the world. Kirusa has pioneered a suite of social media applications that facilitate mobile subscribers to interact through voice, including the Call-n-Tweet application which helps users update their Twitter status using voice. Kirusa provides an open platform with APIs to enable third parties to offer mobile applications services to mobile subscribers. Used by mobile subscribers millions of times daily, Kirusa solutions are built on its patented and patent pending technology and its highly reliable and scalable open multimodal platform. Kirusa has been recognized as one of top 100 technology companies by Silicon India, and one of top 25 emerging technology companies by Smart Techie magazine. Headquartered in New Jersey and led by an experienced team of wireless telecom executives and technologists, Kirusa has offices in three continents. ‘Kirusa Voice SMS,’ is a trademark of Kirusa, Inc.

For more information visit: www.kirusa.com.

Media Contacts

Kirusa
Navneet Anand
GreyMatters Communications
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