Haiti witnesses the first ever launch of Voice SMS by ComCEL

ComCEL Sources Application from Kirusa, the Leading Vendor of Voice SMS

Port au Prince, Republic of Haiti, and New Providence, NJ; October 29, 2008: Communication Cellulaire D’Haïti S.A. (ComCEL), the first telecommunications operator to launch GSM service in Haiti which provides high-quality affordable wireless service under the Voilà brand name, today announced the launch of Voice SMS service sourced from Kirusa. Voice SMS will enable Voilà subscribers to send messages in their own voice. Kirusa is the world’s leading vendor of Voice SMS and a leading developer of mobile value-added services.

Kirusa Voice SMS is a world renowned mobile messaging application. It enables mobile subscribers to compose short voice messages. Voilà has made the Voice SMS service available to all of its prepaid and postpaid subscribers.

To compose a Voice SMS, a Voilà subscriber just has to dial ‘*’ and the number of the person to whom they wish to send the message, speak for 20 seconds and disconnect. If the recipient is a Voilà subscriber, the individual will receive a text SMS notification and can dial *0* to hear their Voice SMS. Old Voice SMS can be retrieved by dialing *1*. They also have the option of replying, forwarding, saving or deleting the Voice SMS messages. The Voice SMS platform will automatically call off-net (who are not on the Voilà network) message recipients in Haiti and play their message. The message recipient can elect to reply after listening to the Voice SMS.

Voilà subscribers will pay HTG 3.00 (approximately USD 0.08) to send a Voice SMS. Listening to the Voice SMS for the first time is free of charge. To make the service available to its subscribers, Voilà has incorporated Kirusa Voice SMS service integrated with the NMS Vision server media platform into its mobile network.

Commenting on the occasion, Inderpal Singh Mumick, CEO of Kirusa, says, “Kirusa Voice SMS has proven successful in Asia and Middle East. We are proud to have brought this successful application to Americas, specifically to Haiti.” He further added, “Voice SMS is a revenue generating service. Its derivative applications can result in incremental revenues for the operators while providing a lower cost communication service to customers than traditional voice products.”

“We are excited about the launch of Voice SMS service which opens up a new way of mobile messaging for our subscribers, first of its kind in Haiti,” said Robin Padberg, CEO of ComCEL. He further added, “Kirusa implemented the service in Haiti within six weeks, and continues to impress us with its product’s superior technology and enhanced features.” 

About ComCEL

Communication Cellulaire D’Haïti S.A. (ComCEL) is a leading mobile telecommunications operator in Haiti, providing high-quality affordable wireless service under the Voilà brand name. ComCEL directly employs more than 500 local staff and provides indirect employment to more than 15,000 Haitians. Since its inception ten years ago, ComCEL has invested over US$200 million in Haiti. ComCEL is a subsidiary of Trilogy International Partners LLC (Trilogy), based in Bellevue, Washington, which operates mobile communications companies in Bolivia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and New Zealand. Additional information about ComCEL can be found at www.comcelhaiti.com and www.FamilyInThe509.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

ComCEL
Paul Crosa
VP Sales & Marketing - Voilà
Tel: +509-3441-0572
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Kirusa
Navneet Anand
GreyMatters Communications
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