Zong Rings in 'Keh Do' Voice SMS in Pakistan

Selects Kirusa Solution; Enables Subscribers to Send Messages in their own Voice

Islamabad, Pakistan and New Providence, New Jersey; Wednesday, September 3, 2008: CMPak Limited, Pakistan (ZONG), a 100% subsidiary of China Mobile, today announced the launch of ‘Keh Do’ (Say It) Message on its network. The Voice SMS solution has been sourced from Kirusa, the world’s leading vendor of Voice SMS and a leading developer of mobile value added services. This is Kirusa’s third deployment of Voice SMS in Pakistan.

ZONG KehDo Message will change the way people interact with each other. It allows mobile subscribers to send a quick vocal message. This benefits the sender by reducing the time and cost to relay a message. The receiver benefits by picking up the voice message at a convenient time, and being able to reply to the message. Moreover Voice SMS conveys emotions better than plain written text. All prepaid and postpaid subscribers of ZONG can send Voice SMS messages to any mobile number across Pakistan.

To bring ‘Keh Do’ Message to the subscribers, Kirusa has incorporated its Voice SMS application and multimodal platform along with NMS Vision VXML media platform in ZONG’s network. Kirusa has partnered with Aradiom, a company based in Karachi, to deliver the solution.

ZONG’s subscribers can easily and quickly send a Voice SMS by dialing * followed by the recipient’s phone number, recording a short message in their own voice and pressing the send button. The recipient will get an SMS notification and will be connected to the Voice SMS once he dials a predefined number in the notification. For listening to the Voice SMS, ZONG subscribers can also dial *0* for new messages and *1* for old message retrievals. A subscriber has the option to reply to a message.

ZONG has also launched International Voice SMS, allowing ZONG’s subscribers to send a Voice SMS to people across the globe whenever convenient, without having to worry about time zone differences or the high cost of international voice calling. The recipient is able to retrieve the Voice SMS with a local call, and reply to it easily.

A ZONG subscriber dials *00 and the international number; records a voice message; and then hangs-up to send the message. The recipient gets an SMS from the ZONG subscriber, with an embedded Direct Listen™ link, which is a local number in the country of the recipient. Kirusa's patented technology enables the recipient to click on the Direct Listen link to directly listen to the message. This is the first deployment of International Voice SMS by any mobile operator in Pakistan.

ZONG subscribers can send the ‘Keh Do’ Voice SMS at a nominal price of PKR 1.5 (approximately USD 0.02). Repeat retrievals of a Voice SMS message are also charged at PKR 1.5 (approximately USD 0.02). For International Voice SMS, sending a Voice SMS is charged at PKR 3 (approximately USD 0.04) and retrievals are also charged at PKR 3 (approximately USD 0.04).

Chief Operating Officer ZONG, Mr. Zafar Usmani, said, “ZONG is geared to offer personalized VAS products to individuals, companies, and small businesses. ‘Keh Do’ Message is an innovative service relevant for all subscriber segments in Pakistan. We are delighted to have worked with Kirusa in bringing this popular service to our subscribers.”

Dr. Inderpal Singh Mumick, CEO of Kirusa, said, “Kirusa is focused on bringing innovative messaging products to mobile users. The Voice SMS service will enable ZONG subscribers to communicate more frequently, and with greater ease, furthering the revenues for ZONG. The deployment at ZONG further strengthens our commitment to the Pakistan market.”

Hassan Salahuddin, CEO of Aradiom, said, “We value the strong partnership we have formed with Kirusa. Aradiom’s local expertise coupled with Kirusa’s innovative technology will enable a seamless Voice SMS experience for ZONG subscribers.”

About ZONG

ZONG is the first International brand of China Mobile being launched in Pakistan. It is meant to empower and liberate the people of Pakistan in every nook and corner of the country. It will become a part of their hearts, their minds and bring about a change in their lives that every one desired but few thought would be possible.

The core essence of ZONG is to allow people to communicate at will, without worrying about tariffs, network coverage, capacity issues or congestion. ZONG will be supported by ground breaking communications, trend setting customer service and an unmatched product offering which will redefine rules of the game and establish ZONG as a serious contender for the number one spot.

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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