MTN Launches Voice SMS Solution for Uganda Subscribers On Kirusa Platform

First MTN operator to launch Voice SMS in East Africa

Johannesburg City, Uganda and New Providence, NJ, Tuesday, August 11, 2009: MTN, one of the leading mobile carriers in Uganda, has launched Voice SMS service across the country, based on pioneering Voice SMS technology from Kirusa, the world’s leading vendor of Voice SMS and a leading developer of mobile value added services. MTN Voice SMS offering in Uganda is bolstered by additional innovative features like Scheduling and Dynamic Group Voice SMS.

Voice SMS allows the subscribers to send messages by voice, eliminating the need to type. It enables the subscribers to communicate faster, easier, and with added personal touch by conveying emotions, to their friends, relatives and colleagues. The Voice SMS service has achieved a vast acceptance across the globe for its benefits in surpassing the limitations of text messages.

MTN subscribers need to dial ‘*’ followed by the number of the person they wish to send the message to, and speak a short message for up to 30 seconds in any language. A recipient on MTN network gets a notification message from the sender and can click on a DirectListen™ number for direct access and reply to the Voice SMS left for him. He can also dial *0* to hear new voice messages, or retrieve previously listened voice messages by dialing *1*. Voice SMS messages can be replied to, forwarded, saved, or deleted.

MTN subscribers pay a price as low as of UGX.90 (approximately 0.04 USD) for sending a Voice SMS. MTN plans to shortly offer several enhanced Voice SMS services for its enterprise customers.Commenting on the launch, Isaac Nsereko, Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Uganda, said: “We are excited by the successful launch of Voice SMS for our customers, who are finding that Voice SMS adds value to their traditional ways of messaging. Kirusa was chosen to provide the Voice SMS service for their technical and marketing superiority, and focused approach towards the implementation.” He further added, “The attitude, fortitude and attention to the details by the project management team were commendable. The implementation was excellent, reflecting the thorough preparation prior to deployment.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Inderpal Singh Mumick, CEO and Founder of Kirusa said, “We congratulate MTN Uganda to be the first MTN operator to have launched Voice SMS in East Africa.” He further added, “The emerging multilingual markets have accepted Voice SMS wholeheartedly and we hope to replicate this success in Uganda.” 

About MTN Group

Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a multinational telecommunications group, operating in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: "MTN". As at 31 December 2008, MTN recorded 90,7 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. The MTN Group is a global sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and has exclusive mobile content rights for Africa and the Middle East.

For more information visit: www.mtn.com and www.mtnfootball.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

MTN Uganda
Sheila Kangwagye
Public Relations Officer
Tel: +256 (0)77 212 0659
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Kirusa
Navneet Anand
GreyMatters Communications
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