August 6, 2006
Indian telcos give voice to the illiterate
Sending text messages on the mobile is as easy as blinking for millions of people, but for illiterate Indian villagers, it's a near impossible feat. But now, a new text messaging service can help them out, "Voice SMS". The Age reports.
"... Since the urban market for mobile phones in India is near saturation, the rural market is expected to provide the next big wave of growth. Which is why operators have had to adress the SMS problem.
The solution is called Voice SMS. It is just like leaving a message on an answering machine. The caller dials a short code followed by the mobile number of the person being called and records a message. The other party will receive an SMS displaying the number of the person who sent the voice message. On keying in the same code, they can hear the short — 30-60 second — message.
Some of the big operators — Bharti, Spice Telecom and Reliance — have already launched the service in villages and small towns. "
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