The procedure is similar to sending a Text SMS, except that subscribers won’t need to type in the text of SMS but speak in your own voice. It’s simple, intimate and personal. Listening to a VoiceSMS has also been made very easy, so that even users who cannot read SMS messages can listen to the VoiceSMS.
The new VoiceSMS offer will enable Tata Indicom’s pre-paid and post-paid subscribers to send voice messages to any Tata mobile, landline, Walky or any other network’s mobile number in India. This enhanced VoiceSMS feature has been made available with technology expertise from Qualcomm and Kirusa. Kirusa is the world leader in VoiceSMS and a leading developer of mobile value-added services.
Commenting on this new service, Mr Pankaj Sethi, President (Corporate Services), Tata Teleservices Limited, said: “We are the first telecom operator in the world to offer VoiceSMS on the BREW platform that facilitates sending VoiceSMS’ directly from the stored contacts in the phonebook. Even in the concept stage, our target was clear—that we would make it easy to send VoiceSMS’ without having to remember and type in phone numbers. Our BREW application and the * (star) dialing option for non-BREW handsets will provide users ease of use, simplicity, personalization and utmost reliability.”
“This launch is part of our strategy to provide Next-Gen value-added services to subscribers in both the pre-paid and post-paid segments. By introducing this service, we have extended a user-friendly and cost-effective mode of communication to our customers so that they can communicate with their loved ones with ease,” Mr Sethi added.
On the choice of Kirusa as the technology partner for this service, Mr Sethi added: “We chose Kirusa because of its proven ability to implement and deploy the VoiceSMS feature on our network. I am confident that this service will see a huge uptake and also considerably increase ARPUs.”
To send a VoiceSMS to any mobile number, Tata subscribers will have to select the VoiceSMS option and than select the contact from their phonebook. Users will then be taken to an IVR, wherein subscribers can record their VoiceSMS. The maximum length of any VoiceSMS will be 30 seconds. When a subscriber with a BREW phone receives a VoiceSMS, the application automatically gives an alert on the screen. The customer needs to just click the ‘Listen’ option to hear the recorded message. So simple and easy!
Tata Indicom users who do not have the BREW application, will receive a text SMS notification —‘New VoiceSMS Received’. The received message will display the sender’s number or name from the phonebook. Tata Subscribers can dial *30 for listening to new VoiceSMS and *31 for listening to old VoiceSMS.
This way, it works very conveniently for BREW users, and still works as well for other phones and for friends in other networks.
Tata Indicom Mobile and Walky subscribers can reply to and forward their VoiceSMS to others while listening to the VoiceSMS. A maximum of 20 incoming VoiceSMS can be stored by Tata Indicom Mobile and Walky subscribers.
To top it all, the new exciting service comes coupled with an attractive tariff plan—with each sent Voice SMS message being chargeable at Rs 0.80 only. Also, Tata subscribers will be able to listen to a new incoming VoiceSMS at no cost. Listening to any old VoiceSMS will cost only Rs. 0.30 per message. The BREW application is available free of charge. Non-Tata Indicom users pay normal call charges to listen to a VoiceSMS, as levied by their carrier networks.
To implement the VoiceSMS solution, Kirusa has integrated its VoiceSMS platform, with the Dialogic Vision Server, and Qualcomm’s BREW technology, into the Tata Telecom network.
“Qualcomm is pleased to join Tata Teleservices and Kirusa to introduce this unique and innovative VoiceSMS service in India, with its ease of use and reliability,” said Mr Michal Koenig, Senior Director (Product Management), Qualcomm Corporate Engineering Services Group. “Tata Teleservices is the first operator globally to deploy the BREW-based VoiceSMS service, which is designed to enhance simplicity and personalization for consumers through a menu-driven interface. We are excited to work with Tata Teleservices in bringing such differentiated services to the dynamically evolving Indian market.”
Mr Taranjit Singh Batra, Vice-President (Sales), Kirusa, said: “We are confident that Tata Indicom subscribers will find VoiceSMS a charming and convenient way to convey emotion and to send their messages. Our partnership with TTSL and Qualcomm has helped us extend our leading VoiceSMS solution, already selected by over 30 carriers around the world, into an unmatched offering for all BREW carriers worldwide.”
