Basic handsets in developing countries to get social

A low cost USSD message service from Etisalat is set to enable millions of basic mobile phone users in the Middle-East, Africa and Asia to access email, social networking and messaging services.

This follows an agreement between the Etisalat Group, the leading operator in the Middle-East, Africa and Asia, and Mahindra Comviva, the global leader in providing mobile financial and value added solutions, which was signed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The partnership provides Etisalat’s 139 million subscribers across Middle East, Africa and Asia with consumer email, instant messaging, social networking, phone book backup services as well as popular news/web feeds and other relevant applications over their mobile phone.

They can do this either through downloading an application or via USSD, SMS or MMS messages which eliminates the user’s dependence on smartphones. This effectively provides access to contemporary web services to every mobile handset.

The platform will be deployed in a single location within the UAE, while the services will be made available to all the 15 affiliates of Etisalat. The first Etisalat market to deploy the new messaging solution is Etisalat Nigeria, whose 15 million subscribers will soon be able to enjoy the benefit of advanced communications on any handset.