Cingular to Offer Text Messaging Without Boundaries Soon messaging will be just as simple as making a phone call
ATLANTA, February 27, 2002 - Imagine sending a text message to your friends by simply knowing their mobile number. No need to worry about whose wireless service they have. In March, Cingular Wireless will allow their customers to type a message, address it with a 10-digit mobile number and send it. It's that simple. With the launch of inter-carrier messaging, Cingular will be among the first to allow its customers the ability to communicate with the majority of text messaging enabled users in the U.S. regardless of their wireless carrier.
Interactive Messaging, Cingular's product name for text messaging, is a fast and convenient way to communicate when you cannot talk on the phone or you just want to send a quick note. Soon Cingular customers will now be able to send and receive messages (up to 150 characters) with other U.S. wireless carriers' customers for just pennies a message.
"Cingular's enhanced ability to communicate with other carriers' customers, via inter-carrier text messaging, is just one more way Cingular delivers on its customer promise of 'self expression'" stated Stephen Krom, Vice President of Business Marketing and Product Development.
Cingular Wireless has experienced rapid growth in text messaging usage over the last six months of 2001. Cingular's network now handles tens of millions of messages every month.
The large growth in usage was stimulated by the introduction of services like mobile-to-mobile messaging, e-mail messaging, ringtones, games, and information alerts.
Krom noted, "Cingular believes inter-carrier messaging, which breaks down communication barriers between wireless carriers, is essential to achieving mass adoption and increasing text messaging usage in the U.S."
Cingular's Interactive Messaging service is available nationwide in its TDMA and GSM markets. Interactive Messaging is automatically included in most Cingular plans. Customers have the choice of paying 10-cents per message or purchasing packages where messages cost as little as 2 cents per message.
Cingular's Interactive Messaging service includes the following features:
MOBILE-TO-MOBILE MESSAGING - Create and send short text messages (up to 150 characters) from your Cingular digital mobile phone to other text messaging enabled users. All you need is a 10-digit mobile number.
E-MAIL MESSAGING - Your mobile number is your e-mail address! Receive messages sent from virtually anywhere in the world.
WEB MESSAGING - Anyone with Internet access can send you personalized text messages directly from our web site, www.cingular.com, to the display of your phone.
INFO ALERTS - Get weather, news, stock quotes, sports scores, horoscopes, or other information on the display of your mobile phone. You choose the topics by using the Cingular My Wireless Window Web site at www.mywirelesswindow.com.
RINGTONES AND GAMES - Cingular gives customers more ways to personalize their wireless service with downloadable ringtones and games for their Cingular handset. Most ringtones and games are just $.99 cents each.
Customers can choose from the latest billboard hits and rock classics, or play cool games like Trivia, Blackjack and Poker. Self-expression has never been easier or more fun! For more information please visit www.cingular.com/rings. |
