Warid Telecommunications Pvt. Ltd., the UAE based sixth mobile company in Bangladesh has launched Voice SMS service from Kirusa, a US based leading developer of value added mobile services. This service enables Warid subscribers to send Voice SMS to other cellular subscribers in Bangladesh.

Warid Telecom started operations in Bangladesh in May 2007, with Voice SMS available to their subscribers at time of launch. Voice SMS was seen as a key competitive service and revenue generator in the market. So, Warid Telecom decided to offer Voice SMS from day one of its operations. Warid Telecom thus becomes the first carrier in the world to deploy Voice SMS at time of launch of its mobile network.

Kirusa Voice SMS is the next generation of SMS. Voice enhances users' flexibility and freedom by providing the option to send spoken SMS messages, or to reply to text and voice SMS messages by speaking.

The Kirusa Voice SMS service is available to all of Warid Telecom's prepaid and postpaid subscribers in Bangladesh, on all mobile handsets, as of the first day of launch. The Kirusa Voice SMS service allows a user to leave a voice message without having the phone ring (RingFree MessagingSM). The recipient is not disturbed, and can pick up the message at his leisure. The service also provides for sending SMS messages without the pain of typing the messages on small mobile keypads. A user simply dials "*" followed by the recipient's phone number, and speaks a short message, in the language of his choice. The recipient gets an SMS message, and can dial a short code *0* to retrieve the voice message. Old messages can be retrieved by dialing *1*. The recipient can also reply to the Voice SMS message. Several other enhanced features and services will be introduced in a phased manner.

Warid subscribers can send Voice SMS to any mobile phone in Bangladesh. Warid subscribers are charged Taka 1 for compose, reply and forward of Voice SMS. They are able to listen to the message free of charge for the first time. Retrieval of old messages is charged at Taka 0.50 per message.

Mr. Muneer Farooqui, CEO, Warid Bangladesh, says, "Warid Telecom is pleased to partner with Kirusa. We are building a best-in-class network to establish strong market leadership in Bangladesh. We partnered with Kirusa as it not only has a strong technology roadmap and global experience, but also has a proven track record in Bangladesh". He further says, "Although we are a late entrant, Warid Telecom has aggressive plans to reach the entire Bangladesh population within one year. The partnership with Kirusa will also ensure that we offer our Bangladesh customers a differentiating service that will add value to their lives."

Dr. Inderpal Singh Mumick, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Kirusa, said, "We applaud Warid on being the first mobile carrier in the world to launch their mobile service with built in Voice SMS capability on the first day of the launch. Voice SMS is increasingly being seen as an "essential" and "must have" service by mobile carriers in Asia. We are not far from the day when this new messaging paradigm will become a pervasive mode of communication within all sections of the world's population."