Becomes the world's first mobile carrier to offer Voice SMS upon launch of mobile network

New Providence, New Jersey, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, July 26, 2007: 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 Messaging^SM). 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."

About Warid Telecom

Warid Telecom International LLC, Bangladesh Operation (Warid Telecom) was awarded a GSM license in December 2005 to launch its cellular services in Bangladesh. Warid Telecom is chaired by a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan. Apart from having a substantial shareholding in Bank Alfalah and United Bank Limited, the Abu Dhabi Group also has other international investments in the telecommunications, finance, hospitality, property, oil exploration and supplies, and automobile industries. Warid Telecom's stated strategy for its Bangladesh operations is to achieve technical differentiation based on premium quality of service, innovative or differentiated propositions, next-generation or future-proof architectures, and solutions that ensure efficient operation and scalable networks. Warid Telecom currently operates GSM telecommunication services in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and in recent times the group has also been awarded GSM licenses in Congo Brazzaville and Uganda. Abu Dhabi Group is committed to further expand its telecommunication presence in Asia and Africa. For more information, please visit www.waridtel.com.bd.

About Kirusa

Kirusa is a leading developer of value added mobile services that provide the freedom of multimodality. Kirusa's solutions include the hugely successful KV.SMS^TM, the world's most advanced "Voice SMS" solution that allows mobile users to send and reply to SMS messages with voice, and works on all handsets and on all networks. Kirusa's solutions are deployed worldwide and used by millions of mobile subscribers. Headquartered in New Jersey and led by an experienced team of wireless telecom executives and technologists, Kirusa has sales offices in Paris, France; Delhi, India; and Abu Dhabi, UAE; with a research and development facility in Bangalore, India. 'Kirusa Voice SMS', 'Direct Listen', and 'Speed Codes' are trademarks of Kirusa, Inc. For more information, please visit www.kirusa.com.

Media Contact

Anju T Makin
Alchemy Corporate Communications
Tel: +91-9810170135
anju_makin@alchemycc.com

 

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