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Kirusa announces Voice SMS Version 5.0

World's only Voice SMS Solution to Offer a Web-based Subscriber Self-Care; User Definable Speed Codes; and Groups; Enhances a Mobile Operator’s Ability to Attract Web-savvy Users

Exclusive Preview at Mobile World Congress 2009

New Providence, NJ, February 11, 2009: Kirusa, the world’s leading vendor of Voice SMS and a leading developer of mobile value added services, today announced the immediate availability of Kirusa Voice SMS Version 5.0 (KV.SMS 5.0), the latest release of its industry leading Voice SMS product ahead of the Mobile World Congress at Barcelona. The new product incorporates a variety of enhancements and new features that will be at the core of future Voice SMS deployments and are beneficial for both mobile carriers and subscribers. Participants at the Mobile World Congress 2009 will be the first to experience the new and enhanced functionality of KV.SMS 5.0.

Kirusa’s Voice SMS solution allows people to send SMS messages by speaking. A user dials * followed by the number, and speaks a message in any language. The recipient gets an SMS notification from the sender and can dial a number in the notification to directly access the spoken message. Kirusa Voice SMS has been selected by over 30 carriers, reaching more than 300 million subscribers across the world.

Kirusa’s new Voice SMS version 5.0 comes with the following benefits:

Revolutionary Subscriber Self-Care web interface
Subscriber Self-Care offers a Web 2.0 interface that is both intuitive and user-friendly. A subscriber can quickly customize his Voice SMS service experience, e.g. by choosing his preferred language or Voice SMS receipt method at the click of a button, setting up Groups and Speed Codes, enabling or disabling service alerts, etc. He can also listen to new Voice SMS messages over the web. The subscriber can choose to receive an incoming message via SMS or via a call.
Mnemonic and Group Speed Codes
Subscriber can assign Speed Codes for an individual number or a group with easy to remember mnemonics for his favorite contacts and groups e.g. *MOM, *DAD, *CRIC for cricket friends etc. This enables him to quickly send Voice SMS messages without having to remember phone numbers. The system also auto-assigns predefined Speed Codes for frequently used numbers based on the subscriber’s usage patterns.
Innovative Voice SMS Gateway
KV.SMS 5.0 further expands support for third party applications that want to send and receive Voice SMS messages to mobile subscribers, thereby facilitating a ready ecosystem for Voice SMS-based applications.
Industry’s most flexible Charging Support
KV.SMS 5.0 includes support for several new charging interfaces to IN platforms, including Huawei, Siemens, and Comverse. An industry first, KV.SMS 5.0 also allows a mobile operator to charge for a particular Voice SMS feature based on the combination of the sender’s and recipient’s phone number, giving the operator an additional degree of freedom in determining the cost for a Voice SMS feature.
Expanding International Voice SMS
Messages can be sent to more carriers in more countries, increasing convenience for the mobile subscribers, and increasing revenues for the mobile carriers. Recipients of international messages can also reply to the Voice SMS messages.
Platform Performance and Reliability enhancements
Several performance and reliability improvements have been incorporated that make KV.SMS 5.0 the world’s most scalable and reliable Voice SMS solution, meeting needs of all telecom carriers across the globe.

“Innovative enhancements such as speed codes, self-care web interface and application security are amongst a host of features that reflect Kirusa’s commitment toward the Voice SMS user community. A large amount of Voice SMS traffic is being seen currently, and the new version will help increase the traffic through an added incentive for web savvy users,” said Salman Wassay, Director marketing of Zong, CMPak Limited, Pakistan.

Commenting on the Version 5.0 release, Surinder Singh Anand, Vice President of Product Management at Kirusa said, “Kirusa is the technology leader in the Voice SMS industry and we continuously strive to offer better usage interfaces to our customers. The innovative feature set of KV.SMS 5.0 ensures a rapid increase in the overall adoption and usage of the Voice SMS service.”

Kirusa Voice SMS Version 5.0 is available for immediate deployment, and will be demonstrated live at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona from Feb 16-19, 2009, at the Kirusa Booth No. 2A24. To schedule a private demonstration, to purchase, or to upgrade to the industry’s best Voice SMS solution, contact your sales representative or send an email at info@kirusa.com.

About Kirusa

Kirusa is the world’s leading vendor of Voice SMS and a leading developer of mobile value added services. Kirusa’s solutions include the hugely successful KV.SMS™, the world’s most advanced “Voice SMS” solution that has been selected by more than twenty five carriers around the world. Kirusa Voice SMS enables mobile subscribers to send messages by speaking. A user dials * followed by the recipient’s number and speaks a short message. The recipient gets an SMS notification from the sender and can dial a number in the notification to directly access the spoken message. Kirusa’s solution works on all handsets and on all networks, and offers the industry’s most intuitive user interface, with features such as DirectListen™ for direct access and reply to messages, Speed Codes™ for quickly sending messages, group messaging, mobile number portability, background music, interconnection, international Voice SMS. KV.SMS can be deployed in a matter of weeks, and its rapid user adoption has led to explosive revenue growth for Kirusa's customers. Kirusa offers an exchange service for interconnection of Voice SMS messages between carriers, and is pioneering a suite of applications that touch mobile users through voice. Kirusa has partnered with Qualcomm to deliver a Brew client for sending and receiving Voice SMS messages. Kirusa solutions are built on Kirusa’s patented and patent pending technology and its highly reliable and scalable multimodal platform. The platform enables carriers to cost effectively deploy additional revenue generating applications such as messaging, search, information, and entertainment. Kirusa’s solutions are used by mobile subscribers millions of times daily. Kirusa has been recognized as one of top 100 technology companies by Silicon India for years 2007 and 2008, and one of top 25 emerging technology companies by Smart Techie magazine. Headquartered in New Jersey and led by an experienced team of wireless telecom executives and technologists, Kirusa has sales offices in three continents, with research and development facilities in New Delhi and in Bangalore, India. ‘Kirusa Voice SMS,’ ‘DirectListen™’ 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 98101 70135
anju_makin@alchemycc.com