And now, a voice SMS

New Delhi: Now, even illiterate people can send SMS through the mobile phone!

Literacy has so far been a prerequisite for accessing the SMS functionality in a mobile phone.

Even the Nokia handsets, which have provided the user with the Devnagari script option, failed to address the needs of the unlettered.

As illiteracy is widely prevalent in Indian villages, most rural folk were unable to use the SMS facility.

Rural penetration thus presented telecom companies with a challenge in innovation, despite having achieved an impressive 14 per cent teledensity at the national level.

The urban markets are near saturation so rural penetration has become more crucial for the telecom companies. To address the millions of unlettered people in rural areas companies such as Bharti, Spice and Reliance have now introduced a facility called voice SMS.

Voice SMS is a new short-messaging service that uses voice instead of text or pictures. It is just like leaving a message on an answering machine. The caller dials a short code followed by the mobile number of the person being called and records a message.

The receiver gets an SMS, which displays the number of the person who sent the voice message. On keying in the same code, the receiver hears the message.

According to company sources, this facility comes at no extra charge, and can be used with the most basic of handsets. With handsets available at throwaway prices and the tariffs rates being the lowest in the world, Voice SMS service will be a major revenue source for the telecom companies in India.