Tigo Tanzania launches Voice SMS

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania -- Tigo Tanzania, a leading telecom operator in Tanzania and a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular, on Tuesday announced the launch of Voice SMS, a unique non-obtrusive and easy-to-use service which is geared towards addressing the unique needs of new-age consumers. A first of its kind in the country, Tigo is using the pioneering Voice SMS technology from Kirusa which is the world’s leading vendor of mobile social media and value-added services.

Kirusa announced that its Open Multimodal Platform deployed at Tigo would enable the telecom carrier to offer portfolio of leading value added services to its entire subscribers base.

Voice SMS allows Tigo subscribers to send messages by voice, eliminating the need to type. It enables subscribers to communicate faster, with greater ease, and convey emotions as compared to limitations of text messaging which allows only limited display of characters. Use of Voice SMS by mobile subscribers is gaining global traction given its immense value and its benefits in surpassing the limitations of text messages.

Mr Marcelo Aleman, Managing Director at Tigo Tanzania, said “We are happy at the initial response from our mobile users customers to the limited release of Kirusa’s Voice SMS service. As we expand the roll out of Kirusa Voice SMS service in coming days at very affordable tariffs, we are certain to generate an enthusiastic response. The robust platform from Kirusa has been crucial to the launch of Voice SMS at Tigo.”

Millicom International Cellular SA (Nasdaq: MICC)