(aq), one of the UK’s fastest growing mobile messaging
providers, today announced that it is one the first companies to offer automated online SMS messaging services to landline telephones, via its award winning portal, www.sms2email.com. This new service will enable (aq) customers to send SMS to BT landlines, with messages received as either written text or
converted into speech.
The move follows BT’s announcement of its service allowing conversion of SMS to speech for fixed-line handsets. In the past, landlines required an SMS-enabled handset to allow them to receive written text messages, limiting take-up of the
service. The new speech conversion service makes SMS more socially inclusive and paves the way for market expansion. However, only those SMS providers using high quality UK primary network connections are able to message to BT
lines directly, with many ‘low cost’ providers not yet offering this functionality.
According to Dr Adam Beaumont, managing director of (aq): “We are delighted to be amongst the first to offer fixed-line SMS and our customers will find their campaign reach is significantly extended through the ability to target landlines. This new capability has the potential to impact internal and
external communications for the majority of UK businesses.”
He continued: “The ability to send fixed-line SMS has always been there, but now it has a user-friendly interface in the form of speech conversion which makes it a viable and economical alternative to fixed-line voice calls. People without mobile phones, the blind and the partially sighted will be able to
benefit from SMS in a way that simply wasn’t possible before.”
(aq) has enabled fixed-line SMS for all its existing premium UK accounts and is also offering free customer trials. Messages are routed through (aq)’s bespoke gateway enabling users to send over 200 SMS per second, typically arriving at their destination in less than 10 seconds. Prices start from less than 6 pence per message for bulk c oporate users, for messages to both UK fixed-line and mobile telephones.