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Etisalat launches MMS service

DUBAI - Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) yesterday launched the Multi-Media Messaging Service (MMS) in the UAE with an exciting promotion that allows the customers to send unlimited free MMS messages until September 15 with a 50 per cent discount on the one-off registration fee.

MMS is the multimedia evolution of SMS messaging. It allows customers with MMS-enabled mobile handsets to capture special moments by sending, receiving and forwarding colour pictures, animated images, audio and video content over the mobile network to another mobile or to an email address.

The MMS launch campaign by the UAE's sole telecom service provider was sponsored by Nokia, market leaders in MMS-enabled handsets, and will include a jointly branded multi-media advertising and promotional campaign. The campaign will position Etisalat's MMS service as an integral part of every-day life in the Middle East's second most-wired country.

After the promotion period, there will be a charge Dh30 to register for the service and then a charge of 90 fils per MMS message, with a capacity of 5OKb per message. This will make Etisalat's MMS service amongst the most competitive in the world in terms of pricing and message size. With the launch of this service, Etisalat has become the fourth telecom service provider in the Middle East to offer the MMS.

Mohammed Al Fahim, Executive Vice-President Marketing, Etisalat, said: "Our live trials and internal launch have both been very successful and we are sure that our customers will really enjoy this new service. Etisalat maintains its commitment to its customers to bring the latest international technology to the UAE at affordable prices."

Zsolt Menesi, Marketing Manager, Nokia Middle East, said : "We are proud to be working with Etisalat to promote MMS in the UAE. The potential for MMS is huge, not only as a consumer service but for local industry as well. Our joint marketing initiatives will help educate Etisalat and Nokia customers to ensure they gain the maximum enjoyment from this new service."

Registration for the MMS service is easy and can be done either by using an SMS message or by calling Etisalat's IVR service. To register by SMS, customers must type the message r mms in the message field and send it to 1010. Etisalat will then send a confirmation message. To register using IVR, GSM post-paid customers need to dial 125 and follow the instructions, while WASEL pre-paid users must dial 122 to subscribe.

Once registered, customers must configure their handsets. Nokia and Sony-Ericsson users can receive their settings as an SMS message. Nokia users must type the message S mitts n in the message field and send it to 1010 while Sony-Ericsson users must type the message s mms e in the message field and send it to 1010. Etisalat will then send a message containing the MMS settings, which must then be saved to experience the service.

For users of other mobile brands, if the handset has not already been configured, then detailed instructions can be obtained by logging onto the Etisalat web site , by calling the dedicated toll-free 24-hour help line 800 6464. Etisalat will also be setting up help-desks in selected business centres to assist customers to register for the MMS service and configure their mobiles.

Al Fahim said the number of mobile customers has increased from 55,000 in 1994 to 2.6 million at the end of the first quarter of 2003. This represents a penetration of more than 75 per cent, amongst the highest in the world.

He said more than 430 million SMS messages were sent in the UAE in 2002. SMS messaging was launched in the UAE in April 1999. The year 2002 saw 366 billion SMS messages worldwide, a phenomenal growth since the first SMS message was sent in 1992 in the UK.

He said: "There are already more than 200,000 MMS-enabled phones being used in the UAE and we are sure that our customers will really enjoy this new service. We are planning an extensive joint marketing campaign in association with Nokia to introduce the service and we hope to make MMS as popular as SMS has been."

He said the high proliferation of affordable gadgets like PDAs, digital cameras and GameBoy, has created a market for MMS in the country. He said the introduction of the roaming service for MMS was on the cards.