(27 July 2006 12:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Mobile 365, mobile messaging and data services provider has announced that it will provide SMS services to Skype, allowing Skype users to send an SMS to a mobile phone from their PC's.

This service allows Skype internet users to keep in touch via SMS to mobile subscribers anywhere in the world. The service features a straightforward pricing plan wherein users can pay using their existing Skype Credit. For example, a Skype user can now contact a friend who is offline, via a mobile message and arrange a Skype call, thus extending Skype's reach beyond the PC.

When a Skype user sends a message, Skype distributes the message via Mobile 365's global inter-operator network to over 60 countries across the world. Mobile 365 accommodates high traffic volumes via its upgraded platform, which recently benefited from a $15 million investment, further enabling the network to reliably deliver messages into over 180 countries worldwide, informs an official release.

"Skype chose to work with Mobile 365 not only because of its unrivalled global SMS reach, but also because of its ability to access difficult, but highly important markets such as China and India," said Skype Paid Products director Michael Jackson. "As a global partner, Mobile 365 offers both service reliability and availability, using multiple routes to each destination, enabling us to deliver messages with speed, quality, and ultimately, cost effectively."

Skype is available to download at www.skype.com.

As Mobile 365 claims to be the only international aggregator with a local presence and premium connectivity into China and India (with over 500 million, and growing, mobile subscribers combined) therefore, it is well placed to help Skype deploy value-added services to its users, via premium SMS, thus opening new revenue streams in such lucrative emerging markets.

Picasso added, "We expect to build upon our SMS delivery and expand our product offerings with Skype for the global marketplace."