Yu opens new warfront with new Internet service

By Morris Aron

Subscribers of mobile service provider, yu who do not have smart phones or handsets with Internet-enabled technology will now be able to send and receive email or chat online following the launch of a new service that allows for such a facility.

The new service, Peperusha, follows the signing of an agreement between Essar Telecom Kenya, the owners of the yu brand and the third largest telecom company, and ForgetMeNot Africa and its local partner Rapid Communications and will be available to all the 1.6 million subscribers.

‘‘With what we are offering, we are telling individuals that one does not have to necessarily have an expensive phone to chat or access e-mail as it is currently,’’ said Atul Chaturvedi Essar Country manager.

The move is a first of its kind in the market as current mobile service providers require one to have an Internet enabled phone to chat or send email and is bound to elicit a reaction from the competitive mobile phone service market.

Yu Country Manager Mr Atul Chaturvedi (right) and Rapid Communications Mr Anwar Hussein at the Yu offices in Nairobi yesterday during the launch of Peperusha the mobile chat and email service. [PHOTO: BONIFACE OKENDO / STANDARD]

Currently, such a service is only available through Blackberry phones but a user pays a monthly registration fee of Sh2,000 to Sh3,000.

Those who subscribe to yu and register for Peperusha will require no smart phones, Internet connections, device upgrades or application downloads to be able send and receive email and online chat messages to friends and family at home and abroad.

social networking

The new service will drive SMS traffic and attract customers from rival networks, while allowing yu to generate more revenue from mobile email, chat services and social networking integration.

Jeremy George, Chief Operating Officer for ForgetMeNot Africa, a specialist in unified messaging systems for telecommunications operators said the technology will turn basic handsets into virtual messaging smart phones.

The move gives millions of subscribers in the low end of the market access to Internet which otherwise, for both economic and technical reasons, would be unavailable.

“With Peperusha, Essar Telecom is giving its subscribers a bridge over the digital divide by providing affordable access to chat and email services on standard mobile phones, without the need for data plans or expensive handsets,’’ said George.

‘‘The high price of Internet-ready phones has restricted many Kenyans from being able to access the Internet, but we can now provide online messaging services at significantly lower cost via SMS,’’ said Anwar Ahmed the managing director of Rapid Communications.

‘‘We believe the Peperusha service will help cement our position as the most innovative and value for money operator in the Kenyan telecoms market.’’