Fixed line telephone network to be propelled to a new era with SMS capability

Soon, with an SMS-enabled telephone set, both business and individual users will be able to use their desktop or home telephone as more than just an ordinary telephone. Customers will be able send and receive short messages between other similar telephones, mobile phones, fax machines and email addresses. This is a major step towards the convergence of fixed and mobile telephony networks, and expected to be launched in the UAE soon.

With text communication enabled between fixed lines, mobile phones, faxes and email addresses, customers will find so many more options of communicating. The only upgrade required is the hardware, and telephone sets with a full 'QWERTY' keyboard will soon be available widely, enabling users to key in text as easily as in a computer. As in the SMS service on mobiles, users will also be able to register for SMS alerts such as the breaking news service and others. SMS messages can be sent and received in English and Arabic.

One of the key elements of this system is that it will be enabled for text-to-speech conversion. Even customers who don't have a telephone with a special screen to display the text can retrieve the message as a voice mail. The subscription to this service is technically connected to the CLIP service, and so will be available across the network.

Businesses would find this an effective way of communicating with clients and customers, as announcements can be sent via text right to their fixed line telephones. Content providers too would find a whole new market opened up, and they can provide the customer with entertainment and business content of his or her choice.

Etisalat's fixed line network itself is slated for even greater developments once all users are migrated to the NGN (Next Generation Network). This will open up many opportunities for enhancing the fixed line usage experience, including video calls and much more.

Mohammed Al Fahim, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Etisalat, said: "We welcome every provider of SMS-enabled telephone sets and are offering them free testing by Etisalat's UAELAB for the next two months."