Clickatell widens lead in premium-rate SMS pricing

Clickatell, the world leader in global messaging enablement, has expanded its premium-rate SMS service offering to Namibia and the US.

The service introduces Clickatell`s unique pricing model in these countries, and allows South African companies to take advantage of an extremely competitive pricing structure when extending the reach of their SMS campaigns to these regions.

Clickatell`s premium-rate SMS pricing challenges the typical revenue share model. Usually the revenue generated from premium-rated services (PRS) is split between the mobile operator, the wireless application service provider (WASP) and the campaign runners. Instead, Clickatell only deducts a nominal set-up and conduit fee, and then passes all revenue generated by a premium-rate SMS campaign onto the campaign runner.

The pricing structure has been available in SA since early 2004 and has shaken up the traditional revenue share.

"The traditional revenue share model threatens the entire premium-rate industry because there is not enough margin for campaigners to run legitimate, sustainable campaigns. Current pricing is uneconomical for campaigns with high media costs so Clickatell has turned it on its head by only taking compensation for the service rendered," says Pieter de Villiers, CEO of Clickatell. "This pricing will ensure the premium-rate market continues to thrive."

Premium rate SMS allows service providers to generate revenue from the mobile content they provide. It is used for a range of services including content, competitions, voting, gaming, quizzes, micro-billing and various subscriber services. In addition, Clickatell makes setting up premium-rate SMS services fast, easy and cost-effective with its Interactive Campaign Management (ICM) software.

Clickatell`s carrier-grade global messaging gateway connects directly with the SMS infrastructure of mobile operators, which enables Clickatell to guarantee delivery and receipt of large quantities of inbound and outbound SMS content.

"Premium-rate SMS has become the preferred platform for direct marketing campaigns including competitions and interactive voting. It allows for shorter number sequences that are easier to remember and encourages effortless interaction with businesses via their mobile phone," says De Villiers. "This played a crucial role in establishing critical mass for consumer adoption. The only threat now is high cost and possible abuse."

Clickatell offers a world-leading global messaging infrastructure and as a result is able to act as a conduit for premium rate messaging, enabling marketers around the world to use this infrastructure as they extend their campaigns to the mobile phone.

Visit Clickatell at http://www.clickatell.com/central/campaigns/redir.php?cid=461.