Voice SMS is a communication platform that uses voice instead of text or pictures to relay messages via any device with GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications).
"You don't have to peck at keys, and on the receiving end, you decide when to listen, even when you are in a place where you cannot carry on a conversation," a Uganda Telecom official explained.
Despite stiff competition in Uganda's mobile market, no other service provider in the country has yet introduced voice SMS.
Uganda Telecom's voice SMS offering is hosted by an external partner and is automatically provisioned to all subscribers.
The introduction of voice SMS does not require infrastructure upgrades or back-end provisioning by operators, nor does it require handset configuration for consumers. Moreover, there are no investment costs involved, as the business model is based on a revenue-sharing arrangement with the host partner.
Uganda Telecom subscribers must dial *88, followed by the recipient's number, to send a voice SMS up to 30 seconds long. The service then sends an SMS alert to the recipient, who dials a given number to pick up the message.
Sending or receiving a voice message will cost users 150 Ugandan shillings (US$0.08), while a text SMS within the Uganda Telecom network costs 133 shillings. The cost of a voice SMS, however, will be far less than the cost of a regular call charged per minute.
Voice SMS is popular in many Asian countries where local languages are not supported by the text SMS interface. The platform should similarly apply to Uganda's illiterate.