Source: www.TMCnet.com
By Nathesh, TMCnet Contributor
November 25, 2009 – MTN, a mobile network operator in Africa and Middle East, announced that it has deployed OnePIN’s CallerXchange peer-to-peer service to all their Congo mobile subscribers via the new Gemalto SIM cards. Users can now connect and stay connected with friends, family and business associates – enhancing the value of their mobile phonebooks.
OnePIN has claimed that their CallerXchange is the fastest growing contact exchange service, with subscribers sharing information with family, friends and business associates in more than 180 countries worldwide. It helps operators take control of the phonebook and every social networking connection subscribers make, increasing retention while driving ARPU.
MTN subscribers in Congo can now select to exchange contact information immediately after a phone call or text message with a single click via the CallerXchange service. CallerXchange automatically ensures that contact information in subscribers’ phonebooks is kept up to date, allowing subscribers to keep in touch with friends and colleagues even if their information changes over time.
The Gemalto SIM cards MTN is using for its mobile services will allow it to reach a large percentage of its subscriber base in a natural manner. CallerXchange has been made available to all subscribers as a pre-loaded, value-added service on all MTN SIM cards and the SIM-based service is also interoperable across handsets and between operators throughout Africa and around the world.
Gande Dagba, chief marketing officer at MTN Congo, has acknowledged that CallerXchange enriches the value of MTN’s service for their subscribers as a core part of their social lives. This is an essential pillar of their strategy and, has enabled them to become the preferred mobile operator in the country.
OnePIN added that the launch of CallerXchange will enable millions of African subscribers to transform phone calls to friends into deeper social relationships and with an enriched MTN phonebook, subscribers will be able to use their mobile phone as a hub for social networking, whether via voice call, SMS, email or instant messaging.