Globe launches SMS Reply-All service with SMS GupShup

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom and SMS GupShup launched the SMS Reply-All Chat service, enabling subscribers to simultaneously communicate with multiple people using SMS.

SMS GupShup, based in Mumbai, India, is the world’s largest social SMS network where users are allowed to create mobile communities and broadcast messages to them.

The SMS Reply-All Chat service extends the capabilities of SMS from basic person-to-person (P2P) messaging to many-to-many (M-to-M) messaging.

Similar to the commonly used “CC” and “Reply-All” features on e-mail, Globe’s SMS Reply-All Chat service works on every handset, is easy to use, and requires no training, no software downloads, no data connectivity or change in handset.

Globe subscribers will find it easier to be more social - whether they are organizing parties, meetings or any other activity that requires co-ordination among multiple individuals.

Instead of relaying and forwarding messages from one person in the group to the other, everyone in a group can update everyone else at the same time with the SMS Reply-All Chat service from Globe.

“Our vision at Globe has been to simplify communications and make it more relevant to our customers’ needs. We are excited to launch a simple and useful service like Reply-All in partnership with a global technology leader like SMS Gupshup,” said Rina Azcuna-Siongco, head of value-added services at Globe Telecom.

Beerud Sheth, CEO of SMS GupShup, is optimistic that the SMS Reply-All Chat service will gain a strong following in the Philippine market, with the Philippines widely described as the “texting capital of the world.”

In fact, a recent study by UK-based Portio Research showed that each Filipino mobile phone user sends as many as 788 text messages per month, or over 40 percent more than their counterparts in the United States.

“SMS Reply-All is the next big innovation in mobile messaging since person-to-person (P2P) SMS, making social communications via SMS quick and easy,” Sheth said. “We’re excited to launch this service in partnership with a market leader like Globe Telecom that is quick to bring newer and more innovative services to their subscribers.”

How it works

• SMS Reply-All is simple and easy to use, similar to the CC and reply-all features on e-mail.

• Any Globe subscriber can start a conversation by sending the following message to 2993: “CHAT 917xxxxxxx 905xxxxxxx 926xxxxxxx” (where 917xxxxxxx etc. are the numbers of friends).  

• The system will create a group and prompt the group creator to send the first message, which goes to all participants in the group. Participants can simply reply to the message - which will also be sent to all participants in the group.  

• The group can have at most 10 participants, including the initiator. A message sent to the group will cost the sender P0.75 per recipient, and P1 for other keywords or commands. Globe plans to launch soon various daily and monthly UNLI plans as well.