BellSouth Mobility Delivers Wireless E-mail Service to Wireless Phones

Although its SMS capability has been available in BellSouth Mobility's network for some time, the carrier hasn't really promoted it until now. Plunging ahead with its first packaged wireless data offering, BellSouth Mobility has introduced BellSouth Wireless Email service, which allows anyone with a touch-tone telephone or Internet access to send a short message (up to 150 characters) to a subscriber's digital wireless phone.

In addition to text and numeric messages from friends, family, or business colleagues, subscribers to BellSouth Wireless Email can also keep up with current events, business news, and sports by receiving headlines from CNN Mobile. The service helps customers manage airtime costs, because they are not charged airtime when receiving a message.

Although BellSouth is just now officially launching the service, the messaging Web site has been up for a while, and the carrier already has seen quite a bit of interest from people stumbling onto the site and signing up, according to a BellSouth spokesman.

BellSouth Wireless Email provides five services in one package:

1. E-mail Messaging—A subscriber's phone will now have its own email address. It's the ten-digit wireless number followed by @wireless.bellsouth.com. Or the subscriber can personalize the address to make it even easier for family, friends, and associates to reach them. With the service, subscribers can receive messages sent from virtually anywhere in the world. Because messages are sent through the Internet, there are no long distance charges for the person who is sending the message.

2. Online Messaging—Anyone with Internet access can send messages to a subscriber's phone from BellSouth's Online Messaging Center. The sender simply enters the subscriber's ten-digit wireless phone number or personalized address & his/her message. The message is delivered fast because it is sent directly to the phone rather than through the Internet.

3. Numeric Messaging—Like numeric paging services, callers can send a numeric message by dialing 1-800-856-6122. They just enter the subscriber's ten-digit wireless phone number and the number they want the subscriber to call.

4. Operator-Assisted Messaging—Callers can also reach a subscriber by dialing BellSouth's operator service at 1-800-988-9938, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The operator will relay the message to the subscriber's wireless phone. This option makes it possible for anyone with telephone access to send detailed messages from any location.

5. CNN Mobile—With this service provided by CNN, subscribers can choose to have news, business, and sports headlines delivered to their phone at regular intervals throughout the day.

There are several packages, so customers can choose the plan best suited to their needs and budget (see figure).

BellSouth Wireless Email service packages

All of the various types of messages are included in the packaged messages with the exception of the operator-assisted messages. Each operator-assisted message is $.50. If a customer does not want to receive operator-assisted messages, this can be indicated when signing up for the service.

The service is available anywhere in BellSouth Mobility's digital wireless coverage area, as well as in BellSouth's Tampa and Cellular One of Indiana markets. If a subscriber's phone is turned off our out of the digital service area, BellSouth stores and attempts to deliver messages for seven days.

Edited by Ellen Jensen