Powertel Launches PowerChat Instant Messaging

Powertel Inc. (West Point, GA) has introduced its customized version of short text messaging that allows customers to send messages between GSM digital handsets worldwide. Although its customers have always had two-way text messaging capability, the service has not been widely marketed and, to date, has been a feature choice of our more technically savvy users, said Paul Hanna, Powertel vice president of new business opportunities. The company believes that the time is right for the phenomenon of "chatting" at the desktop to carry over to the mobile environment with the right marketing and education. The service is available with all monthly plans and slated to roll out to Ready-To-Call prepaid customers this fall.

For a $3 monthly fee, a PowerChat user can send 150 originating messages, and all incoming messages are free. Additional charges apply for messages that originate from outside of the United States. The service allows customers to send, receive, save, and forward messages within the GSM user community worldwide. Each message can have 160 characters or what is typically about 24 words. Each character is typed on the alphabet-coded buttons on the handset. The "chatting" feature works with any Powertel handset—old and new—and is easily activated for both new and existing customers. Hanna said that the carrier will introduce handsets soon that provide message programs to expedite the text typing process.

Customers can store as many as 100 phone numbers of PowerChat friends on the GSM SIM card for easy access and quick "chatting." When the user receives a message, the phone's screen displays the sender's identity.

Hanna added that Powertel customers will eventually be able to send messages to wireless devices other than GSM handsets and to the Internet, allowing customers to expand their "chatting" relationships. The carrier is not marketing the chat feature as solely a youth service but is also positioning it as the perfect business complement to its wireless e-mail, fax, and data services, Hanna said.

Edited by Ellen Jensen