Pay as you go mobile phone uk

NEWBURY, BERKSHIRE, ENGLAND, 1999 AUG 24 (NB). Vodafone [NYSE:VOD] has launched a pay-as-you-use e-mail service for users of its Vodafone GSM (global system for mobile communications) 900 cellular network.

Known as BulletIN, the service only requires that users register on the Web at http//www.bulletinmail.com , or call a special helpline, where they are assigned an e-mail address of <name>@bulletinmail.com or <phone number>@bulletinmail.com. Registered users are then mailed out a user guide to their postal address.

The service uses SMS (short message system) text messaging technology to move text-based data to and from the mobile phone. Graphics and attachments are not currently supported on the service.

Because each text message has a size limit of 160 characters, e-mail messages larger than this are split into separate chunks, each of which is charged for on the Vodafone user's bill.

Inbound and outbound e-mail costs 20 pence (32 cents) per SMS text message, without replies to inbound e-mails which are free of charge.

Users will also be able to route an inbound e-mail back to the network for onward routing to a fax machine at 50 pence (80 cents) a message.

The mobile-to-fax service costs the same price for up to 2,000 characters (i.e. one fax page), so users receiving large e-mails may find it cheaper to simply reroute large messages (after the first SMS text message is received) to a fax machine, rather than download the entire e-mail in 20 pence chunks.

To launch the new service, Vodafone says that all chargeable messages will be billed at half price until the end of September.

According to a spokesperson for Vodafone, sending an e-mail involves routing the text message to a new dedicated BulletIN center number (23533900210630) and then entering the receiver's e-mail address in the first part of the message, followed by a space and then the text of the message.

Ian Gray, Vodafone's retail managing director, said that the BulletIN service is ideal for phone users who are out and about. Bringing e-mail directly to user's pockets without the need for any additional hardware, he said, makes the whole process of keeping in touch simple.

Vodafone's Web site is at http://www.vodafone.co.uk .

Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .

(19990824/Press Contact: Michelle Burgess, Vodafone AirTouch Press Office +44-7000-700100/WIRES ONLINE, BUSINESS/)