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Airtel Rwanda Launches USSD Based Facebook Access

Author: Espoir Tuyisenge
On:14/03/2014 15:56
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Kigali, Rwanda. March 14, 2014. Airtel Rwanda has launched an innovative USSD service that will see Airtel customers access Facebook on non-data enabled phones and with no data plans at anytime, anywhere.

The unique service which is available exclusively to Airtel customers allows them to view notifications, comment and update their status on the go using USSD instead of the internet. This signals the start of a new era where any Airtel customer with a non-data enabled phone will be able to keep connected on the social network that now boasts of over 703,964 users annually in Rwanda according to recent statistics.

  • Airtel customers to enjoy unlimited Facebook access on non-data enabled phones at only Rwf32
  • Airtel customers to remain connected to Facebook without data subscription

 

Commenting on the new service, Head of Sales and Marketing at Airtel Rwanda, Mr. KaranjaNjoroge said, “Some people in this market have been excluded from the social networking circles because of the slow penetration of smart phones. We at Airtel want to promote social networking by bringing the millions of Facebook users in Rwanda closer to their love for social networking by allowing them to access it anytime, anywhere on their Airtel powered phones.

To access this Airtel only service, customers will dial *325# follow prompts and they will be able to update their status, view news feeds, posts, view messages and access their Facebook account settings. Daily subscription to the service will cost Rwf32 while monthly subscription will cost Rwf315.

USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a menu based system that enables interfacing with content based services. Instead of a browser which requires internet, the USSD menu acts as a browser to pull content to the phone.

This comes on the heels of the recent launch of a SocialEDU initiative with the Rwandan government, Airtel Africa, Facebook and Nokia. The social education initiative is aimed to address five key barriers to the access of education by providing free content, free data, affordable smartphones and a localised social education experience.

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 287 million customers across its operations at the end of December 2013. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com 

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