M'sia: Complete inter-operator SMS soon

KUALA LUMPUR--The five mobile network operators in the country are expected to roll out their joint inter-operator short message service (SMS) before the end of the third quarter of this year.

In a joint statement, the operators-Maxis Communications, Celcom, DiGi, Telekom Malaysia and Time dotCom-said the take-up rate from foreign experience has been "encouraging" and expressed confidence that the new service would be well-received.

When the inter-operator text messaging facility is rolled-out, subscribers of the five telcos will be able to send and receive cross-network text messages. The service will be introduced in stages as there are network testing to be carried out and commercial agreements to be reached first between the operators.

As of now, the inter-operator SMS service has been launched by Celcom-DiGi on June 25 and TIMECel-Digi on July 19 for all prepaid and postpaid customers.

Meanwhile, the Maxis-TMTouch-TIMECel inter-operator service begins operations today.