We said earlier this month Twitter was just a few weeks away reinstating inbound SMS to UK mobile users – and now it’s happening. The microblog platform says it’s done a deal with Vodafone (NYSE: VOD). Receiving SMS tweets will be free for all Voda customers, outgoing SMS tweets will come out of customers’ text message bundles (or otherwise, cost just a standard SMS rate, presumably).
Whilst Vodafone is first to get the reinstated service, we understand announcements regarding the other three main networks – O2, T-Mobile and 3 – may be made in the next few days or weeks. From Twitter’s blog: “Twitter will continue to make arrangements with operators around the world so hopefully your country and your mobile provider will be next.”
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone canned UK inbound SMS in August, warning excessive termination fees could cost the service $1,000 per user per year. The messages were routed through the Isle of Man, where, despite voice calls being billed the same rates as on the UK mainland, SMS rates charged to services by Isle telcos are unregulated.
The breakthrough came in recent weeks after the appointment of Kevin Thau as Twitter’s mobile business development VP in January. Thau has been meeting carriers in Europe and the SMS return comes at just the right time, with Twitter actually threatening to go mainstream, and now confirming plans for a premium option.
From paidContent:UK:
• Lachlan Murdoch mulling investments; won’t rule out News Corp return
• Print Bits: Metro.co.uk bonuses, Nottingham local, Johnston, Commons inquiry, feb aBCe
• New report from Lauren Rich Fine: ‘What the changing mobile industry means for media executives’
• France clashes with Euro-MPs on three-strikes as UK looks on
• Music site Last.fm bans unofficial mobile apps
• Russian online shopping club KupiVIP.ru secures $8m venture funding
• Wired.co.uk goes live ahead of 2 April mag relaunch
From paidContent:
• Newspaper ad revs dropped 16.6% in 2008; online slipped 1.8%
• @ GDC: NeuroFocus gets in game, but marketers eye pricey lab installations
• Washington Post offers another buyout
• Microsoft hires Yahoo veteran as Live Search’s chief scientist
• Google to cut 200 jobs in sales and marketing
• Passing the hat: Top NYT executives scrape together $150k in salary cuts
• Video-streaming startup GridNetworks is being sold