Bahrain's leading telecom company Batelco has announced the launch of the Kingdom's first Voice SMS service which allows its postpaid and prepaid customers to send and receive voice SMS.

The new Voice SMS ”Samm3ni” service allows customers to share Eid greetings, birthday wishes, or funny jokes with family and loved ones by recording their own voice and sending it as a message.

So far, Batelco is the only telecom operator in the Kingdom to offer this revolutionary service. On this occasion, Batelco is offering its customers the first voice greeting to be sent for free, said a top official.

“Batelco is committed to providing customers with the most ground-breaking and up-to-date services”, said Batelco general manager Media & Government Relations Ahmed Al Janahi.

“Regular SMS is a highly efficient way of communicating with others. However, with Batelco’s new voice SMS, customers can convey a wider range of emotions, tone and attitude.”

'To send a voice SMS, simply dial *11*, followed by the number of the person receiving the intended message. After sending the voice SMS, the other party will be notified through an SMS. They are then required to dial *10* to access the voice SMS. To access the main menu, they are required to dial *12*.'

Sending an SMS through Batelco’s ”Samm3ni” service costs the same as a normal one minute phone call, with charges varying based on the subscribers package.

'Listening to the voice SMS by dialing *10* is free of charge. Presently, Batelco only offers the voice SMS through its mobile network,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service