Monday, July 29, 2002		Feature

Dial Ludhiana for e-mails and SMS
Naveen S. Garewal

E-mails, e-greetings and SMS would no longer be the privilege of those who own a computer. A Ludhiana lad has come up with a novel service that allows you to send e-mails, e-greetings and even SMS messages over a phone landline.

Phone2Net Telemails, as the service is called, is currently available to all those who can call a number in Ludhiana through local or long distance call. You do not need a computer to avail this service. Even return e-mails can be received over telephone or through a computer printout at a small cost.

Lallit Nayyar, who has conceptualised this service, says, "the message of the caller would be recorded. Almost instantly the same would be transcribed and e-mailed to any destination over the globe." To know who is sending and receiving the e-mail, e-greetings and SMS messages, the company will make e-mail IDs based on the plastic cards the company supplies to its subscribers".

"The objective is to provide service to those who do not have a computer at home and make it easy for them to send and receive e-mails without having to access the Internet. Therefore the company has adopted the motto ‘Be faster than the Internet’, says Nayyar.

The service, which started exactly a month ago already has 40 subscribers and expects to grow fast. For e-mail, a subscriber has to dial 327890 at Ludhiana and mention the card number. Then the customer has to dictate the e-mail ID where the e-mail is to be sent. The rest will be taken care of by the company. Whenever a reply is received, as per the customer’s request, it would be either read out on the phone or delivered at the customers’ doorsteps in the form of a print out. Sending (for a three minute dictation) and receiving e-mail costs Rs 2 each, while a print out delivered at the customers address will cost Rs 5.

Ditto for e-greetings - Mention e-mail ID, category for card (birthday, love, friendship, sorry etc.) and relation with the person concerned. For sending the SMS just mention the receivers mobile number and dictate message. SMS will be sent from a Websites first and then repeated from a Spice mobile phone for the confirmation of delivery of SMS. The subscriber will only be charged Rs 2 after the SMS has been delivered.

The Phone2Net Telemails card costs Rs 100 (Rs 50 as initial one time card cost and Rs 50 for e-mails, e-greetings, SMS, replies). This can be recharged with the minimum amount of Rs 50.