JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Siemens Telecommunications recently announced it has been awarded a 1 million Euro contract to supply South Africa’s mobile service provider, Vodacom, with the infrastructure and applications for its new multimedia messaging services (MMS).
In terms of the contract, Siemens is required to integrate MMS technology and applications of Openwave Systems in Vodacom’s GSM and GPRS mobile network.
The news comes on the back of the recent launch of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) services by Vodacom earlier this month. A network spokesman said that the company expects the new applications to usher in inexpensive GPRS-enabled mobile phones provided with high-quality color graphic displays that deliver applications people are prepared to pay for.
Vodacom CEO, Alan Knott Craig, said: “Photo messaging has already taken off in Japan, where it is referred to as Shamail, which translates to photomail in English. We expect millions of photomails to be sent in SA over the Christmas period.”
