Email to Text

Using SMS in emergency situations has always carried a certain element of risk, primarily because mobile operators always give priority to voice, but changes to EU regulations with regards to telecommunications in May this year will mean that access to the emergency services must be made as flexible and as inclusive as possible. This means making 999 accessible to the hearing and speech impaired who have struggled until now.
A UK-wide emergency SMS pilot, championed by the RNID, was launched in 2009 and ran until the summer of last year. The service allows pre-registered users to send an SMS to a 999 number. Once delivered it is converted into a voice message and forwarded to the fire service, ambulance or police, depending on its nature.
At the end of the pilot there were more than 4000 registered users and the service has already handled over 300 emergency calls.
While Ofcom has announced it wants to make the service mandatory, there are still limitations associated with it in emergency situations, primarily because it lack spontaneity and you have to register in advance to use the service. Emergencies don’t often give you that luxury.

In the autumn of last year we were involved in developing a niche emergency SMS application for a participant of the infamous Mongol rally. Our brief was to develop an application that was cost effective and would guarantee the delivery of all messages sent. This was important because, unlike conventional rallies, the Mongol rally does not have backup or support teams so if you get stuck or find yourself in trouble, you’re really on your own.

In order to overcome the uncertainties associated with delivery (due to phones being switched off, poor signal etc), we made modifications our popular email to SMS application, turning it on its head so it became an SMS to email application.

Our bespoke software converts SMS messages into email formats and delivers them accordingly. Our servers are connected directly to the mobile networks so delivery failure, due to poor coverage or phones being turned off, is eliminated.

If a recipient’s PC, iPhone or other mobile device is switched off then messages may not be seen until much later, but they are delivered immediately – recipients need to make sure they read them.
The opportunities for such an application are enormous, particularly for people who are working in countries where freedom of speech is limited.

Take Libya or Bahrain as examples – our solution would  allow aid workers or news reporters to discretely yet quickly send a message to the outside world saying they were in need of urgent assistance, or simply to keep us updated about what’s is going on.

Our application is not only reliable, it is also extremely cost effective because it works with  “Go-Sim“ SIM cards – where prices are fixed.
Hugh Gibaud, who initially trialled the pilot service said: “To be honest, I was very sceptical at first because I did not think it would be possible to get a signal in the middle of the Gobi desert, but you can and I was extremely glad.”

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The main challenges public sector organisations have had to face since the General Election have been how to reduce costs and operate more efficiently while still maintaining high levels of customer service.

Such pressures are taking their toll and nowhere is this more apparent that in education. Schools are obliged to keep parents/carers updated of their children’s progress during the academic year via reports, parent evenings etc. Failure to do so reflects badly on them and can effect funding.

In addition to this, schools are in contact with parents/carers more or less on a daily basis about routine information such as exam dates, school trips, after school clubs, teacher training days, parent/teacher meetings, school uniform, fund raising events and so forth. Administration staff are increasingly overstretched and keeping up with routine communication is becoming more and more challenging.

Many schools have been using electronic communication for some time and Government has stipulated that by the end of 2012, all schools will be required to communicate with parents electronically. Email, however, is not necessarily the most effective way to communicate routine messages, particularly time sensitive ones. Unless the recipients are online (assuming they have Internet access in the first place), or have a Smartphone, chances are they won’t receive the message until it’s too late.

The most effective way to deliver time sensitive information, both from an execution and a cost point of view, is via SMS. This was demonstrated by the findings of a BBC survey carried out in Scotland in December last year, which showed that after local radio, SMS was the second most popular way to receive information about school closures. 

SMS notifications could easily be much more widely adopted to deliver routine messages and to provide parents/carers with progress updates of pupils. They are currently updated via parents’ evenings, which happen two or three times a year.  Indeed, a recent survey carried out by Becta has shown that more than two-thirds of parents would like to receive regular SMS or email messages about their childrens’ progress in school. Only 8% of those surveyed benefitted from such a service.

No specialist software or equipment is needed and single or multiple messages can be sent to individuals or pre-define groups. Messages can be targeted (by year group about a school trip for example), written and delivered instantaneously using online SMS services. Unlike bulk emails, which can be affected by SPAM filters, you know your message will get through. Even in the unlikely event that a parent/carer does not have a mobile phone, text messages can be left on landlines.

SMS notifications are cost effective because messages can be bought in bulk. You can also see at a glance how many messages have been delivered and how many replies you have by looking at delivery reports. 

We are a provider of online SMS services and unlike most other SMS providers, we also provide a personalised replies facility at no extra charge. What this means is – if a parent responds to a message received from a teacher, that message is delivered directly to that teacher and not to a centralised holding account, as is usually the case with online SMS services. It is an effective, yet non- time consuming way for teachers to establish relationships with parents/carers about a pupil’s progress, so that help and support can be provided when it is needed.

All our online SMS solutions integrate seamlessly with electronic registration systems via a developer’s API, and this API can also be customised to meet specific requirements. Click here to find out more about who we are and what we do.

Over the centuries the most successful inventions have been the most simple. The same goes for technology – the more straightforward the application, the more likely it is to succeed. You won’t find a better example of this than in the field of mobile communications.

The rise of the mobile Internet and Smartphone apps has had a profound impact on mobile marketing campaigns. They have become increasingly complex as the larger brands try to outdo each other in their efforts to provide rich mobile content.

But is there really any need to reinvent a proven wheel just for the sake of it? With regards to mobile advertising, some of the most successful campaigns have been executed using good old fashioned SMS – the best example there is of “less being more”

According to research carried out by comScore during the last quarter of 2010 by, there are more than 100 million subscribers to SMS marketing services in the top 5 EU countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain). The research showed that SMS adverts reached almost 50% of the 230 million mobile users and that the most popular types of SMS adverts were product, service or brand-related.

SMS adverts for donations to charities reached almost 10 million consumers and more than 10% of subscribers responded at least once during a 3 month period. Coupons or discounts sent via SMS also received high response rates.

Why then, in the age of Smartphones and Tablets, is mobile messaging still a popular delivery medium?

• It’s cheap – both for campaign executors, who can purchase SMS messages in bulk very cost effectively, and for consumers, who can send and receive predefined numbers of messages  as part of their contracts
• It’s quick – SMS messages are delivered almost instantaneously
• It has a wide marketing reach – all mobile devices support SMS
• Is not reliant on 3G networks so campaigns are not reliant on good network coverage
• It provides an easy response mechanism  – allowing for spontaneous decisions
• It is easy to monitor the success of different campaigns
• It’s direct – unlike mobile apps or mobile web pages, which require users to pro-actively access them, SMS pushes itself directly into the site of the consumer
• It integrates seamlessly with e/marketing activities
• It’s widely understood by everyone
• It provides a positive user experience because messages can always be delivered

Targeted mobile advertising campaigns can be carried out quickly, efficiently and cost effectively using our effective PC to SMS or email to SMS marketing tools.
Once you have set yourself up with an account you can be running successful campaigns within minutes and reaping the rewards as a result.

Our PC to SMS and email to SMS products can be easily integrated into your overall IT infrastructure or corporate website via a developer’s API, thus complementing your overall e-marketing strategy.

Click here to find out more about who we are and what we do.

Travelling in remote parts of the world used to make us feel isolated and vulnerable. However, thanks to mobile communications technology, such feelings are a thing of the past. Ever-expanding mobile coverage and affordable handsets means it is now possible to pick up a signal from almost anywhere in the world.

This fear of being completely isolated was experienced firsthand by Hugh Gibaud and his business partner, Jeremy Miles, when they decided to take part in this year’s Mongol rally in order to raise money for charity.
The rally, designed to be an exhilarating experience for participants, starts in Europe and ends in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia. Unlike a normal rally, the overall aim is not to get there first but to get there safely – quite a challenge considering the countries that have to be crossed and the terrains involved.

For Gibaud it was imperative he could keep in contact with his family throughout the trip, not only for personal reasons but also for his own safety. Time was also of the essence and Gibaud wanted to be able to quickly contact different groups of people so he could get on with the rally. Sending SMS messages was the obvious answer but delivery is not always instantaneous, particularly when abroad. It depends on a number of factors such as network operators, roaming arrangements, signal strength and most importantly, the recipient’s phone being turned on so the message can be received.

Due to the potentially dangerous nature of the rally Gibaud did not want to leave the delivery of these messages to chance. He wanted to be able to quickly communicate with friends and family and needed a means of sending SMS messages that were guaranteed to be delivered in case he found himself in difficulties.

He carried out some basic research to see if such a service could be provided and came across Slepe Communications, an SMS service provider that specialises in the development of bespoke and niche SMS applications. He explained the situation and Slepe communications made a number of changes to its popular email to SMS service, turning it into an SMS to email service, in order to guarantee the delivery of all SMS messages.

Using a normal mobile phone and “Go-SIM” an international prepaid SIM card, Gibaud sent all messages to Slepe Communications’ centralised server. Here the company’s bespoke software converted all SMS messages to email formats so they could be delivered quickly to recipients. The servers are connected directly to the mobile network, thus eliminating the problem of delivery failure due to poor coverage or phones being turned off.
“I was very excited to be given the opportunity to become involved in the project”, explained Rob Jagger, Director of Slepe Communications.” Normally one associates email to SMS with commercial marketing campaigns but this application demonstrates how SMS can be used to enhance personal safety by giving you the ability to quickly send out emergency messages, should you find yourself in difficulty.

This niche SMS to email application was not only reliable but also extremely cost effective because with Go-SIM prices are fixed. Gibaud continues; “To be honest, I was very sceptical at first because I did not think it would be possible to get a signal in the middle of the Gobi desert, but you can and I was extremely glad.”

Using SMS for personal safety is a relatively new concept but Rob is very excited about future possibilities for the service, as he explains. This application has proved that so long as you have a mobile phone, it is possible to send SMS messages that are guaranteed to be delivered, irrespective of which country you are in. The potential use for email to SMS in this context is enormous; for example, as part of a company’s health and safety procedure. Similarly, providing Aid workers operating in countries where freedom of speech is restricted with this type of service would enable them to quickly but subtly inform colleagues if they were in danger.”

Online SMS applications are usually associated with promotional campaigns. They are quick and easy to execute, their marketing reach is enormous due to the sheer number of phones in circulation and they provide consumers with an easy way to interact and respond.

However online SMS applications can also be used to help save lives, as an innovative trial carried out by WelTel Kenya1  has clearly demonstrated. The story was covered by the Independent and in this pilot, SMS technology has been used to help HIV-positive patients stick to their strict drugs regimes by sending them SMS reminders to take their daily doses of life saving medication.

Apart from receiving their usual dose of antiretroviral drugs, the 500 plus patients involved in the trial also received discrete text messages and they were instructed to reply “Sawa” (”fine”) or “Shida” (”problem”) to these SMS messages within 48 hours.

Those who confirmed they had a problem or failed to respond to the message within the timeframe were called by a nurse to find out what was wrong.
The number of patients that achieved 100% adherence to their regime was 12% higher in the SMS group. In addition, the number of patients who were able to achieve suppression of HIV to below detectable levels in their blood – a key benchmark of success – was 9% higher in the SMS group.

Less than 4% percent of patients texted the reply “problem” With such results, a single nurse could use SMS technology to help manage the welfare of a thousand plus patients spread over a wide geographical area and expect to make follow-up calls to only 33 patients per week.

The trial was easy to implement because it was based on existing mobile communications infrastructure. Nurses used a computer to write and send out the messages. According to industry estimates mobile penetration is practically 100% in Kenya so you can almost guarantee that patients had access to a mobile phone. Such a system is more economical than expecting nurses to make personal visits to individual patients.

Online SMS applications are benefitting millions of people in other ways too. Take banking, for example. Millions of people in Africa, and indeed in other third-world countries do not have bank accounts because they can’t afford one, but they do have mobile phones. Using SMS technology as a driving force, organisations like M-Peso are giving poorer people access to financial services they could have only dreamt about 10 years ago. All you need to set up an account is a standard mobile phone, an M-Peso SIM and an identity card. Money can be added to our mobile phone account at designated agencies and all financial transactions are carried out more or less straight away via SMS.

SMS technology is allowing even the poorest people to save money, transfer money and pay their bills safely and securely.

Online SMS applications are by far the easiest way to make contact with people dispersed over vast areas. No special equipment is needed and the majority of people have basic mobile phones capable of receiving texts.  Bulk SMS messages can be sent to thousands of people via email to SMS or PC to SMS applications.

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According to recent research carried out by mobile transaction network, mBlox, more than two thirds of consumers in the UK would like to receive their shopping coupons in the form of a text message.  Not only that, almost a third of them are already familiar with this concept and have used mobile shopping coupons.

The research revealed that over 70% of UK consumers would be interested in receiving coupons via SMS while out shopping, to alert them of special offers or promotions and such like – could add a whole new dimension to Tesco Club points!

In addition, separate research carried out by the Mobile Marketing Association has shown that a quarter of  European consumers (based in France, Germany and the UK) would be more likely to respond to advertising  campaigns of any medium if they could do so using their mobile phones, with SMS being the preferred option.

With such astonishing figures, there is little wonder that over 38% of retailers in the UK have incorporated SMS marketing into their overall advertising and promotional strategies.

Why are the statistics so high for SMS compared to other marketing mediums?

• Well for starters there are more mobile devices than any other technology gadgets in the UK, so the potential business reach is enormous
• More and more businesses are turning to SMS for important communications because emails can easily get lost or overlooked
• Bulk text messages are delivered within seconds and redeemed within minutes – no other communications method can reach consumers so quickly and in such a contextual way
• SMS allows for easy interaction – consumers only have to text a key word to a mobile number or short code in order to receive further information
• High response rates allow retailers to further tailor their advertising campaigns.
• SMS marketing allows consumers to engage with big brands – bringing them to life
• SMS is the preferred communications method for the younger generation
• SMS can compliment overall marketing campaigns
• And finally – Receiving tickets, coupons etc via mobile phones as text messages helps businesses to become greener in the way they operate. 

Click here to find out how our business SMS solution can add an extra dimension to your existing marketing campaigns.

We have recently implemented an upgrade to our system so that we integrate with the popular ‘Coach Manager’ software from Distinctive Systems. Coach Manager is a very popular booking system used by operators throughout the UK and globally.

Usually the jobs are emailed to the drivers, with the job details within a PDF attachment. Our system can now detect when a PDF is attached, and pulls out the relevant job details, and sends them as an SMS to the driver. If no attachment was included, then our Email to SMS service works as normal, completely transparently to the customer.

This custom development was done free of charge for the customer, and we are now looking to offer it to other coach companies to expand our reach.

The short messaging service or SMS came to the fore with the advent of mobile phones. It is a value added service that allows mobile phone users to send short text messages to other users. It is one such mode of communication that is cheap, reliable and fast. SMS became immensely popular very quickly and an increasing number of people now prefer using SMS to communicate with others. However, sending SMS from a mobile phone is not that convenient and not that cheap.

Internet SMS is another service that is becoming extensively popular these days. It is a service that enables people to send short text messages using a computer and an internet connection. Using the internet SMS service, you can send out short text messages to any mobile phone user across the world. It is worth noting that online text messaging has a limit of 160 characters per message.

With increasing mobile phone users and the growing popularity of SMS, many advertisers are now employing internet SMS. Using internet SMS companies can easily communicate with their clients and employees to inform them about the latest offers and promotions. Internet SMS also enable companies to send a single SMS to many recipients at once that can thus save a lot of time and money.

E-mail to SMS is another popular method that can prove to be highly beneficial for companies. With e-mail to SMS, companies can easily stay in touch with their employees and inform them about the various developments taking place in the workplace. So, if you are a company looking to stay connected to your clients and employees, the internet SMS and e-mail to SMS services are the ideal solution for you.

Most business owners and managers are aware and understand that effective communication with employees and clients is very important and essential for the survival of the business. If there is no proper communication between the employer and its employees the quality of service provided by the company can suffer, which may result in the loss of customers.

In a highly competitive and fast-paced business world, a delay of even a couple of minutes could impact upon a company. Therefore, it is vital for businesses to have an effective and efficient system of communication that can quickly and easily inform employees and even customers, about any changes in the planned schedule or to promote products and services.

Nowadays, most businesses communicate with their employees with the help of mobile phones. Though mobile phones make an effective communication system, the costs involved in making and sending SMS to employees can be huge. Most mobile phone service providers charge very high rates for sending messages and the costs just keep on multiplying.

In such cases, a suitable alterative is the use of an email to SMS service, which is becoming quote popular amongst small and medium sized businesses in the UK. When using an email to SMS service you can easily send and receive messages from an email application such as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird or Lotus Notes at a fraction of the mobile phone messaging cost.

The email to SMS service is very easy to use and does not require any specialised or expert training.

Our world today is dominated by the latest modern technology and its innovations. Things are becoming a lot easier. In the past, there were only limited means of communication. However, with the invention of mobile phones and the SMS or short messaging service, this is now one of the most widely used modes for communication. SMS is a popular form of communication which enables the mobile phone user to send a text message without the need to talk face to face.

With further advancements in technology, it has now become possible to send SMS not only from a mobile phone but also from your email account. This service is popularly called e-mail to SMS or internet SMS. Today, there are a number of websites that let you send an SMS to a mobile phone using any of the popular email services.

Using internet SMS, you can even send bulk SMS. The major advantage of bulk SMS is that you can send a single SMS to many different people, all at the same time. Bulk SMS can prove to be extremely helpful for companies that need to inform their clients about various offers, promotions and discounts that they have, from time to time.

If you want to reap the benefits of the bulk messaging service, all you need to do is just log in and register on the company website and pay a fixed amount to the site. Then, after registering with the site, you can then send text messages to a number of recipients.