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Mark Mulhern, executive director of Rtn2Sndr told ElectricNews.Net, "This is the first of a number of information services we plan to rollout. We have a non-exclusive arrangement with DNG (Douglas Newman Good) so we'd like to roll this service out for other property companies."
Mulhern continued "Because it would only cost them about IEP5,000 for the set up and rollout, we think the cost/benefit analysis will encourage other companies to take up the service."
The service has a dedicated mobile number and a unique code for each property being advertised. After a user sends a text to the number, he receives a reply with details of the specified property such as dimensions, lease length, auction date and contact details. In this way, property hunters can access information that is on the DNG Web site on their mobile phones. Mulhern expects that 100 properties will be on the DNG SMS service in the next few weeks.
Mulhern explained that Rtn2Sndr is hosting and supporting the service for DNG. It runs on a Xiam information router supplied by Eircell, who also provides network connectivity for the service. Rtn2Sndr did the development work with its own proprietary software to have DNG's service live in three months.
Mulhern added, "Ireland is now one of the top 'texting' countries in the world, Eircell has said that there are just over 3 million messages a day sent in Ireland."
SMS information services are growing at a dramatic rate as consumers are expected to access more data and advanced information services in the future. Currently the business community is the main user base for information services on SMS.
Lars Vestergaard, research manager for wireless and mobile communications in Europe at IDC told ElectricNews.Net, "Business users use SMS, but they largely use it for information services. A lot of information is sent over SMS including WAP services, traffic reports, and so forth."
Vestergaard continued, "We expect to see the major users of personal SMS services, who now are mostly teenagers and consumers, to start using SMS for information services like these. This will then move into more advanced data services that we are starting to see and will be a big revenue generator in the near future."
Rtn2Sndr was launched by Mulhern and Donald Douglas in March of this year. Already the firm has announced a number of partnerships and clients include Viacom Outdoor, Ebow and Win|Win.
Rtn2Sndr has offices in Ireland and the UK and can be found on the Web at http://www.rtn2sndr.com.
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