SingTel Introduces Free Ad-Supported Mobile Email Service

SingTel announced it has made push email available to its customers, becoming the first mobile operator in Asia Pacific to offer this kind of service for free. The new service, called MobileM@il is supported by ads and is offered for free to SingTel's subscribers. Moreover, users don't have to pay for data traffic resulted from the use of the service.

With MobileM@il, users can manage their email profiles and set up multiple email accounts on their mobile phone. The service can automatically deliver emails from SingNet, Yahoo!, Gmail and Hotmail accounts to the handset. MobileM@il allows users to send, receive and forward emails while on-the-move; and receive, forward, save and view attachments from the mobile. The service also allows users to save their contacts to a local address book.

The technology used by SingTel for its MobileM@il service was provided by Consilient. The software developed by Consilient, called Push, offers add-insertion capabilities, serving a minimal number of text and graphical ads side-by-side with subscribers' emails. The advertisements are carefully placed so that they do not break the flow of the email messages.

"With the embedding of this technology into an established consumer lifestyle, a new communication channel is now available for marketers to connect with more than a million consumers in Singapore, arguably the most highly penetrated mobile service market in the world," said Mr Jeffrey Seah, CEO of Mindshare Group Singapore, an advertising company with clients that include well-known consumer brands such as Pizza Hut and KFC.

To sign-up for the free MobileM@il service, customers can visit any SingTel store, access SingTel's IDEAS WAP portal, dial *36245 (*EMAIL) from their mobile phone, or call the Customer Service Hotline by dialing 1626. SingTel also announced plans to release a paid MobileM@il service for customers who prefer a version without any advertising.