AIRTEL LAUNCHES FACEBOOK NON INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE

Airtel has launched the world’s first USSD-based
Facebook access service in India, a way to access
the everyone’s favourite social network without an
internet connection. Airtel users will be able to update
their Facebook status for free, and, for Rs. 1 a day,
view/comment/Like news feeds, post on walls, confirm
friend requests, find and add friends, and view
notifications.
Because USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service
Data) is a session-based communication, unlike SMS,
which is transaction-based, it has significantly faster
response times, and is more suited for content-based
and interactive applications. It functions somewhat like
a menu-based browser. The technology is unique to
GSM, and is a built-in way to transmit data over signal
channels. Airtel’s USSD solution is based on
Fonetwish, developed by U2opia Mobile.
Commenting on the service, Mr. Henri Moissinac,
Head of Mobile Business, Facebook said:
“At Facebook, we are always exploring ways to
enable people to easily connect and share with friends on Facebook wherever they are, whenever they
want...This innovative USSD-based Facebook access service that will be offered by Airtel is another
affordable and easy way for people to stay connected
with their friends and family through Facebook.”