Twitter SMS ends for Arabia and rest of the world, excluding USA, India and Canada
International Twitter users received a message from stating that Twitter is no longer delivering outbound SMS over our UK number, which is the number used for UK and the rest of the world to receive and updates tweets.
By this move most of the world including the Arab world won’t get Free SMS updates from their Twitter friends.
why Twitter is doing this? Hefty Cost:
Mobile operators in most of the world charge users to send updates. When you send one message to Twitter and Twitter send it to ten followers, you aren’t charged ten times–that’s because Twitter paid the whole bill.
Twitter explains:
When we launched our free SMS service to the world, we set the clock ticking. As the service grew in popularity, so too would the price. Our challenge during this window of time was to establish relationships with mobile operators around the world such that our SMS services could become sustainable from a cost perspective.
Twitter give an estimate of how much a user cost it per year.
Even with a limit of 250 messages received per week, it could cost Twitter about $1,000 per user, per year to send SMS outside of Canada, India, or the US
According to Twitter, their incoming and outgoing SMS service could become sustainable from a cost perspective. in Canada, India, and the United States, because they managed to have deals with mobile operators in these countries.
Twitter said they will continue
To negotiate with mobile operators in Europe, Asia, China, and The Americas to forge relationships that benefit all our users. Our goal is to provide full, two-way service with Twitter via SMS to every nation in a way that is sustainable from a cost perspective. Talks with mobile companies around the world continue
Twitter promised also that they will be introducing several new, local SMS numbers in countries throughout Europe in the coming weeks and months:
These new numbers will make Twittering more accessible for you if you’ve been using SMS to send long-distance updates from outside the UK.
This sad news for many in Europe and few in the Arab world, since only little Arab world residents use Twitter, may be less than 5 thousand. It is also sad for me because I was in my way to activate Twitter SMS service 
Though this might be a good news for Twitter’s regional competitor WatWet http://wawet.com/arabcrunch (reviewed here), since they will be the only one offering 2 way SMS at least in Jordan, but only with one operator which is Zain (Which sucks) It might be a problem for WatWet because they will have an active competitor trying to do what they are doing: Forging deals with Mobile operator in the region to bypass SMS costs to them. Never the less WaWet has an advantage over Twitter at least in the Saudi market since they have Arabic interface, which may not be available in Twitter for years to come.
Everyone I know who has a Zain number in Jordan knows about WatWet but only few use it. I do not have Zain number so it is a the Zero-sum game for me, since now I cannot use any of both companies SMS services.
I am a somehow loyal Twitter user (If you are not following ArabCrunch on Tiwtter do here ), but I would not use SMS services if it will cost money to receive updates as TechCrunch.UK suggested.
I’ll post the opnion of other Twitter users once they answer my tweets.
So Twitter get use a free deal here please and find a business model. And WaWet do not make exclusive deals with one operator in each country.
Stumble it!
« « Juniper Research forecasts Mobile Money Transfers Opportunity for Service Providers to exceed $5bn by 2013 | Breaking: TweetSMS to enable SMS for Twitter in UK and worldwide soon » »
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11 Comments For “Twitter SMS ends for Arabia and rest of the world, excluding USA, India and Canada”
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[...] wrote few hours a post about Twitter ending its UK SMS receiving service. On Twitter every one not in USA, Canada, and India is complaining Few minutes [...]
You make me laugh, do u think there is any kind of competition between Twitter and that one WatWet, man really this is silly
Ahmad, I welcome your comment but next time please be polite.
there is in some way, Wawet is for the Arab world. remember Twitter is not yet Famous in the Arab world. WaWet also have arabic interface plus you can send not just SMS updates but MMS too.
right now watwet SMS works in Jordan only with one telco which is Zain Jordan
What is lame about Watwet is the following:
1- SMS updates are only with one operator, which makes the rest of us who do not have Zain in a disprivileged situation. they should work with all mobile operators, but i doubt it, i think part of the deal with Zain is to not do partnership with other operators in Jordan, which is a big mistake and makes the service less valuable.
2- there is not desktop application, which sucks, i do not wana keep refreshing my browser to get updates from my friends, and i do not wana spam my email with updates, they even develop one based on AIR or open their API to let others develop it.
I think that I do not say any kind of bad words, but I did really find it silly when you said “Though this might be a good news for Twitter’s regional competitor WatWet ”
I don`t like it when we the Arabs makes small things larger, keep it always as how it is. Show me one Arab startup that has been noticed by any startup funding firm or has been acquired.
I was reading once about Faye3.com and that Maktoob has a partenrship with and afterward faye3.com became in the deadpool like many arab startups. I am crying for that, when I look at those Israeli startups coming from Tel-Aviv and Technion University that has been noticed and doing great like US and German startups.
Finally, Since years I am asking one question of my self that I am not finding an answer to: what is the business model of Arab startups, what is Maktoob business model, hehe really silly.
We have to setup plans, becuase its about identifying goals and planning.
Ahamd i answered your Watwet question.
i ll add that Twitter has no business model yet.
Why do not you tell is why it is silly? instead of saying it is just simlly.?
Makttob was funded with millions of $, now they have around 8 million visitors a month ( audited stats) and they are profitable.
Maktoob business model:
is like Yahoo and google: Ad supported and they make tons of money.
There are many obstacles that are not helping startups grow in the Arab world, some from the developers themselves some from our governments and so on.
I started ArabCrunch to help in the effort to change that. and i will have many posts that touches into what you are saying, stay tuned
[...] including the Arab world won’t get Free SMS updates from their Twitter friends,” reports Arab Crunch, Posted by Amira Al Hussaini Print Version Share [...]
Now can someone speak to Etisalat (UAE ISP) and ask them to lift their ban on the Twitter website, they blocked it long back, fearing it would damage their profits because of its free SMS module.
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