TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd expects 50,000 customers to subscribe to its FixedLine SMS (short messaging system) when the service is introduced in the Klang Valley at the end of this year.

However, the national telecommunications company hopes the subscriber base will double with the nationwide launch of the service next year, said its chief operating officer (TM Telco) Dr Idris Ibrahim.

A soft launch of the FixedLine SMS service, which is now undergoing a trial run, was carried out on July 25.

"A charge of 10 sen per SMS has been fixed for the sending of a SMS from a FixedLine SMS to another FixedLine SMS and 15 sen per SMS for a message sent from a FixedLine SMS to a cellular phone.

"Initially, the sending of short messages from Telekom's FixedLine SMS service to a cellular network is only available for TMTouch (013) and Celcom (019) subscribers.

"The sending of short messages to other cellular networks is expected to be in service in the last quarter of this year once we have completed the inter-net-working arrangement," Idris told newsmen at a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur.

The FixedLine SMS rates are deemed to be competitive to those offered by cellular network providers, which fall in the 15-sen range for an intra-network SMS and 20 sen for inter-network.

The FixedLine SMS will only be offered to TMClip (Telekom Malaysia Caller Line Identification Presentation) customers and residents in areas where TMClip service is available.

To enjoy the FixedLine SMS service, new customers must pay a RM3 TMClip fee and a monthly rental fee of RM2.

In addition, they will have to buy FixedLine SMS phone, which is priced at between RM100 and RM150 each.

In encouraging the use of the FixedLine SMS, Telekom recently launched a special promotion for the first 500 subcribers to buy a SMS phone set at RM99 from the retail price of RM153.

"For the moment, customers can apply and register for the FixedLine SMS service at our three Kedai Telekom outlets in Petaling Jaya, Damansara Utama and Jalan Raja Chulan (Kedai Telekom Muzium). Later on, the registration process will be extended to Kedai Telekom in other areas, local Telekom Malaysia offices and selected distributors.

"Consumers can get further information on the service by calling our 1050 Telecentre," said Idris, nothing that the FixedLine SMS service is targeted at residential customers who are less mobile, namely housewives and teenagers.

A revolutionary technology that integrates SMS with fixed-line telephones, the FixedLine SMS allows the sending and receiving of short text messages between the FixedLine SMS phone set, cellular phones, fax and e-mails.

The service has only been introduced in a few countries, namely Germany, Italy, Singapore and the Philippines.

For the initial stage, Telekom has invested about RM8.6 million to set up the FixedLine SMS infrastructure in the Klang Valley.

Currently, Telekom has 4.7 fixed-line subscribers nationwide, of whom 1.3 million are located in the Kalang Valley.