MTN Ghana pulls out of Gmail free SMS service again

MTN Ghana has pulled out of the Gmail free SMS service again, ghanabusinessnews.com has learned.

Gmail, the free web-based email service provided by the world’s leading Internet search engine Google activated the free SMS feature to the service for users in Ghana Thursday March 11, 2010.

Users of Gmail in Ghana at that time could send free SMS to subscribers of MTN, Zain now Airtel, Tigo and Expresso, then Kasapa. Vodafone has never been part of the service.

Along the line however, the then Kasapa now Expresso, pulled out of the service, followed by MTN.

Mrs. Mawuena Trebarh, Head of Corporate Services at MTN told ghanabusinessnews.com in April 2010 that MTN Ghana had suspended the service due to technical problems.

However, a source close to Google told ghanabusinessnews.com that Google and MTN were in some discussions, and confirmed that MTN Ghana had pulled out of the service.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the development had told ghanabusinessnews.com that MTN pulled out because they were losing revenue.

MTN however returned onto the service in November 2010, but information reaching ghanabusinessnews.com this morning followed by attempts to send SMS through our gmail account proved that MTN Ghana has pulled out of the service again.

There are therefore, only two networks left on the service in Ghana – these are Tigo and Airtel.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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