SMS News in Russia: Could ‘Rival’ the Internet

News delivered via SMS in Russia could make the wireless channel “rival” the Internet, according to a recent report in the St. Petersburg Times. Russia has about 5 million active Internet users, and by the end of 2003 about 32 million Russian citizens owned mobile phones. About 5 percent of users subscribe to SMS lists to receive — voluntarily and at a cost to the subscriber — anecdotes, horoscopes, exchange rates, and news. News lists only began operating in September 2003. It soon may be possible to receive entire electronic newspapers by mobile phone, thanks to software from Skylink. In St. Petersburg and Moscow, two local television stations have agreements with MegaFon, MTS, Bee Line GSM, and Infon to use chat exchanges on the TV-Chat-Infon overnight program where subscribers can pay to see their messages on the television screen.