Ghana first country in Africa to get SMS in Gmail Chat for seamless communication between PC and mobile phones

Accra, Ghana
March 15, 2010
Google today launched SMS in Gmail Chat in Ghana, a service developed to bridge online and mobile

communication. SMS in Chat allows all Gmail users within Ghana to send and receive Gmail Chat

messages - for free - as SMS text messages. With SMS in Chat, a Gmail user can send a text message

from the desktop interface directly to phones via SMS. In return, these contacts may respond to these text

messages and the response will appear in the original sender's Gmail interface. Currently, we are

supporting phone subscribers of MTN, Zain, Tigo and Kasapa in Ghana. Standard network charges apply

for any communication from phone to desktop, but SMS in Gmail Chat is free from desktop to phone.

SMS in Chat is easy and convenient to use: Just type in a phone number into the new SMS box in Gmail

and your message and send it off. In addition, contact phone numbers can be stored within the Gmail

address book, which allows immediate access to them anytime an SMS needs to be sent simply by typing

the contact's name in the chat box and selecting "Send SMS".

The SMS in Chat feature is especially useful if a contact is not available via online chat, as it allows users

to form a conversation and to send information from within the chat window directly to the contact's phone

screen. But it also works the other way round: You don't need access to a wired PC if you want to send

messages to Gmail chat; you can directly send an SMS text message from your phone to a contact's

Gmail Chat window.
"We are very proud to be launching SMS in Gmail Chat today," said Estelle Akofio-Sowah, Google's

Ghana Lead. "SMS in Gmail Chat has been specifically designed with the African consumer in mind and

will bring a new level of flexibility and mobility to Gmail Chat. Ghana is the first country in Africa to get this

service once again underlining Google's commitment to Ghana and to the region"