Free SMS Facebook notifications on Telstra mobiles

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 09 December 2009 04:36

IT Industry - Market

Telstra mobile customers can now receive Facebook alerts via SMS at no charge.

If you're a pre-paid or post-paid Telstra mobile user, you can sign up to receive Facebook notifications via SMS.

"From today, our mobile customers can sign up to receive free SMS notifications every time a friend updates Facebook, including news on wall posts, comments, invites and messages," said Telstra consumer executive director Jenny Young.

"People don’t need to wait until they get to work now to find out if their Facebook has been updated; they can be alerted on their mobile while they are out and about, and send an update straight back," she added.

There's no charge for these messages, but Telstra hopes to make up for that from the extra revenue it will gain when people send SMSes at normal rates to reply to notifications or to update their own profiles.

To use the service, first activate Facebook Text Messages within a Facebook account, then SMS "fb" to 019832665 (0198 FBOOK) from a Telstra mobile.

Users can control the regularity, number and timing of the messages they receive.

Although Telstra is the first carrier in Australia to offer the service, it might not be the last: "Our goal is to make sure that Facebook is available to users when they are out and about, on the device of their choice," said Henri Moissinac, head of Facebook Mobile.