Texting company gains entry to China

Jim Bracknell

Text-messaging company Plus SMS has signed a deal to give it access to the Chinese market - the second- or third-largest in the world.

The company's agreement is with Hong Kong company Citic, which handles all text-message traffic into and out of China.

Plus SMS plans to give cellphone users worldwide the ability to send texts to the one number, without the need for prefixes.

The company hopes the service will appeal to international companies running global competitions and to firms with a worldwide profile, but some analysts have expressed doubt about the viability of the business model.

Plus SMS chairman Jim Bracknell said Citic also handled text-message traffic for hundreds of mobile carriers.

"It means when we want to implement a number we have easier access to a whole array of carriers at the one stop rather than having to negotiate with each one of them individually."

Plus SMS is listed on the NZX's Alternative Market and has a market capitalisation of about $200 million.