700 percent increase in Facebook users on Telecom mobiles

Telecom customers using Facebook on their mobiles has increased by 700 percent since January 2009, and now XT is making it even easier for customers to keep in touch through Facebook and Twitter with updates sent directly to and from Telecom mobile phones.

In a New Zealand first, Telecom customers with Facebook accounts can now sign up to receive text notifications directly to their mobile phones from Facebook. Notifications include new messages, friends’ status updates or friend requests. Users can also update their status, search for phone numbers, or upload photos and videos from their mobile phone.

The Facebook notifications’ text is easy to set up online or simply by texting ‘f’ to 3223.

“Almost 2,500 Telecom customers are using Facebook messaging each day since the launch of XT, showing just how much social networking is in demand with our customers” says Liz Wilson, Telecom Head of Mobile Marketing.

“With New Zealand’s Twitter penetration of six percent, the highest in the world, we are going to where customers are online and making it easier for them to connect.”

Those using Twitter on mobiles can receive friends’ tweets, tweet their own message, and send and receive direct messages via a text message. This service is easy to set up by texting to 8987, with the ability to choose which friends’ updates are received and to turn off updates for selected periods of time (see www.telecom.custhelp.co.nz/twitter from more information).

Receiving text updates from Facebook and Twitter is free. Standard text charges apply for sending text updates, be it tweets to Twitter or status updates to Facebook.

This announcement comes after the March launch of Telecom’s exclusive partnership with Bebo, offering customers a range of services through Bebo Open Mobile, enabling customers to update their Bebo profile, receive Bebo text alerts and exclusive Bebo video content on their Telecom mobile phone.

And right now Telecom is offering an exclusive three months free Bebo messaging offer with the purchase of the Samsung C5220 which is proving very popular with teenagers since the launch of XT.

“We are extremely happy to be partnering with New Zealand’s leading social network sites to make the mobile phone online experience even better. This is only the beginning of the exciting things the XT Mobile Network will enable Kiwis to do with their phones,” says Ms Wilson.