SMS Twitter service returns to UK

Vodafone customers to get free texts

27 March 2009 0:03 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Twitter has signed a deal with Vodafone in the UK that sees it bringing back SMS tweeting.

"Vodafone UK has signed an agreement with Twitter allowing customers to send and receive SMS updates at no additional cost", says Twitter founder Biz Stone on the company's blog.

According to the microblogging service "Sending tweets from your mobile will be part of your normal text messaging bundle with Vodafone", before crying:

"Vodafone loves Twitter!"

UK Vodafone customers need only to type in 86444 to tweet and you can activate your mobile in your Twitter settings.

The news however is likely to come as a disappointment to iPhone users who are forced to use competing operator O2 and won't benefit from the new Vodafone offering.

In August 2008, Stone emailed users and explained in a blog that the microblogging service simply can't afford to keep the text service going.

"Even with a limit of 250 messages received per week, it could cost Twitter about $1,000 per user, per year to send SMS outside of Canada, India, or the US", the message read at the time.

Stone said that the only way round this would be to make better billing arrangements with the UK's mobile phone operators.

UPDATE: Vodafone has announced the news in the UK, saying the service will be "free for the first few weeks" and then the texts sent will come out of customer's normal bundles.

Full tags

Phones, Online, Twitter, Vodafone, Software