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Service Options - Message to Phone Service

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Send Messages Directly to a Telephone and get replies! 

Message to Phone now comes standard with SkyTel 2Way and BlackBerry services.

With the SkyTel Message to Phone feature, you can send a message from your handheld to almost any telephone in the continental US. This feature gives you even more messaging power and flexibility when you're on the go -- now add telephones to the impressive list of electronic devices that can receive your wireless SkyTel message. 

Just think -- you're at the airport and they've just called "final boarding" for your 4:30 flight. Suddenly, you remember that you forgot to confirm an important meeting. The telephones at the gate are all in use, and your client doesn't have a SkyTel unit. What can you do? 

You simply enter the client's name and telephone number in your unit's address book and send them a message. "Confirming our meeting at 2 tomorrow. Please fax a list of participants to my hotel at 555-1212. See you then." As you're settling into your seat a few moments later, you get a confirmation message letting you know that your message was delivered.

Later, just moments after you touchdown, you receive a reply: "Meeting changed to 3. List and agenda will be faxed tonight. Looking forward to it."

You don't have to sign up to use Message to Phone, because it's a standard feature of your service. And there's no additional hardware or software to purchase. Standard per message character maximums apply. 

Using Message to Phone

Using the service is a snap. All you do is enter the recipient's name and 10-digit telephone number like an email address into your unit's address book. To enter Jim Smith's phone number, you simply type "Jim Smith@2225553434". Don't add a suffix like .com or .org at the end of the phone number, and always remember to enter the area code first. Now, when you need to send a message to Jim, you can send it directly to his phone. 

When Jim answers his telephone, he hears, "Hello. John Doe has a message for Jim Smith. To accept the message, press 1. To cancel the message, press 2." When Jim presses 1, your message is "read" to him in an electronic voice. He'll have the option of repeating the message if he's missed any details, and reply through the SkyTel system with a numeric, voice* or operator dispatch* message.

You'll then receive a message on your unit, letting you know what happened to your "call". If the message was accepted, you'll know right away. If the line was busy or there was no answer, that information will appear. If the phone was answered by an answering machine or the recipient hung up without making a selection, you'll receive a "Call answered, message not delivered" message. Your confirmation message will include the number and name of the person you called. 

And, because the recipient can send a reply through the SkyTel system, the reply will come directly back to your unit.

Simplify messaging 

Message to Phone is set up to recognize many common abbreviations so you can minimize your character input. Type "do u no" instead of "do you know". You can also type numbers in place of words -- type 4 or 2 instead of "for" or "to / too". All numbers in your message will be read individually. Unlike some Message to Phone systems you might have used before, a seven digit phone number will sound like a phone number when read. We recommend that you spell uncommon or foreign words phonetically.

For more information and detailed instructions, please see the Message to Phone FAQ or contact SkyTel Customer Service via email or at 1-800-SKY-USER.

* Optional Services