Russia’s MegaFon launches own messenger eMotion

MOSCOW, May 25 (PRIME) -- Russian mobile operator MegaFon has launched its own messenger, called eMotion, allowing users to make calls and send messages via Wi-Fi connection and the mobile Internet, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

“The ‘smart’ application makes possible to make or accept calls, even if subscribers do not have a GSM signal, but their smartphones are connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi,” the statement read. The messenger sends notes and makes calls even to those who have not installed the service.

The application is tied to a mobile phone number and does not require a special account. Tariffs are flat regardless of a location: 0.80 rubles on MegaFon numbers and 1.5 rubles to all other numbers in the country. Same tariffs are valid for incoming calls and messages to Russia. Text messages between eMotion users are free.

The service, functioning on iOS and Android smartphones, was designed by MegaLabs, a unit of MegaFon. Neither investments nor the expected number of clients was disclosed.

MegaFon said it has no plans to compete with certain over-the-top (OTT) services.

(67.0493 rubles – U.S. $1)

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