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Thread ID: 128394 2012-12-17 20:18:00 Business SMS to clients SolMiester (139) Press F1
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1318774 2012-12-17 20:18:00 Hi all, looking for some smarts about using SMS to notify clients of upcoming dates, events etc....I have absolutely no experience in this software or its requirements costs etc.

I see Telecom has eTXT for $100 setup, $10 p/mth on account and some charges for texting....There is also Net24....and a couple others, but not sure what to look for. We will be doing bulk SMS, rather than 1 at a time, so wiould need to be able to import csv file or something. Would be great to do it via Outlook or similar, rather than plugging in a phone to the PC..

Anybody know anything about this tech?
SolMiester (139)
1318775 2012-12-17 21:34:00 Apparently you can do it via Outlook, but you do need a service provider. office.microsoft.com Just tried to set it up, all went well until it came to selecting a provider - didn't go any further - but once set up this shows how to send out: www.labnol.org

On that second link is a ad, for kiwilink - prices dont look to bad - www.kiwilink.co.nz

Edited: have a look on the right at the sms guide, looks like you can use your address book, using their own program.
wainuitech (129)
1318776 2012-12-17 22:32:00 Thx WT...having a look at it now.... SolMiester (139)
1318777 2012-12-17 22:36:00 We use etext at work, you tie it to your domain name then can send text to 6426XXXXXX@etext.co.nz and the replies will come via who ever send it, pretty smart really. You can also import and export CSV's and group people. We have the likes of CHCH@etext.co.nz that allow us to text all our chch staff for example. Super handy with the earthquakes and if you have a wan outage or something.

I note my local DVD store send text via an 022 number, don't know if they are doing it via a CTU or something like that.
Alex B (15479)
1318778 2012-12-17 23:16:00 I've used both an international service, as well as a DIY situation. You can link up with the Vodafone Vodems and script it via command line quite easily (Tested in Linux, not Windows).
Then get a prepaid SIM that gives you several thousand texts a month.
Also means you can receive responses at no cost either :)
Chilling_Silence (9)
1318779 2012-12-18 00:25:00 We use etext at work, you tie it to your domain name then can send text to 6426XXXXXX@etext.co.nz and the replies will come via who ever send it, pretty smart really. You can also import and export CSV's and group people. We have the likes of CHCH@etext.co.nz that allow us to text all our chch staff for example. Super handy with the earthquakes and if you have a wan outage or something.

I note my local DVD store send text via an 022 number, don't know if they are doing it via a CTU or something like that.
Yeah, had a look at eTxt, but it is very expensive if you ask me?, 10c to Telecom, 17c to others.....I can see that mounting up quickly if you send to 100 at a go!...
SolMiester (139)
1318780 2012-12-18 00:44:00 Yeah so 5000 txts on the $19 a month to any network on the prepaid plan or whatever == Much cheaper! Chilling_Silence (9)
1318781 2012-12-18 00:54:00 Not cheap but a pretty good turn key solution. Alex B (15479)
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