Sema, AOL to provide mobile instant messaging

(Telephony) Sema announced a partnership with America Online at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France, to deliver mobile instant messaging services to wireless short message service networks. The two companies will work together to ensure AOL’s wireless instant messaging services are compatible with the products Sema—an IT and business services company—provides to wireless carriers.

The Mobile Instant Messaging service lets users set up a list of buddies on their wireless phone books that displays who is logged on or off of the instant messaging service at any given time. Instant messages can be sent to both mobile phone and Internet users.

“The underlying messages that travel between the handset and the network are delivered through Sema’s [short message service center, or SMSC]. These are text messages,” said David Lloyd, director of product management for enhanced services at Sema. “You cannot offer a text message service without an SMSC.”

Sema currently deploys its SMSC in more than 60 companies worldwide. Lloyd could not disclose when a launch date will be set or with whom, but said that Sema will announce one within the next few weeks.

“For an operator, there’s very little investment required because it uses the existing infrastructure and the existing handset. It’s a real opportunity to launch the service right now,” Lloyd said.

In related show news, Sema announced that it has begun installing two more SMSCs for Vodafone in the United Kingdom. Sema is Vodafone’s sole SMSC supplier in the U.K.