Chikka connects to Spain

Manila-based Chikka.com, creator of the popular Internet gateway to texting mobile phones, announced its connectivity to all mobile network operators in Spain, including Movistar, Orange, and Vodafone.

Chikka’s patented “unified account systems” will allow mobile users in Spain to log in to their PC-based Chikka Messenger using their mobile numbers, to enjoy instant messaging whether online or on-the-go, all via simple SMS.

“Now anyone, anywhere in the world may send free text messages from our instant messenger (IM) to all mobile phones in Spain,” says Chito Bustamante, chief operating officer of Chikka Asia Inc.

“With our new connectivity to operators in Spain, Chikka is uniting hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in Spain with their loved ones back home. But in the last years, we have also connected to operators in the United States, United Kingdom, and India. It is equally exciting to open mobile instant messaging between these countries and their migrant populations,” he adds.

With all major carriers supported in Spain, the service becomes available to over 49.5 million mobile subscribers in that country. Among the world’s highly sophisticated mobile cultures, Spain mobile users send 4.7 million messages every hour, according to the Mobile Data Association (MDA).

“We are proud to bring Chikka, most reliable for PC-to-mobile messaging, to such an exciting mobile market,” says Bustamante.

“The online world will appreciate seamless connectivity to mobile subscribers in Spain, an important commercial center, a cultural melting pot and host to some of the world’s largest technological expositions, including the annual 3GSM Congress. In fact, at the Barcelona congress early this year, Chikka showcased its products along with mobile network operators and content and data enablers from over 180 countries,” he says.

Chikka created the world’s first mobile instant messenger to run on SMS. Launched in the Philippines in 2001, it now has over 38 million registered users. It also counts close to two million users across India where it opened to all major operators in 2005.