TELECEL has introduced a new emergency response facility which it has called 911 Road Assist. Own Correspondent
Subscribers can use the facility to summon assistance in the event of a vehicle breakdown, a road accident or any other on-the-road emergency.
All they have to do in the event of an on-the-road emergency, if they subscribe to this value-added service, is to dial *160#.
A request for assistance will then automatically be sent to four numbers that the subscriber has previously selected as the numbers to be contacted in the event of an emergency.
The numbers could include emergency services, such as a company that provides roadside assistance, or personal contacts who the subscriber can rely on to assist in the event of an emergency.
To register for 911 Road Assist, subscribers dial *160# and follow the instructions for entering the four numbers they would wish to be contacted in an emergency. The facility costs 50 cents per month, which is deducted from the subscriber’s airtime balance.
“Road emergencies can occur at any time. There is nothing worse than being stuck by the roadside struggling to contact someone,” Telecel Zimbabwe marketing director Octivius Kahiya, said.
“By subscribing to 911 Road Assist, our customers can have the peace of mind of knowing that if they have a vehicle breakdown or are in need of any roadside assistance, all they would have to do is dial *160# and their request for help will go to the four numbers they have specified when registering for the service,” he said.
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“The introduction of this new value added service is the latest of a number of services we have introduced to offer our clients additional value, in line with Telecel’s brand anchors of providing innovation and best value for money to its subscribers.”
Kahiya said that in seeking to add value to the services it offered, Telecel had considered, among other issues, how it could assist subscribers when they found themselves in difficulties.
Early last year the mobile company introduced emergency airtime for pre-paid subscribers who found they had run out of airtime and still had urgent calls they needed to make.
In such situations a subscriber could, by dialling *143#, obtain a small amount of airtime on credit which is deducted when the subscriber next recharges the account.
“Vehicle breakdowns are another common problem. This can be particularly difficult if you have a breakdown far away from your home or from any town or city, especially if you only have limited airtime in your phone.
“We hope that the provision of this facility will be of assistance to our subscribers,” Kahiya added.
