yu, the mobile phone brand of Essar Telecom Kenya Limited has added Facebook to its Peperusha platform making the social networking site available to subscribers without the need for an internet connection. Users of Peperusha – yu’s SMS chat and email service, can now update their facebook status or profiles, as well as chat with their friends and families using their standard mobile phones with no internet capabilities. At just 25 cents per Facebook chat message or comment sent, Peperusha’s pay-as-you-go Facebook service is a great way to manage costs, rather than relying on a pre-pay data bundle or subscription. Users can also have their Facebook friends’ recent news updates pushed through to their mobile phone by sending ‘WALL’ to their yu Facebook setup number. Commenting on the new development, yu Country Manager, Madhur Taneja said: “Currently, the market is marching towards a digital era where a lot of companies offer product, services and solutions online. Working on the same concept and leveraging the online digital medium, yu is leading in the social networking revolution in Kenya by providing easy access to Facebook for everyone, without the need for expensive handsets or data plans which has been a major obstacle.” Peperusha is yu’s revolutionary mobile email and chat service for all SMS enabled mobile phones. To access facebook, subscribers can send *389# from their yu handsets or send help to 389 to avail the service. “Deploying Facebook on our current Peperusha service will enable our subscribers to send and receive emails and online chat messages via SMS in even the most remote parts of the country. This is a first of its kind in the telecom industry and I am very confident that our customers will find this service very convenient, useful and cost saving. Every time we launch innovative initiatives for our customers and receive positive feedback, we are motivated to go beyond conventional methods. As such, I attest to our consumers that we are committed to offering value added offers and they will always get more from yu.” Mr. Taneja added.