MTN Uganda has launched a Short Message Service (SMS) phone directory to enable customers access to the contact details of thousands of registered individuals, institutions and businesses in that country.

According to a statement from the telco its phone directory service currently has over 9,000 contacts made up of multinational organisations, businesses, traders, and media houses.

MTN Uganda’s chief marketing officer, Ernst Fonternel, said the phone directory would be convenient for both customers and business owners.

"While businesses have a requirement to become more discoverable at a low cost, customers can obtain their contact details hassle free,” he said.

“The MTN phone directory will provide marketers a convenient free solution to make themselves findable, while the public would be able to access registered entities contact details at an extremely affordable price. And since the solution is SMS based it is virtually available to everyone to explore as almost all handsets support SMS,” Fonternel explained.