Exciting times ahead

Indian Telecom space is heating up and how! Gartner’s research predict wireless services to hit $25.61 billion by year 2011. Year 2006 figures touched $2.95 billion making the growth per annum to be 18.4% per annum in the period 2007 – 2011. As expected, growth in data revenue will outpace voice revenue with a contribution of 22% in total wireless revenue in year 2011 as opposed to 9.6% in 2006.

 

Despite rapid expansion of wireless services in India, only about 2% of rural areas are covered while the total coverage area is 12.7%. Gartner predicts that of the expected 38.6% total coverage, 58% will be rural based connection and 95% will be urban connection.  

 

Drivers which we feel will fuel this growth are:

#   Lower entry level tariff

#   Under $25 handsets with current emphasis on research to provide entry level handsets

#   Attractive pricing of bundled up services with handset

#   Increased focus on rural marketing of cellular services

#   Greater efficiency in deployment of services

#   Integration of market players

#   Concentration of telecom operators to provide core service and marketing of these services

#   Further drop in call rates to match the landline rates

#   Expansion of businesses in semi-urban and rural areas

#   Availability of wider array, localized and user specific mobile Value Added Services

 

With the subscriber base expected to be 462 million by 2011, user friendly simple-to-use applications that can tap into the needs or aspirations of users will see fast adoption. Each region has its own need, but certain common denominators exist. Entertainment will always remain the primary desire of a subscriber (besides connectivity, of course).  Whether we take up from current scenario of TV and movie based entertainment or create new genres, Value Added Services developers and provides are never going to be short of space to expand.

 

And then there are services that fulfill needs of the users. Rural areas, which lack means of dissemination of information, will adopt such services if they are available at affordable prices. One of the most exciting applications will be the related to medical facilities. These facilities are relatively inaccessible to rural population. Their availability by means of video conferencing or even as a voice service is a space waiting to be tapped. Urban population, which is used to greater array of services, will demand their availability on mobiles.

 

Data revenue at rate of 22% of the predicted $25.61 billion works out to be $5.63 billion – enough to keep the existing players excited and attract new talent into this space.

3 cheers to 3G

We are very excited with the imminent adoption of 3G networks and technologies in India. For a country which is enamoured by television and films, high quality transmission of TV channels, downloading music tracks and streaming video is likely to be killer applications with availability of better bandwidth and reliable data transfer at high speed. 3G technologies have capability to support heavier downloads of multimedia files.

Mobile being such a personal product, entertainment on mobile will see phenomenal growth. Each user will make choices based on his tastes and content developers and providers can fulfill their demands on multimedia platform. Whether it is music on demand, streaming videos, video blogging, video chatting or films shot especially for small mobile screens, we wouldn’t be limited to voice or text.

Last mile connectivity being a major issue, number of Indians with internet access has been very limited. For a large number of present count of 170 million mobile subscribers, internet connectivity via 3G networks would be first brush with it dues to its faster internet browsing capability. Email functions by handheld is expected to become an essential service for mobile Indians in 3G scenario.

Rural India, which is the target for expansion of subscriber base, can be served well with applications that fulfill the lack of certain basic amenities. They include access to knowledge centres like institutes of learning or even libraries, medical facilities and others. Interactive learning can be facilitated with video conferencing or visually interactive medical aid over mobile phones or for that matter even talk to a medical representative sitting in some other location. Farming advice can be sought by sending visual images of their fields/crops to experts in government organisations.

Gaming which is on rise in India, will take off to greater heights as feature rich mobiles will offer console like gaming experience. New emerging technologies will support greater interaction among groups of users. Multiple user gaming, currently not much fun due to poor state of GPRS connection, will see phenomenal growth.

Mobile banking, payment through mobiles will be another growth dimension. Of course for telcos,  especially in current scenario of over subscribed to the point of choking networks, the most significant feature of 3G technologies is the capability to support greater number of voice and data customers. But 3G services, if priced correctly – and this is going to be the success determinant – will see mobiles evolving into an organiser, entertainment device, payment device and of course communication device for masses. Revenue from such value added services through 3G is the ray of light for telcos who will continue to see drop in the bottom line of voice revenue.

To hit the bull’s-eye

Studies continue to show that teenagers (16 – 19 year old) are first to adopt new technologies and products. This is a generation that has grown up on technology, adapts to changes easily without clinging to the comfort of familiar playthings, and has access to new products easily.  JupiterResearch report says that, though initial adoption of technology by older teenagers is likely to be more than two times than that by younger teens but this gap narrows significantly as technology matures. 

 

The telecom boom in India has seen a phenomenal increase in number of mobile subscribers even though the ARPU has steadily been dropping. By end of 2007, the number of mobile subscribers is expected to cross 200 million and teenagers will constitute a large segment of this wireless population. They have been enthusiastically adopting every new product, service and innovative technology that caters to their tastes. Ringtones that appeal to their music sense, sports updates especially cricket scores and trivia which is almost a religion in India, wallpapers of their favourite film stars and sports personalities, sms contests, valentine messages and many such products lead to a significant conclusion: For rapid adoption of new technologies, products and services have to be developed which appeal to teenager tastes. This is a segment that needs to be continuously watched and their changing interests and behaviour patterns tracked. This is especially significant for an India just about to step into the 3G era when most companies have already started work on developing innovative products for 3G networks. 

New Strategic Vision of One97

As we all know that Vision Statements and Mission Statements are the inspiring words for any organization to clearly and concisely convey the direction of the organization.  

One97 has now announced a new strategic vision as an integrated – voice, data and IN based – telecom VAS player, and has one of the largest third party CTI infrastructure in India today.  One97 Communications provides this array of services to telcos, corporate clients and retail consumers.

The Vision of One97 Communications – “Transform telecom networks into unrivaled media to deliver content, information and intelligent transactions to consumers worldwide”
 

Cities need Emergency Warning System

Virginia Tech tragedy has once again highlighted the need for emergency notifications communications system in today’s world. As society is becoming increasingly prone to attacks by terrorists and other anti-social elements, such a system will assist authorities in containing the extent of damage. If a messaging system had existed in Virginia Tech Univ, students could have been warned via SMS or out-dialers and number of casualties could have been considerably less. 

Location based messaging can be very effectively used in times of natural disasters or terrorist attacks without creating panic for general population. City governments, especially those which are susceptible to threats from terrorist organizations, ought to set up such systems on an urgent basis. 

And Corporate sponsorships is a good option for funding such services… 

White Water Rafting Experience by Team One97

If Team One97 works hard, it knows how to have real fun as well!! We keep going out every once in a while to give ourselves a break and come back refreshed. Our last trip was to Rishikesh on March 23rd, where we had an incredible river rafting experience.

A group of over 25 of us took an overnight journey by road to reach Shivpuri, where we camped amidst a beautiful scenario bound on all sides by lush mountains, with the lovely river flowing at our feet. The serene beauty was soon punctuated with our fun-filled laughter and thrilling squeaks as we began the white water rafting we had gone for. 

Here is a glimpse of the fun we all had: 

 

Launch of JuiceUp, an audio-video streaming application

We booked the media centre at Convergence India, invited few correspondents but when the city is buzzing with events – conferences at the venue, Fashion week and other summits, to attract media’s attention was no mean feat. But how well we managed to do it J. Or rather, it was the innovative application announced that hooked their interest.
 
Access to all audio-video content available on internet, ability to upload and broadcast self-generated content for all mobile subscribers to tune into, and access to prime content by partner content developers/broadcaster – all of it is possible by JuiceUp, the application announced. More on it…
 
One97 Communications Pvt. Ltd., in partnership with AirChord TeleVentures, announced the launch of JuiceUp, a mobicast (mobile + broadcast) application for the first time in India. JuiceUp is an exciting and innovative mobile application which enables a savvy generation of users to access audio-video feeds over GPRS/data connection. The application also allows the user to stream and broadcast self-generated content to anyone on the mobile network.
Users can now tune into any radio channel that is streamed over the internet from their mobile phones. This application has been developed on a proprietary technology which allows high quality music broadcast over small data throughput. The application will allow the user to access numerous feeds from across the world, and gives them linguistic choice including audio feeds of various Indian languages such as Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Tamil, etc.
 
The upload facility allows the users to upload content from their handsets using the client and GPRS connection or through the JuiceUp website. A P2P phenomenon was imminent in the mobile space and JuiceUp is an industry-first that allows user generated and branded content to be searched by all JuiceUp users.  A user can locate the content generated by fellow users through search tags.  At the moment the available content options fall far short of user appetite and JuiceUp comes as a welcome innovation.  JuiceUp allows users to create their own jukebox and broadcast it as a channel which other users can subscribe to. 

Users can now tune into any radio channel that is streamed over the internet from their mobile phones. This application has been developed on a proprietary technology which allows high quality music broadcast over small data throughput. The application will allow the user to access numerous feeds from across the world, and gives them linguistic choice including audio feeds of various Indian languages such as Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Tamil, etc. The upload facility allows the users to upload content from their handsets using the client and GPRS connection or through the JuiceUp website. A P2P phenomenon was imminent in the mobile space and JuiceUp is an industry-first that allows user generated and branded content to be searched by all JuiceUp users.  A user can locate the content generated by fellow users through search tags.  At the moment the available content options fall far short of user appetite and JuiceUp comes as a welcome innovation.  JuiceUp allows users to create their own jukebox and broadcast it as a channel which other users can subscribe to. 
 
There are no copyright issues since JuiceUp does not allow content to be downloaded, including user generated content – it can only be streamed. To download the application and get the activation key, users need to sms JuiceUp to 3030. JuiceUp will be distributed in India through various wireless operators and it can work on both CDMA and GSM handsets that are Java or Brew compatible.
 
Commenting on the launch, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Managing Director, One97 Communications said, “At One97, we recognize that mobile is a very personal medium and it should fulfill end-users’ desire to stream in personal choice of audio-video content. To make this possible has been our driving motivation. JuiceUp fulfills the dream of mobile subscribers for easy access to every kind of existing content on the internet and also upload their own content for public broadcast.”

Launch of new applications by One97 Communications

New services, innovative applications make Value Added Services in Mobile domain an exciting space for developers, mobile subscribers and service providers alike.
Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Managing Director, One97  Communications Pvt. Ltd. will be announcing the launch of innovative applications in a new mobile service stream, available for the first time in India, during a media engagement. The announcements with details about applications and exclusive partnership with patent owners will be made during Convergence India 2007, at the Media Centre on 21st March at 11.30 am. 

Vijay Shekhar Sharma on mobile VAS market in India

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and MD One97 Communications in conversation with Kiruba of The Kiruba Show.

Vijay also talks about how One97 started, the various offerings of One97, impact of 3G and the overall VAS market in India among other things. 

 

He also spoke about many firsts by One97 – India’s first short code sms service 3030, innovative business model of revenue share in mobile VAS services and others. The revenue share model went on to become a landmark in mobile VAS domain. It redefined the entire VAS business system and helped the category grow immensely.

 

MoCoNo anyone?

In the literary space, a possible trendsetting experiment of collaborative novel writing has been launched jointly by Penguin and De Montfort University. (News article) The experiment which will run for six weeks will lead to the novel ‘A Million Penguins’. It is based principles of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia; anyone can join in to write or edit without getting credit for words, characters, plot-twist or story. A Penguin editor will blog about the experiment, giving running commentary on the progress of the story, suggesting changes and possible directions it could take.
Why not include a mobile component to increase the collaborators’ number and enhance flexibility in terms of connectivity for contributing to the process. Next time local Penguin publishers in various countries can tie up with telcos to provision mobile collaboration along with online efforts.  Or maybe we will soon have an exclusively mobile collaborative novel. How would it be named – Mobile Collaborative Novel- MoCoNo?