Cell phones for e-chats
By Usha Somayaji | 19 Mar 2001
Where would you find corporates conferencing while on the move? And where, oh, where would you locate the next FMCG brand ambassador? On chat, says iSolv managing director Milind Agnihotri. Or more specifically, on mobile chat, says he after launching the first wireless chat mode in the country on BPL Mobile network in Mumbai.
Pune-based iSolv, which calls itself an 'innovative technology provider for the wireless Internet market', has provided the technology, and plans to stay focussed on the wireless internet channel.
It has provided the technology for 'Jetmobile', a Jet Airways mobile service giving real-time flight alerts and access to flight schedules, and for 'CitiAlert', a MoneyAlert mobile service from Citibank, the first of such money alert banking services in India.
In the latest iSolv offering, mobile chat – brand named 'mChat' – Mr. Agnihotri sees a new magic mantra for cellphone operators that is to peak up the traffic surge and swell the numbers.
"Voice is becoming a commodity business," he says. "The industry has seen a 40 per cent drop in voice-based revenues and with more operators entering the fray in each circle, margins will get further squeezed. The only difference would be in the kind of value-added services that are offered."
By the year 2003, a significant part of the revenue – over 50 per cent – will come from non-voice services, predicts Mr. Agnihotri, quoting statistics underlining the trend.
Of the estimated one billion plus phone users globally, 600 million now use mobiles. Globally, mobile user numbers are expected to go up to one billion by 2003. And while the 400 million PC-based net users are expected to grow to 700 million by 2003, over 50 per cent of them would be accessing the net through mobile devices, which include cell phone, PDAs and MP3s. Thus, there would be a virtual shift from dial-up PC-based Internet commerce to wireless devices.
With a technology shift occurring from low-speed circuit-switched networks to high-speed packet-switched networks, and from GSM to GPRS to 3G, the shift to non-voice services is seen to be inevitable.
On the Indian cellular scene, the 3 million plus user base of today is projected to reach 7.5 million by the end of 2001. More players are set to enter the game, apart from the forays made by public sector MTNL and BSNL, making voice a pure commodity product. Then there is also the threat of WLL, to add to the spectre of significantly falling revenues. The only option left to the Indian cellular operator is to focus on non-voice revenues, says Mr. Agnihotri.
Globally, of the estimated 400 million PC-based net users, 300 million use chat. With chat available on the mobile phone, the advantage of mobility offered by the cell phones will make PC users switch over from PCs to wireless devices.
Thus, says Mr. Agnihotri, mobile operators will benefit from a two-fold increase in mobile phone use. The first from existing mobile phone users who will switch from PC to mobile devices for the new service (chat), thereby increasing messaging traffic and revenues. The second would come from an entirely new user base, the young adult.
Steadily falling cell phone and airtime prices have already made them more accessible to the younger subscriber. Now, with chat being available through mChat, it will prove the clincher, says Mr. Agnihotri. mChat, he believes, is the perfect panacea, given the nature of its service, and the clientele it will bring in.
First, by offering the 'exact Internet chat experience' that net users enjoy on the desktop, mChat will hook the under-25 youth, which uses the net primarily for e-mail and chat. This will add a totally new segment to the mobile user base, whose current user profile is over 25 male with a business of his own or works as a company executive.
Besides, mChat will bring in more youthful users by virtue of being inexpensive, adds Mr. Agnihotri, since it uses low cost SMS messaging and works on multiple GSM networks. "You need to pay only when you send the message, but stay on all the time," says Agnihotri.
Other true 'chat' features such as anonymity (log in through an assumed alias), connect to strangers in the virtual world, meet in chat rooms, and stay "always on" (unless a pre-specified SMS is sent to exit the chat room) also feature on mChat. This time, they can also use them anytime, anywhere.
Competitive airtime charges, combined with steadily plummeting handset prices, have already brought cellphones within the reach of most youngsters. mChat will help multiply the numbers, says Mr. Agnihotri.
"Mobile internet has two uses – to save time or kill time," says he. "While the 'save time' applications have helped improve productivity through on-the-go access to corporate e-mail or databases, mChat now serves the other purpose – 'kill time', or in other words, fun and entertainment."
The 'fun' element will be aided by the range of mChat subjects such as Bollywood, teen, romance, travel, finance, cricket, unlimited chat topics, unlimited chat rooms on each topic, anonymous chat options, public and private chat rooms, celebrity chats, what have you.
For now, BPL Mobile, Mumbai, has introduced the service. "Others too will follow, once they realise the advantages," says Mr. Agnihotri. "We are already talking to a number of them, and will announce the tie-ups soon."
That's part of the story. The other application iSolv is proposing to popularise is mChat for corporates, and for FMCG producers.
According to Mr. Agnihotri, for corporates, mChat serves as a virtual conference room on the move, given its features of secure and private chat rooms restricted to closed circle chat participants. With iSolv technology that makes mChat available on all kinds of cellular phones, both WAP and non-WAP, and across multiple GSM cellular networks across the world, mChat can even work as a global conference room.
The other mantle iSolv offers through mChat is that of brand ambassador for FMCGs and private banks, where the idea of chat rooms for large brands to sell their goods or services to target audiences, is being put forth. Internet games, celebrity chats, quiz contests, wireless games are the numerous platforms that mChat offers.
Already, a feature called mWallet is being introduced to accelerate mChat and increase its stickiness. Purported to be a virtual mobile wallet, it has an automated process of dropping in questions in a chat room (specific to the subject of the chat room), which, when answered, earns the person a point, redeemable at retail outlets.
Then there are prizes for winner of the day, chatter of the week, and others. "This feature is sponsored by consumer brands, and offers them a focussed target group," Mr. Agnihotri says. "Opportunities also abound for large brands to sponsor community building features," he says.
Who said chat was only a teenage pastime?