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Wireless Federation » archive for 'VAS'

Indonesia’s mobile penetration may reach 62.4% in 2010 (Indonesia)

  • September 1st, 2008
  • 6:55 am

Indonesia’s mobile market has growing rapidly with the number of subscribers heading for 120 million in 2008, up from 90 million in early 2008, having grown by nearly 40% in 2007. There is vast opportunity for market expansion in Indonesia when compared with some of its Asian neighbours.  For strong growth to continue, the sector must take advantage of the government’s regulatory changes and find ways of attracting more foreign capital into the market place. Value-added services have become important and 3G has arrived.

OPERATOR                                 SUBSCRIBERS (IN MILLION)
Telkomsel                                                   50.55
Indosat                                                      26.42
Excelcomindo                                              22.42
PT Mobile8                                                    3.77
3                                                                 3.21
Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia             0.41

Smart Telecom                                               0.5
Bakrie Telecom                                              4.46
Telkom                                                         6.69

Notable highlights of the Indonesia Mobile Forecast include:

  • Indonesia continues to be the most profitable market in East Asia. It is forecasted that average EBITDA margins in Indonesia at 63.7% in 2010. Telkomsel, in particular, will continue to be one of the most profitable wireless operators in the world with an EBITDA margin of 68.2%.
  • The wireless penetration level in Indonesia is steadily increasing. It will increase from the projected 50.9% in 2008 to 62.4% in 2010. The number of total subscribers will increase from 115.8 million to 146.2 million from 2008 - 2010.
  • Although the total subscriber base will continue to grow, Telkomsel, the largest operator in the country, will be losing its market share to competitors. According to the forecast that the market share (by subscribers) of Telkomsel will decrease from the projected 50.4% in 2008 to 47.9% in 2010.

   

Zain launches 3 services for subscribers under USSD (Sierra Leone)

  • August 26th, 2008
  • 7:59 am

Zain Sierra Leone has announced to launch it’s three brand new services for the subscribers named under Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD).

Services:

  • Call Me: Allows the subscribers to send SMSes even when there is no call credit in the phone, which will allow them to ask other Zain subscribers to call them.
  • Know Number: For those who find it difficult to remember their own phone numbers.
  • Notify Me: Allows subscribers to know whether the number they are trying to call is switched off or out of coverage area.

According to Zain’s brand and communications officer, Ann Marie Ansumana, “Zain USSD service does not require additional ordering or activation, and is provided for you on a permanent basis, free of charge.”

USSD will give subscribers easy access to VAS.

   

iPhone monthly bills to cost heavy on Indian pockets (India)

  • August 25th, 2008
  • 2:06 pm

The iPhone 3G launch in India has not been that good and on top of that, for the users this touchscreen handset is expected to raise their monthly phone bills far more than other hi-end mobiles in the market, reports ET.
According to the industry experts an iPhone might increase billing charges by up to 25-30 per cent, which will get the two operators, Vodafone and Airtel earning all the money.
While Vodafone is giving 250 MB and 600 MB data usage free per month on a plan of Rs 799 and Rs 999, respectively, Bharti Airtel is offering free 500 MB per month on iPhone-specific plans that will have a basic rent of Rs 600 per month, which are based on net-surfing on their networks.
But for the Analysts, the plans are not economical, as the iPhone will encourage users to spend more through its value added services (VAS) and bundling stratergies.
For Manoj Mohta, head of another analysis firm CRISIL Research, it’s the lack of 3G services that makes the iPhone too expensive for too little in return. “Only after 3G comes in will the service providers launch more of data-oriented plans. But until then it will remain an expensive proposition,” said Mohta.
The telcos are also aiming to raise data usage.
Sanjay Gupta, chief marketing officer for mobile services at Bharti Airtel, said, “Our aim will be to promote that data usage here too. The iPhone is already known for its VAS like GPRS, maps and iTunes.”

   

Warid Telecom launches country’s 2 new VAS, Music Zone and Gaming Zone

  • August 19th, 2008
  • 1:29 pm

Warid Telecom, Uganda, launched two new value added services (VAS) Music Zone and Gaming Zone, claiming a first for the country.

The Music Zone Service allows it’s subscribers to listen to music for as long as they want for a flat-rate fee of UGX299 (USD0.18), whereas Gaming Zone allows subscribers to enter a five digit combination for the chance to win UGX10 million.
Warid plans to launch more VAS in the coming months as initial demand from subscribers has been ‘phenomenal’.

‘We have been pleasantly surprised by the response of the consumers to these services and will strive to make a mobile phone go beyond mere voice telephony to a complete 360 degree consumer experience.’ says Warid’s chief operating officer, Tushar Maheshwari.

   

Taiwan Mobile launches GPS service in cooperation with Garmin (Taiwan)

  • August 12th, 2008
  • 1:28 pm

Taiwan Mobile has launched a customized GPS service in collaboration with Garmin.

The service will be available to the TWM’s mobile subscribers for a one off payment of NT$1,200 (US$38.5) or 13 monthly payments of NT$100 and they will be able access to the GPS service on more than 70 handsets.

TWM aims to boost the revenues generated by mobile VAS to 10% of its total revenues by year-end 2008 compared to 9% currently.

According to further reports, Garmin and TWM may extend their current cooperation to include Garmin’s forthcoming Nuvifone GPS-enabled phone.

   

Bharti Telesoft considers 3G an oppurtunity to provide high-end services (India)

  • August 11th, 2008
  • 9:22 am

With 3G spectrum coming in India, VAS providers are all gearing up to effectively influence the technology.

Bharti Telesoft, Global VAS solution provider, is considering 3G an oppurtunity that will allow the players to introduce high-end services, reports ET.

“With third-generation guidelines in place in the telecom sector, the business metrics of telecom players in India is all set to undergo a change,” Bharti Telesoft Chairman Manoranjan Mohapatara.

With the launch of 3G, there’ll be a shift from volume-based to high-end markets.

“It would also act as a revenue-generating tool for operators. Besides, there would be increased services of Internet on mobile phones,” Mohapatra said.

Once the auction procedures are done with, operators would partner with VAS players to offer high-end services to their subscribers.

Sensing a huge opportunity in 3G spectrum, Bharti Telesoft is already in talks with a few leading operators, Mohapatara said. Content would be a bigger driver for 3G than handsets, he said.

   

Telecom Minister concerned over slow growth of BSNL (India)

  • August 8th, 2008
  • 11:25 am

Fretful over the sluggish growth of BSNL, Department of Telecom to work out a mechanism where important decisions could be expedited fast to drive more revenue for the PSU asked Telecom Minister A Raja. DoT being the nodal ministry can ask the PSU to speed up decisions and the minister has asked the Secretary to structure a device of regular monitoring of such proposals in DoT itself through the Government’s nominee on BSNL board.

The Minister said that in the competitive environment there is scope for increasing revenue from Value Added Services and BSNL can get much more revenue from VAS if it is able to take quick decisions. “A large number of proposals for VAS on revenue sharing basis in which no investments is required from BSNL are pending with the PSU for long for decision making. BSNL may be directed to look into such proposals on priority and in time-bound manner,” Raja further said. Raja believes that private Telecom operators drawing significant revenues from VAS and in a cheap tariff scenario, revenues from other services like VAS holds potential for a robust growth.

Bharti Airtel launches Grameen Mobile Puratchi, a rural campaign (India)

  • August 8th, 2008
  • 8:48 am

Bharti Airtel has unveiled the “Grameen Mobile Puratchi” campaign for the rural market, ET reports.
After doing a pilot study in January this year, we are formally inaugurating the campaign in Tamil Nadu” Bharti Airtel Ltd Chief Executive Officer (Mobile Services) Tamil Nadu region Rajiv Rajagopal said.

Nokia Seimens Networks wins extension deal with Indosat (Indonesia)

  • August 4th, 2008
  • 1:25 pm

Nokia Seimens Networks (NSN), telecom equipment manufacturer, won a contract extension for soft - switching from Indosat, Indonesian mobile operator.Operating the mobile soft-switching solution will allow Indosat to meet future capacity demands and offer customer reliability and VAS.

   

Airtel Live may be implanted in Nokia handsets (India)

  • August 4th, 2008
  • 10:30 am

According to an Economic Times story, Airtel Live, the VAS application of Bharti Airtel, may be implanted in Nokia, irrespective of the customer’s mobile operator and network. “The icon will be available in all handsets and hence will remain inactive if the consumer is not using an Airtel connection. It then also serves as a huge branding tool,” Bharti Airtel’s chief marketing officer (mobility) Sanjay Gupta told ET.

Additionally, the company is also launching it’s social networking service, Airtel Mobile Campus, focusing on top 10 cities of the country.This service includes photo and video sharing, blog, bulk sms, contests and discussion forums.

Bharti Airtel’s VAS revenue contributes a 10% to its turnover.