India Telecom

Voice messaging buzzes around

BANGALORE -- Voice messaging seems to have become the buzzword with Indian cellular service providers. Spice Telecom and BPL Mobile have recently tied up with Sabeer Bhatia's Navinmail to roll out two new products using voice-messaging platform for their subscribers.

By using 'MiVoice' of NavinMail, BPL Mobile subscribers can send and receive voice messages to the US and Canada at Rs 3.95 and to networks in Karnataka, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, etc, in the country at Rs 1.95. Another solution called mobile answer phone service (MAPS) will allow users to be reached even when their handsets are switched off. According to F.B. Cardoso, CEO of BPL Mobile, customers' feedback had shown that SMS has a language barrier and is impersonal. He said, "We have now removed these barriers by allowing the subscribers to send a message in their voice at almost the cost of an SMS.'' Sabeer Bhatia, chairman, Navin Communications is of the opinion that of the 7.7 million mobile phone subscribers in India, less than five percent enjoy voice mail facilities.

Spice Telecom will be offering similar Spice Voice Messaging (SVM) and Spice Answering Machine (SAM) in about a month. The rates for retrieving the messages are being worked out. The SVM will allow subscribers to send and receive messages to the US, Canada and to other enabled cellular services across the country. The SAM service will enable them to leave voice messages when a mobile phone is switched off, busy or out of range.

Sean Dexter, managing director (Karnataka) at Spice Telecom said as voice messaging becomes a popular concept in India, it would become a profitable service. He added, "It is bound to become popular, just the way SMS has.'' Voice messaing is pegged to become a Rs 10-crore market over the next five years.