Aryty Brings Overseas Prepaid Phone Credit Service To India

[Honest 836]

Aryty brings overseas prepaid phone credit service to India

6 Jul, 2008, 1447 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Prepaid mobile is a blessing in that it lets you decide the monthly spend on calls and a bane when credit runs out when you least expect, but US firm Aryty has designed a cure that will instantly top-up your talk time.

Aryty, a subsidiary of long distance telephony operator Gorilla Mobile, is all set to launch its overseas prepaid phone credit service in India that would allow anyone living in the US or Canada to remit mobile minutes to their kin back home.

"Currently the service is available in the US and Canada to send load or minutes credit to any phone in Philippines. The service is now being extended to India," Aryty Vice President (India & Middle East) Harbinder S Narula told PTI.

The company is in talks with Indian telecom operators to start the service on a pan-India scale.

"We are in talks with all the Indian operators. They liked our business model. We hope to start the service in the near future," he added.

Aryty, which is a slang for 'all righty' or 'no worries,' hopes to tap the huge Indian diaspora in the US and Canada for the success of the service. There are over 2.7 mn Indian in the US and under a million in Canada.

Narula said expatriates can send mobile minutes to their family members in India either through the company's website Aryty.com or directly from their mobile phone using text messaging (SMS).

There will not be any cap on the denominations as well. "Keeping in view the large number of Indian diaspora and the social mindset of Indians for whom family ties and being in contact with loved ones is important, this service becomes very attractive," Narula added.

Aryty will not be charging any amount or commission from its end. The charges would be subject to taxes and levies by the operator.

"We are working on a revenue sharing model with the Indian operators. We will not be charging anything from the consumer, Narula added.

The company is also eyeing to enter the Value-Added Service segment in the country as it would offer ring tones, music, and other mobile gift through it website for the Indian customer.

Narula further said, "If you pay for their (family members in India) mobile phone, then they can use their funds for other expenses. This is a simple and easy way to support the folks at home."

India has the lowest telecom tariffs in the world and with most mobile companies in India vying to increase the Average Revenue Per User, this service comes handy as the recharge for an Indian mobile phone can be facilitated from abroad, which would add to revenues of Indian operators, he added.

The company is also exploring the Middle East market where around eight mn Indians are estimated to reside