Honest 836 Report post Posted August 3, 2008 Handsets may flaunt Airtel Live 4 Aug, 2008, 0132 hrs IST, ET Bureau KOLKATA: In a bid to drive value-added services (VAS) revenue, Bharti Airtel has initiated talks with leading handset vendors, including Nokia, to embed its VAS application. The company wants to pre-load its Airtel Live platform as an icon in the handsets which the vendors will sell in India. The move is aimed at growing VAS revenue at a significantly higher pace than its overall growth. “We are exploring the option to tie up with handset vendors like Nokia to provide Airtel Live as an icon in a handset’s menu. Talks are at an early stage of discussion. 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. Airtel Live is multi-access entertainment portal on the mobile that provides a variety of rich content. At present, consumers can access it by using a GPRS connection in their handset. “If we can embed the icon, we will be able to increase accessibility for consumer and drive the usage. It will then help to grow our VAS revenue manifold,” Mr Gupta said. The company is also exploring newer products to grow its VAS business. Bharti Airtel’s VAS revenue contributes around 10% to its turnover. “There is a huge untapped opportunity to grow VAS in India, especially since the penetration level is quite low. It is the future growth area,” said Mr Gupta. In line with this, Bharti Airtel is foraying into the social networking space with an unique VAS application aimed at youth. Christened Airtel Mobile Campus, the service will be launched in all the circles. “However, the focus will be on the top 10 cities. We will promote this service primarily in education campuses,” Mr Gupta said. Airtel Mobile Campus is a result of intense market research, which was commissioned to the research firm IMRB. It is based on the mobile phone usage of Indian youth (age 15-24 years), which is essentially high SMS usage, low STD calls and higher calls during night. Airtel Mobile Campus has host of services such as sharing of photo and video, blog, bulk sms, contests and discussion forums. Call rates are also low at 25p and SMS at 10p during night and weekend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raccoon 53 Report post Posted August 4, 2008 (edited) Pathetic idea! I'd hate to see any Airtel icon or anything else on a ph that isnt on Airtel network. Lets not support these kinds of dubious moves guys... Its somewhat like supporing proprietary systems like CDMA! Anybody who wants to access Airtel Live can always do it the usual way... Seeing Airtel anywhere makes me see red... Edited August 4, 2008 by raccoon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rajat8676 0 Report post Posted August 4, 2008 Yeah, not a good move to hardcode Airtel in handsets. Irritating for customers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
