Topic:
Enterprise VoIP

In this session, we will learn how to setup a VoIP solution for your company using the open source telephony engine Asterisk.

This is the second event in the Asterisk series. Last month’s session was on how to create a VoiceSite using Asterisk.

Agenda:

• Hemanth Purohit, CEO, e-Horizons
• Group Discussion
• Dinner

When:
Monday, 26th May
7.00pm - 9.00pm

Where:
Netcore Solutions
4th Floor, Peninsula Chambers,
Peninsula Corporate Park,
GR Kadam Marg,
Lower Parel,
Mumbai - 400 013.

Click here to register.

Sponsors:

Venue: Netcore Solutions
Food & Beverages: e-Horizons

The April event of Mobile Monday Mumbai was on the topic “Voice-based VAS”, in which we learnt how to create and run a voice-based content portal for mobile phones.

Voice portals are the equivalent of Web portals, giving access to content and information through the voice channel on a mobile phone or landline.

Some Voice-portals runs by Operators and Media companies are:

• 543212 of Airtel
• 56789 of Vodafone
• 51234 of Reliance
• 55456 of Idea
• 5057827 of Star TV
• 5052525 of Sony TV
• 5056882 of MTV
• 5057272 of Dainik Jagran
• 5056776 of Manorama Online
• 5055454 of Big FM

Website = Voicesite

One does not need VC funding to start a website today. Domain names and hosting are cheap, while designing and programming can be arranged in a bootstrap budget.

The economics of websites and Web 2.0 allowed proliferation of startups and encouraged innovation because it took little for a startup with an idea to do a beta launch, gather feedback from community and then invest in scale and product enhancements.

The lightbulb that got activated in my head was that - just like websites, Voicesite is “startup’s play”.

The VoiceSite - ApniAwaz 02218181818

Lets imagine a VoiceSite called ApniAwaz available on the number 02218181818.

Just like a radio channel has a brand name and frequency, a voicesite too has a brand name (ApniAwaz) and access number (02218181818).

So if a user comes to know of the voicesite, he will dial the number from his mobile/phone and listen to the content of his choice available on this voicesite.

So what does it take to start such a service.

• E1 line from a telecom service provider
• Asterisk - application box
• Content

The E1 line will allow 32 simultaneous incoming calls on a number. This E1 line will be connected to an Asterisk box which will provide a IVRS-based menu that can be programmed to serve content from the content server/space.

So what does it cost to start such a service.

• E1 line will cost around Rs 65,000 to acquire and roughly about Rs 8,000 per month to operate inbound calling
• Low-end server to host Asterisk and content should cost around Rs 35,000
• If you are a techie you can setup and program Asterisk
• Assuming audio content is available and IPR owned

Here is a diagram explaining the broad flow.

Apache = Asterisk

LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP) played a crucial role in bringing down the cost of acquisition and operation of web servers. It brought the cost of websites within the reach of startups.

Without getting into the technical details, it would not be incorrect to say that the open source PBX & telephony engine Asterisk is to VoiceSites what the LAMP platform, (Apache in particular) was to websites.

Why the time for VoiceSites is now

Telephones have been around for more than a century. But the explosion of voice-based VAS and voice-portals happened only in the last 5 years or so. Why did it take that long for voice-based content services to take-off in India?

Some reasons that come to mind are to do with the readiness of the ecosystem and coming together of its entities.

• There was no critical mass i.e. it wasn’t a sizable market before 2002.
• Making STD or local calls was expensive for the user.
• Billing systems of telcos were not advanced enough to charge for non-voice calling items.
• Penetration of other payment instruments like credit/cash cards was low.

Three important hurdles have been removed from the growth path of Voicesites.

Potential market size as of May 2008 is around 275 million.

Open source technology like Asterisk makes it feasible for startups to launch innovative voice-based services. Therefore, lots of voicesites will get launched and the consumer will benefit from a choice of services at a competitive price.

Also, very recently most operators dropped national calling (STD) rates to Re 1. It means that by taking an E1 line from one telco, the service goes national. Users will access 02218181818 from anywhere in India and will only pay Re 1 per minute as call charges.

Business models

So how does one make money by running a voicesite? There are only two ways - advertiser pays or the user pays.

Charging the user for paid-content:
Credit card penetration is increasing at a good pace - India has close to 50 million credit card users. Cash-cards like ItzCash have also reached healthy usage levels. Therefore one way to charge users for paid content is via IVRS based online credit card or cash card charging. There are IVRS-based payment gateway companies ready to integrate with your voicesite.

Ad-funded model:
A voicesite can adopt the ad-funded model where the content is free and revenue is generated via audio-ads. Voicesites can be seen as on-demand radio. They are to radio what IPTV is to television. Therefore, radio advertisers would become the obvious target for advertising on voicesites.

But wait - voicesites are a better deal to advertisers than radio.

• Measurable ad delivery
• Captive listernership - user can’t fast forward or switch channel
• Actionable ads - advertiser can ask for response via IVRS

Voice portals are extending the reach and introducing new categories of users to value-added services, becasue they are multi-lingual and can be operated through IVRS or spoken commands (speech-recognition) without necessitating complicated downloads or settings.

The navigation menu, content and ads can be multi-lingual - a boon in a language rich country like India. Voicesites are handset agnostic and can be made available across operators on both CDMA & GSM networks. Even an illiterate rural user with the most basic handset can use the service.

The only limiting factor is the entrepreneur’s ability to think of innovative services!

So is there a catch? Am I missing something here? Would love to know from knowledgeable readers whether my lightbulb is faulty or is it indeed true that VoiceSites are an opportunity for startups and not just a realm of large companies.

Voice portals are the voice equivalent of Web Portals, giving access to content and information through spoken commands (speech-recognition) and touch tones by using IVRS.

Voice portals are extending the reach and introducing new categories of users to value-added services, since they are multi-lingual and can be operated through IVRS without complicated downloads or settings.

In this session of Mobile Monday, we will learn how to create and run a voice-based content portal for mobile phones.

Topic:
Voice-based VAS

Agenda:

• Mitul Limbani, CEO, Enterux Solutions
• Aditya Mhatre, Co-founder, Indicast
• Group Discussion
• Dinner

When:
Monday, 28th April
7.00pm - 9.00pm

Where:
Netcore Solutions
4th Floor, Peninsula Chambers,
Peninsula Corporate Park,
GR Kadam Marg,
Lower Parel,
Mumbai - 400 013.

Click here to register.

Thanks to Netcore Solutions for hosting the event at its office and supporting the community.

Thanks to PayMate for sponsoring the event and supporting the community.

Topic:
Wireles Commerce

Agenda:

• Akshay Sharma, AVP, Marketing & Brand Development, PayMate India
• Vishal Gupta, VP - Program Management, ClearTrip
• Saurabh Kanwar, VP - Content & Communication, Channel V
• Group Discussion
• Dinner

When:
Monday, 31st March
6.30pm - 9.30pm

Where:
Grapeviine
Club Peninsula,
Peninsula Corporate Park,
GR Kadam Marg,
Lower Parel,
Mumbai - 400 013.

Click here to register.

Sponsors:

Business paper Mint, has a sectoral analysis of telecom.

Proposals: Customs duty on project imports attracting 7.5% proposed to be reduced to 5%; Customs duty on specified raw materials and inputs for use in IT/electronic hardware industry proposed to be reduced from 10%/7.5% to Nil, on end-use basis; National Calamity Contingent duty (NCCD) at the rate of 1% proposed to be imposed on mobile phones. On imported mobile phones, this duty shall be levied as additional duty of customs;

Impact: In view of the low telephone penetration in India, reduction in customs duty on project imports and on specified raw materials and inputs for use in IT/electronic hardware industry likely to reduce per-line capital costs and make telecom services more affordable.

TechTree has a sectoral analysis of IT.

Excise duty on wireless datacards reduced from 16 percent to nil.

Increase in grant of Rs 180 crores to the Department of Information Technology, and allocation of funds to set up Broadband-enabled service centers in rural areas. Allocation of Rs 1,680 crore (from an earlier 1,500 crore) to the Department of Information Technology in 2008-09 while allocated funds to set up 100,000 Broadband Internet-enabled Common Service Centers in rural areas, State Wide Area Networks (SWAN), and for a new scheme for State Data Centers. Rs 75 crores wil be provided in the next financial year to the common service centers; Rs 450 crores have been allocated to SWAN, while Rs 275 crores have been granted for the State Data Centres.

Zero customs duty on Set-Top boxes

The finance minister also announced that specified parts of set-top boxes and specified raw materials for use in the IT/electronics hardware industry would be exempt from customs duty. This could mean a drop in prices of set-top boxes as well as TV, DVD players, etc. Add to it, customs duty on convergence products to be reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent.

Also Read: Telecom set for tax overhaul

Thanks to mChek for sponsoring the event and supporting the community.

Topic:
Mobile Payments

Agenda:

• Sanjay Swami, CEO, mChek
• Vivek Gawri, AVP Mobility, MakeMyTrip
• Q&A
• Group Discussion
• Dinner

When:
Monday, 25th January
6.30pm - 9.30pm

Where:
Grapeviine
Club Peninsula,
Peninsula Corporate Park,
GR Kadam Marg,
Lower Parel,
Mumbai - 400 013.

Click here to register.

Sponsors:

About mChek:
mChek is a Bangalore based mobile security and payments services. It recently won the GSMA Global Mobile Award 2008 for Best Billing and Customer Care Solution with Airtel for its mChek on Airtel postpaid bill payment service.

The mChek on Airtel mobile payments service has more than 60,000 transacting customers with a 90% repeat usage pattern, and has processed more than 100 million Rupees of mobile payments since its launch in September 2007.

MyToday offers 20+ SMS channels on various topics like News, Sensex, Cricket, Jokes, Horoscope and Bollywood free-of-cost to subscribers.

A user needs to subscribe to the service by sending an SMS to a pre-designated number (9845398453) with the text START followed by the name of service (Like NEWS or JOKES).

Abhijit Saxena, CEO, Netcore Solutions:

“The mobile phone is a true convergence device which would shortly replace the TV and the computer and text messaging is the most potent medium to reach large addressable audience in the shortest span of time,”

Even though it is a recently-launched service, the company sends out around 8 million SMSes per day to around 2.5 million subscribers. It is also adding around 20,000 new subscribers every day.

Free of cost!? Here’s how Netcore plans to make money.

Netcore Solutions, which has a tech team of around 110 personnel working in Mumbai and Bangalore, is looking at recovering its expenses for providing the service through advertisements.

Below the text of the subscribed content, it provides advertisements and links to the websites of the advertisers. It has roped in Birla Sun Life Insurance, Tata Sky, Nokia, Prudential ICICI and Moneycontrol.com among others as advertisers.

Netcore Solutions is the company I work for, when I’m not busy blogging or organising Mobile Mondays.

Thanks to TELiBrahma for sponsoring the event and supporting the community.

Topic:
Opportunities in Proximity Marketing through Bluetooth

Bluetooth Marketing is a way of allowing users to interact with an advertising panel or kiosk with their mobile phones to receive advertising content associated with a place or product or promotional content such as video clips, music, vouchers and coupons on their mobile phones in the vicinity of the display.

Agenda:

• Suresh Narasimha, CEO, TELiBrahma
• Rohinton Maloo, Director, TELiBrahma
• Q&A
• Group Discussion
• Dinner

When:
Monday, 21st January
6.30pm - 9.30pm

Where:
Grapeviine
Club Peninsula,
Peninsula Corporate Park,
GR Kadam Marg,
Lower Parel,
Mumbai - 400 013.

Click here to register.

Sponsors:

First, rural does not indicate poor. Service providers found mobile users in rural areas willing to pay good money, if offered the right services. However, local content would be key to growing the rural VAS market, said Krishna Durbha, head VAS, business and marketing at Reliance Communications. For example, a farmer would be interested to know the mandi price in his area, rather than quotes from remote cities. The challenge for an operator is to aggregate content that is as locally relevant as possible.

A feature unique to rural customers is the seasonal nature of their finances. A farmer wants to sell his crop before he pays for mobile application services, said Arun Pande, head of the Innovation Lab at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd in Mumbai. He emphasized the need for local information by adding that a farmer doesn’t want to know the weather forecast for “northern Maharashtra but for his field.”

Aditya Sood, founder and CEO, Center for Knowledge Societies, joined the discussion from Bangalore via teleconferencing. He shared findings from his Mobile Development Report done for Nokia. Click here to download the report.

Was good to interact with Mohit and contribute my bits towards the making of this report; and he is kind enough to mention my name in it.

The report gives a clear idea of the current and future of the mobile VAS market, including analysis of the dominant players in every part of the value chain. Along with identifying the key challenges currently existing in the market and how these challenges will evolve in the future or be overcome, the report also discusses the future wave of product and service offerings and the industry sentiment around each.

For the full report download of “Future of Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) in India”, click here.

For the Executive Summary Presentation of the report, click here.

To watch the Video of the Launch Event held on Stanford’s campus where the findings of the report were presented, followed by a panel discussion of industry leaders, click here.

To watch the event over Mobile phone, click here.