SMSes to become more user-friendly

Gopal Sharma's SMS usage was limited to sending text messages to friends and families and occasional messages to check the balance in savings account or order a cheque book. But all that is set to change, with a whole lot of opportunities and services that can be opened up by sending a simple text message.

Wireless transactions company PayMate, for example, has rolled out a solution, which enables calling a taxi through an SMS. The company has partnered with Akbar Car Rentals to provide the service in six cities and may extend it to 10 other cities.

Jet Airways had launched an SMS check-in facility for its frequent fliers that permits a passenger to send a text message to check-in for a flight.

Fame Adlabs and PVR Cinemas enable users to book tickets over mobile phones, while a number of websites help movie-goers book tickets anywhere in the country by sending an SMS. The mobile service providers in the country, including Bharti Airtel, are looking at offering location-based services over SMS. The companies will send a reply SMS, informing the user the exact address of a chemist, a petrol pump or an ATM.

According to Jithu Niruthambath, India director, business development, Texas Instruments (TI), SMS will be the key driver for telephony growth in the country as the services it can provide is constantly increasing. Moreover, telecom service providers are also looking at SMS as the medium for the rural foray.

In rural India, farmers have begun checking the prices of commodities, buying or selling of materials and making payments through text messages.

Telecom solutions providers were increasingly rolling out SMSes in vernacular languages to help farmers use the services, he said.

On a rough estimate, around 10 billion messages are being sent each month in the country. This is slated to increase manifold with the over 6 million a month subscriber addition in the country. The power of SMS does not end here. A user can buy books, movies, medicines, groceries and cast vote for a TV show, apart from taking part in the country's e-governance initiatives.

Mobile majors have also launched anti-theft software that send SMSes to a pre-designated number when the SIM card of a phone is removed. This prevents mobile theft as the SIM cannot be changed, in turn, making the stolen handset useless.

Said Gartner India research analyst Neha Gupta: "SMS has a good acceptance from the market and is still the killer application on mobile phones. This is also used as an educational tool and to send mass messages in case of calamities such as flooding among others."

However, revenues from SMSes are still not encouraging for mobile operators. The total revenues from value-added services (VAS) constitute only around 10 per cent of the total revenues, of which SMS contributes around 57 per cent, according to a Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) study.

A research agency said the Indian VAS market was around Rs 3,000 crore and was expected to grow to Rs 4,500 crore this year. Even though other services such as content download, ringtones and GPRS would bring in revenues, the majority would come in from SMS services.