Bar-coded SMS to make tickets redundant

You may no longer have to bother collecting your ticket from an airline office or carry a printout of the ticket downloaded from the internet.

Even going to a cinema hall to book a movie ticket could be a thing of the past. Bar coded SMS will now verify details of your tickets.

After booking his ticket on the mobile phone, the customer will receive an SMS carrying a seven-digit number in bar code form.

This bar-coded SMS could then be scanned by readers at airports and movie halls. The bar code SMS also provides a 120 character text messages describing the offer.

Technology company Value First is already undertaking a pilot test, with the service expected to be launched next month.

"The bar code SMS is compatible with both GSM and CDMA handsets, provided it has a picture display facility. The customer is notified immediately as soon as he books a ticket or gets an offer. It does away with the hassles of misplacing or forgetting to carry tickets or checking e-mail to get your e-ticket," said Vijay Shukla, country head of Value First which will offer the service on its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).

The company is in talks for tie-ups with airlines, cinema halls, banks, major retail outlets, advertising agencies, online portals and a few state governments for m-governance (mobile governance).

Companies can design various contests, promotions, invitations or offers for the targeted customers. The service was first launched in the UK two years ago on the CDMA platform.

But in India the service will be available across both CDMA and GSM. By the way, if you delete the SMS, there is a facility to retrieve it as well!