| Under the aegis of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), top GSM operators Airtel, Hutch, BSNL and Idea Cellular have jointly developed a common IMS platform to ensure that customers can be on instant messaging, even if they do not use the same mobile service. |
| The new platform allows subscribers to be on instant messaging even if they are overseas and roaming in one of the member-operator's service "" provided an agreement to this effect exists. |
| The service, which might be called the GSM Messenger, is expected to be launched commercially this month and will be offered to customers free of cost for the first three months. |
| Industry insiders say, after the trial period, customers might have to pay between Rs 30 and Rs 50 per month for the service. |
| A senior executive of the COAI said: "The service will be aimed at the 12-18-year age group, which has been using instant chat on the PC." |
| At present, while most new phones are GPRS-enabled, at least 12 per cent of the customers have a GPRS service. |
| Some experts say that the new platform could challenge the moves by international search engines like Google and MSN, which have been pushing their instant messaging systems on the mobile phone, offering seamless services across PCs and mobile phones. |
| India, of course, is among the first countries in the world where the service will launched commercially. Turkey has already launched the service and operators in Spain and Italy are on the verge of doing so. |
| The GSM Association "" the club of GSM operators across the globe "" has roped in over 40 mobile operators across more than 55 countries and over a billion customers as part of the IMS programme. |
| Operators in Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa and Thailand are some of the Asian countries that have also joined the programme. |
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