Sound of money

TECHNOLOGY: Hutch opts for scratch cards to up ringtone revenue.

Never tried to download a ringtone or a caller-tune? Did the process intimidate you, like it did many others? Were you worried about the cost of these services? Well, Hutch has decided to make life easy for you by launching low denomination (Rs 20-45) pre-paid cards for these services.

Research has indicated that "" 'I don't know how' "" is the primary reason that non-users (of these services) offer," says Naveen Chopra, chief marketing officer, Hutchison Essar.

The so-called "Fun Cards" present users with a familiar scratch card mechanism "" 75 per cent of Hutch subscribers are in the pre-paid category which use scratch cards "" and can be bought off the retail shelves, pre-loaded with specific music content.

With 60 different category options to choose from, and category refreshment every month, Hutch is hoping that the specificity of each purchase will entice users and boost average revenue per user (ARPU).

The Ringtones Fun Card, at Rs 20, will have a choice of three tunes while the Caller tunes card, with one tune and a month's subscription fee, will cost Rs 45.

The new products offer no cost benefit for the user, but Chopra believes it is more transparent, and that will give comfort to the subscribers.

Value added services (VAS) contribute 7-9 per cent of a telecom operators' revenue, according to the Cellular Operators Association of India. Short messaging service (SMS) accounts for the largest chunk of VAS revenue, while music contributes about 25 per cent.

"There is no doubting the size of the mobile music industry in India, with estimates showing people purchasing 15 million ringtones and caller tunes each month," says Mandar Thakur, general manager, SoundBuzz, an online retailer and mobile music provider.

While ringtones are music to the ears of the user, they represent the sound of money to telecom companies.