In the past few years, the Indian mobile telephone industry has grown manifold.
It all started with a handful of mobile telephone operators combating to offer value-for-money voice call propositions, and, within a very short span of time, the market reached a saturation point in the voice business and thus opened the gates for exploring unique applications and services under the value added services (VAS) vertical.
With unique service offerings and new applications in the VAS space, the idea is to explore newer ways of revenue enhancements and at the same time offering relevant services to the customer.
We are witnessing an era when users buy mobile phones not just to be in touch, but to express themselves. Customers continuously want more from their mobile phones. They use their mobile phones to play games, read news headlines, listen to music, keep a tab on astrology, check their bank balance, etc. This world of VAS is constantly pushing its boundary outwardly!
At Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) too, we have a large VAS portfolio for all our customers. The range of our value added services has been created on the basis of various customer requirements and needs. To top it all, we have also ensured that we provide a local flavor and innovative infotainment applications to engage users on the go.
Tata DOCOMO?s VAS portfolio broadly comprises of:
Entertainment VAS: This category services such as jokes, Bollywood ringtones, Caller Ring Back Tone, games, etc.
Informative VAS: These services are characterised by the useful information it provides to the end user. Services such as receiving information on your mobile, pertaining to movie tickets, news, banking account, etc, contributes largely towards this VAS category. It also includes user request for information on other product categories like real-estate, education, stock updates, etc.
mCommerce VAS (transactional services): This category refers to services which involve a mobile handset-based transaction. An example of this kind of service is buying movie tickets using the mobile phone or transfer of money from one bank account to the other, booking airline tickets, etc. It can broadly be classified into two types of services, Mobile banking and Mobile payments.
All in all, the VAS sector demands a higher degree of integration between telecom operators and mobile phone manufacturers.
The vast VAS market in today?s telephony segment has led to the emergence of innumerable indigenous handset manufacturers who are rapidly increasing their market share.
