The Hindu : General Packet Radio Service providers poised for growth

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 09, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

General Packet Radio Service providers poised for growth

By Rasheed Kappan

BANGALORE, JAN. 8. Fall in prices of General Packet Radio Service-enabled mobile handsets and an increasingly net-savvy subscriber base has pushed the number of General Packet Radio Service users to more than 30,000 in the State. The companies providing this service are poised for a robust growth ahead.

The three private cellular service providers in the State — Airtel, Spice and Hutch — are all on an upgradation drive, peppering their Wireless Application Protocol-enabled sites with value-added services. Connecting to the Internet on the move is getting faster, exciting and loaded with more fun.

With an existing 5,000 subscribers using its products on the General Packet Radio Service platform in the State (one lakh in the country), Hutch is upbeat. "We are seeing a growth of 20 per cent month after month of various General Packet Radio Service subscribers. At any point of time, approximately 15 per cent of subscribers are using these radio service services/applications," according to Samuel Selvakumar, Chief Executive Officer, Hutchison Essar South Limited.

Spice Telecom now has about 10,000 subscribers hooked onto its MySpice Plus Scheme. "Under this scheme, users are offered data connectivity and Wireless Application Protocol access with 120 free SMS and free VoiceMail. It also allows fax communication and net connection through `bluetooth' and `infra-red'," Parthasarathy Madhukar, Manager, Enhanced Services, Spice Communications, Karnataka, has said.

Spice hopes to push its current MMS subscriber base of 5,200 to about 30,000 within a year. "We introduced our Wireless Application Protocol and data services four years ago and MMS in August last year.

With more and more users getting camera phones and high-end models becoming affordable, MMS subscribers will surely increase manifold," Mr. Madhukar says.

Spice has an exclusive Wireless Application Protocol site, wap.spicetele.com, offering real-time information on Bangalore, two-way games and links to popular Wireless Application Protocol sites.

Airtel launched Airtel Online on December 25, last offering unlimited MMS, Games, Wallpapers, Ringtones and other Wireless Application Protocol-based services at Rs. 99 per month. Its General Packet Radio Service at Rs. 600 per month allows subscribers to browse the net through "infra-red." This one-year-old service now has 2,000 users while Airtel Online has attracted 5,000 subscribers, according to Dhananjaya, Airtel Karnataka's Sales and Marketing Head.

"MMS is one of the fastest growing services," Mr. Selvakumar says. "New handsets with camera and MMS/General Packet Radio Service compatibility are witnessing a phenomenal growth," he adds. On its General Packet Radio Service platform, Hutch offers Hutchworld, a Wireless Application Protocol-enabled site offering download applications such as games, polyphonic ringtones, logos, music cards, videos and Hutch Access. Mr. Selvakumar says: "We also have applications such as live cricket replays which we are currently promoting. Hutch Access is a service where a customer can use the Hutch network to browse the web in its entirety."

Under Hutch's Rs. 99 per month offer, users can access MMS, news and entertainment videos, astrology, sports, downloads, Yahoo! and Rediffmail without any additional access charge.

To the service providers' glee, the user profile of MMS and General Packet Radio Service services is expanding. "Both these services are fast becoming mass usage services and people from all walks of life are using and enjoying these. We have seen the usage of Hutch Access to surf the web for education and professional work even in smaller markets such as Davangere and Manipal," Mr. Selvakumar says.

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