Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Jun 25, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Jun 25, 2005 |
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Info-Tech
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Telecommunications Marketing - Strategy Variety - Entertainment & Leisure BSNL hopes to mop up Rs 500 cr through value-added services — Ties up with Mauj for movie-based mobile gaming Our Bureau
Mr Anil K. Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL, with film star, Mr Abhishek Bachchan, at the launch of Sarkar games and videos for CellOne subscribers, in the Capital on Friday. — Ramesh Sharma
New Delhi , June 24 WITH revenues from voice calls dipping, cellular operators are heavily banking on value-added services such as games, ring tones and data downloads to keep their cash registers ringing. State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd on Friday said that it was eyeing close to Rs 500 crore from content-based value-added services this year compared to Rs 50 crore it earned last year. The company has tied up with content provider Mauj to offer film-based content and games based on the forthcoming movie Sarkar Speaking on the occasion Mr A.K. Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL, said, "Downloads form a significant part of revenues and nothing connects with the common man as Bollywood. Film-based games and content are a rage and the game Sarkar is another step in that direction." The tie-up with Mauj will enable BSNL's CellOne subscriber to play games based on the Abhishek Bachan starrer apart from getting access to wallpapers and movie clips. The features will be available to subscribers having a GPRS connection. BSNL has also waived the activation charge for GPRS connection. "Our value-added services include both voice-based and SMS-based services, being offered on CellOne Home portals — CellOne Galaxy and CellOne Safari. Access to CellOne GPRS portal will be free from today," Mr A.K. Sinha, said at a press conference here. BSNL's content-based services include video-on-demand, interactive gaming, live and time shifted TV. BSNL's cellular service saw 78 per cent growth in subscribers last year. The company plans to add 40 lakh mobile users every quarter during this financial year. Mr Arun Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, Mauj, said: "India has seen tremendous growth in mobile gaming and content market and is set to become one of the largest individual market by revenue and users. Tie-ups with Bollywood production houses and cellular operators will take mobile entertainment experience to a new level." Other mobile operators, such as Reliance Infocomm, are also betting big on mobile gaming. The company has launched a series of initiatives in its WebWorld to cash in on the popularity. Telecom analysts have pegged mobile gaming as the next big revenue earner after short messaging.
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