m-? : redefining MVAS

Potential of Mobile VAS to Bridge Rural Urban Digital Divide in India Rishimohan Malhotra, Head – VAS Marketing, Tata Docomo

Security, reliability and 'performance are critical factors for mobile financial services Atul Madan, Head of Mobile Digital Services, Mahindra Comviva

The so called new VAS will be around user engagement , cross sell and up sell Rajesh Razdan, Founder & Director, mCarbon tech innovation

VAS services will act as a key revenue driver as well as a differentiator for any telecom service provider Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel

LINE is messenger service for the next generation Jun Masuda, the chief strategy & marketing officer, LINE Corporation

TELELINKERS December 2013 Vol 01 Issue 02

Let’s talk Telecom a journal for global telecommunication community

“m-? : redefining MVAS”

TELELINKERS December 2013 2

Editor’s desk...... Indian Telecom market is getting ready for High Speed networks. Once operational these networks will create path for new kind of services. Data Services, Video streaming or download, Gaming and others usage will increase. What will be the key drivers for adoption of Data and Media services : First will be the availability of High Speed Networks, second will be affordability of Smart Devices, Third will be the attractive Tariffs & Packs. Applications, M2M and Internet of things will be boosters for operators as they will generate additional value from devices beyond Handsets, Dongles or Tablets. Yes it is indeed going to be a business shift for operators but then at the same time it will depend upon their strategy and approach. Quality of Service, availability of Network Bandwidth, affordability level of services, introduction of new & innovative offers will be the key factors they need to take care to generate maximum value. The theme of this edition is m? : redefining mVAS, as today definition of such services is changing. The Question mark symbol is referring to newer domains like commerce, health, education etc.

Bhanu Pratap

Contents...... News Flash 03 Telecom Talk The so called new VAS will be 05

around user engagement , cross sell and up sell including detailed segmented offerings Rajesh Razdan, Co-Founder & Director, mCarbon tech innovation

VAS services will act as a key 07 revenue driver as well as a differentiator for any telecom service provider Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel

Security, reliability and ' 09

performance are critical factors for mobile financial services Atul Madan, Head of Mobile Digital Services, Mahindra Comviva

Potential of Mobile VAS to 12 Bridge Rural Urban Digital Divide in India Rishimohan Malhotra, Head – VAS Marketing, Tata Docomo LINE is messenger service for the 15

next generation Jun Masuda, the chief strategy and marketing officer, LINE Corporation

Facts & Figures 17 Designed and conceptualized by :

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Tata DOCOMO launches mobile advertising service platform for GSM and CDMA network Tata DOCOMO announces the launch of its unique mobile advertising service platform – GET (GetEasyTalktime). It is in partnership with mAdcall Pvt Ltd. Vodafone and Rockstand Join Hands to create a new Digital Reading Revolution in India There will be exclusive subscription option for Vodafone users where they can purchase books & magazines at Rs 7 per day. Apart from this Vodafone users will also have access to choose from the gamut of books and magazines of their choices. Now book Railway ticket in a minute with Airtel Money airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL) is a fully owned subsidiary of Bharti airtel Limited. AMSL's flagship product is semi-closed wallet - launched under the brand name 'airtel Money'. MTS and Hungama Mobile launches ‘MTS Contest Zone’ This special contests zone on IVR enables users to browse through a host of contests and games across categories - General Knowledge, Bollywood, Sports, Festivals & Special Events to name a few. Aircel and Techzone launch ‘Re 1 Store’ Aircel has enhanced its offerings for their users by opening the exciting Re 1 store that includes downloading Videos, Full Tracks, Images and Games just for Re 1. Airtel selects Vuclip as Strategic Mobile Video Media Partner to power Re. 1 Entertainment Store This mobile entertainment store is the first of its kind and brings a host of services including music, games, photos and videos. The video section allows Airtel customers across India to enjoy thousands of premium content videos. Vodafone India launches Vodafone AppStar Vodafone India has launched the unique Vodafone AppStar - an annual developer contest to encourage local adoption of mobile internet by focusing on the developer ecosystem.

Tata Docomo Launches Endless Music Service via Retail for its Prepay Customers In an industry first initiative, this value added service will be available to all Tata Docomo prepay GSM customers through electronic voucher distribution (EVD). Endless Music service will be available for both basic and smart phone users. All that a customer has to do is to visit any Tata Docomo retail partner outlet and recharge with the select denomination. MTS launches a devotional service called iDivine The service, launched in partnership with Shemaroo Entertainment, enables MBlaze customers to have LIVE Darshan from popular religious sites in the comfort of their homes. Vodafone India Partners With Twitter to Offer Free Twitter For Android App Vodafone India customers get free access of Twitter on their browser (mobile[dot]twitter[dot]com) and ‘Twitter for Android’ app without any mobile internet charges for three months. Aircel partners with Wikimedia Foundation to offer free mobile Wikipedia access The alliance is aimed at making knowledge available on Wikipedia accessible to all Aircel customers in both rural and urban areas for free. This is the first service of its kind to formally launch in India. Tata Docomo Introduces Social Networking Data Packs for Young and Connected Customers In a first of its kind initiative, the data offerings offer its young and always connected customers the choice of integrated Social Networking packages to choose from. Priced affordably, users can choose from a combination of Facebook, Twitter and FB Messenger packs. Vodafone launches 'Gammat Jammat', educates students on benifits of Mobile internet Vodafone India launched ‘Gammat Jammat’, a unique initiative aimed at building awareness on the benefits of mobile internet amongst school children in the rural districts of Maharashtra.

News Flash – Telecom Operators


News Flash – Solution Providers

Technology Focus

TeleDNA Partners with CLOUDMARK to launch SMS Security Solution in India TeleDNA’s Ageis(SMS) gateway coupled with Cloudmark’s mobile messaging security solution provides the fastest and most accurate protection against all types of mobile messaging abuse, including SMS and MMS spam. TeleDNA’s SMS Platform leverages Cloudmark Security Platform’s real-time content filtering services. OnMobile enables lighting a Candle at Shrines OnMobile Global Ltd. launched Light a Candle, a service which enables a person to request for a candle to be lit at the Holy Shrines on their behalf from anywhere, at any time. The service is as easy as using a recharge card, wherein the user simply purchases the card, enters the unique security number on the automated IVR and proceeds to place the request for the candle to be lit. Mahindra Comviva extends Partnership with Vantrix to address explosive growth of mobile video traffic With this partnership, Vantrix’s advanced video optimization solution, Bandwidth Optimizer, will be integrated with Mahindra Comviva’s Mobile Data Platform (MDP), which is targeted at addressing the broadband traffic and specifically Video Traffic for Policy Management, Optimization and Monetization (MOM). Rockstand launches first of its kind interactive Platform for avid Readers & Authors : ROCKCONNECT With a facility to connect people with similar reading interests, this feature will cut across the boundaries which means people across the geographies can interact with like-minded people on this platform. All you need is Rockstand application and after you registered yourself. KOBO Sets Sights on Billion-Reader Opportunity as it Introduces World-Class eReading Experience to India Kobo, a global leader in eReading, and leading Indian booksellers Crossword, WHSmith and electronics retailer Croma, today announced the arrival of Kobo’s digital reading platform in India. Readers will also have access to Kobo’s eBookstore, one of the largest in the world, featuring nearly 4-million titles across 68 languages.

WoNoBo, India’s first and only 360-degree-view platform, launched Genesys International Corporation, India’s leading geospatial solutions company, today announced the launch of WoNoBo.com. Users will be able to search, explore and share ‘points of interest’ across the length and breadth of the country. At launch, the service will be available for 12 major Indian cities and will soon be expanded to 54 cities. Adarsh Credit Co-Operative Society to use Mistral Mobile'sm-Agent solution to power its financial services Adarsh will equip its agents with Mistral Mobile’s m-Agent™ solution, enabling agents to perform a wide array of services for Adarsh’s members. These services may include opening new accounts, taking deposits, handling loans and other payment services. Shotformats launches the World’s first Offline Applications Store & India’s first Online Digital Prepaid Wallet – Biscoot Offline Application Stores are being launched in a staggered manner and the initial phase will cover Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Surat, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Indore, Rewa, Jabalpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Guwahati and Siliguri. Hungama App introduces its new version with adaptive streaming Hungama’s next generation music app, with over a million downloads has been receiving rave reviews by users; now the app is all set to take your music experience to the next level. TeleDNA introduces CBC for LTE Networks TeleDNA CBC Platform allows Telecom Operator to have a complete control over the cell broadcast message on its network. Cell Broadcast messages such as Emergency Alerts, Breaking News, Traffic Conditions, Sports News, Stock News, etc. can be broadcasted to entire network or a designated geographical area.

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Indian market is getting ready for high speed networks. How the VAS domain will change and what new things will come? India was a late entrant in the 3G arena but currently most mobile phones and smartphones run on the 3G network, both for voice and data access. 3G is used by some of the biggest carriers and, in spite of the arrival of 4G, still manages to retain its popularity. 3G services have managed to provide superior service experience for the users. However successful adoption of 4G services in India would still take time. Operators will increasingly need to make offerings independent of technology, device and network. Telcos have to come up with unique pricing models keeping a balance between affordability and data usage of Indian populace. As India is an acutely price-sensitive market dominated by prepaid users, offering 4G handsets at lower prices is likely to be a significant driver of adoption. As operators launch their 4G services and since consumer uptake has been limited so far for 3G, operators need to communicate a simple message to consumers: 4G can offer speeds of up to five times higher than the existing 3G connectivity. While being enthusiastic, operators will need to ensure that they can manage expectations. VAS domain per se has already been seeing moving from traditional business models of subscription to more of discovery and “event”. High bandwidth consuming applications will come into picture that will consume humongous amounts of data. These will be mostly towards video streaming, music & video download, video chat, etc. It is expected that market will shift towards data based revenues from traditional subscription based revenue models at present. Moreover, OTT applications will enable operators to make revenues on data stream. The so called new VAS will be around user engagement , cross sell and up sell including detailed segmented offerings. The network core assets will have to be unlocked to invite a broader spectrum of service providers to let

them broadly engage with end consumers making the operator connectivity more relevant. It’s clearly a dual sided business model led by hybrid product strategy. How is mCarbon getting ready for the future VAS trends? mCarbon has never been a traditional VAS organization. We are inclined towards providing solutions to our customers that resolve the most basic issues i.e. customer retention, user engagement and & revenue maximization. We believe in delivering innovation as a designed outcome which reflects in our solution areas ; cross sell and up sell offerings like talk time & data commerce, network marketing and customer value management ( CVM) solutions. In order to cater to the new rapidly evolving consumer behavior and business model, we will focus on these fundamentals helping opcos to connect various silos within the system and build a common engagement layer towards the customer. Recently you have launched a new product - USSD Gateway on cloud. What is this platform and how is it going to add value to existing USSD based services of Operators? USSD on cloud is a solution wherein we equip a telco with the power to connect & use USSD Gateway & Browser based application anytime from anywhere. The solution is hosted away from the operator premise on the cloud and able to connect & use the service using secure connectivity thus minimizing the investment. Hence, it adds value to the Telco by reducing Capex as well as Opex costs. It dramatically reduces the time to market for any service that uses USSD as a communication bearer. Earlier we had users now we have Smart users. How this affects VAS domain and how do you move along with the ever changing user habits?

' The so called new VAS will be around user engagement , cross sell and up sell including detailed segmented offerings ' …. The network core assets will have to be unlocked to invite a broader spectrum of service providers to let.…. Rajesh Razdan, Founder & Director, mCarbon Tech Innovation

Telecom Talk


With the development of smart gadgets and devices, there has been an increase in the number of Smart users leading to the development of enhanced offerings and innovative services. Need of the hour is to understand the emerging needs of the Smart Users and provide them with the right service. Being closer to the network with an operator gives us insightful information of the consumer spends, profiling and user preferences and the most easier access method of reaching out to the consumer. The customer engagement hence, becomes a hybrid use of platforms of voice, sms , USSD or data that we provide backed by a powerful analytics engine. What other products does mCarbon offers and what new products or solutions are next in line? mCarbon offers a bouquet of products that revolve around customer retention, customer value management, Usage & retention, Network marketing solutions as well as Core Network & messaging enablers. The next wave of products will help operators to connect to the platforms from anywhere and anytime in the areas mentioned above. The product engagement areas covers almost 100 % of the operator base and that defines the enormity of the service and the offerings. Many of our innovative offerings ride on the existing product or service hence saving valuable time and resources to go to market and integrate with the operator eco system. Tell us more about recent activities and achievements of mCarbon locally and globally. mCarbon has recently been conferred with the prestigious Red Herring 2013 Top 100 Asia Awards for being one of Asia’s most promising private technology ventures. In the past we have been awarded as Best “Valued Partner” for Innovation by Bharti Airtel, one of the largest telcos of the world for the year 2012 and also recognized by NASSCOM Emerge Forum in the League of Top 10 Companies in India for the year 2012. “m-?: redefining MVAS”, with what you would like to replace “?” Mobile was a foster child for digital commerce players until 3-4 years ago. The mobile channel was always looked upon as a means to express the level of innovation, futuristic business

outlook and other forms of aesthetic appeal but never as a mainstream channel for monetization. Companies in India simply did not fathom the disruptive potential of this medium partly due to lack of clarity around regulatory policies. As a result, mobile commerce failed to impress until 2010. The momentum this medium has gained over the past 5 years has made everyone sit up and take notice. We believe the world is at the cusp of an m-commerce revolution which will redefine the rules of digital commerce globally. Though still early days, India too is beginning to witness encouraging signs that seem to suggest that m-commerce revolution may not be far away. Examples of which can be services like Airtel Money, mRupee etc.

Telecom Talk


Indian market is getting ready for high speed networks. How the VAS domain will change and what new things will come? With the telecom industry witnessing a paradigm shift, we are seeing data emerge as the next big thing. Mobile data users in India crossed 150 mn in 2012-13. In fact, while earlier data revenue as percentage of telecom revenue used to increase by 1% point yearly, beginning 2013, the industry is seeing a 1% increase every quarter. With this trend continuing, we will end at around 180-200 Mn mobile Internet users in India and a revenue contribution of 8% which will reach 14% by end of 2014 suggesting the increasing need for high speed data networks. We believe that VAS services will act as a key revenue driver as well as a differentiator for any telecom service provider. We see urban cities driving Data Value Added Services (Data VAS) as they are the early adopters of Data and Smartphones while rural cities continuing to adopt Non-Data VAS products. Urban subscribers are maturing and upgrading from Non-Data VAS to Data VAS and hence, instead of witnessing shrinking of value added services, we are in fact seeing a faster momentum in adoption of Data services. How is Aircel getting ready for the future VAS trends? With the growing dependency on data, for Aircel, our Data-VAS segment has been doing extremely well. In fact we have doubled our Data VAS revenues in 6 months which is unprecedented. Overall, the data VAS segment has been doing its bit to generate revenues and has emerged as one of the fastest growing revenue segments for Aircel. Aircel has been introducing new products and services centered around data over the past 3-4 years. We started off with Pocket Internet which was accepted very well by the masses. There is a massive demand for content consumption on mobile but much of content still With the launch of 3G we

introduced the 3G smart PI with an aim to make 3G affordable. We then introduced 3G Mornings for our customers to come and experience 3G on our network. 2013 onwards we are seeing a rise in first time internet users or category entrants. We have been launching products such as PI 24 that are specifically targeted towards their monthly needs. We also gave our prepaid customers access to Wikipedia free of cost. In the future as well, we will continue to delight our subscribers with user friendly, innovative and value for money VAS services with a focus on driving data usage. How much is VAS contributing today in revenues and how much do you think it will increase with the availability of big bandwidth pipes? The rapid growth of VAS and Data is expected to contribute an important share in the revenue stream of the telecom industry. At Aircel, we have taken note on the shifting subscriber usage pattern and have devised many products and services especially in our Data-VAS segment. Last year at Aircel, music and games continued to grow at a very strong rate. Games alone contributed to 25% of the data VAS consumption in 2012, followed closely by videos and music at 22% and 20% respectively. Having said that, we believe that VAS services will act as a key revenue driver as well as a differentiator for any telecom service provider. Data uptake in the recent times has been encouraging and we are confident that in time, applications requiring high bandwidth such as video streaming or live chats will be an integral source of revenue for us. It is no more an operator driven market as there is competition from others especially OTT players. How do you co-op with them? Today Telecom extends itself beyond just traditional voice or SMS service offerings. Mobile internet is steadily growing as a key

Telecom Talk

' VAS services will act as a key revenue driver as well as a differentiator for any telecom service provider ' …. Indian telecom operators are cognizant of and have adapted to this shift. They are increasingly co-bundling free messengers and content services to push data…. Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel


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revenue generator and improved data offerings by operators has led to surge in the free text apps and Internet calls from OTT and messaging players. Indian telecom operators are cognizant of and have adapted to this shift. They are increasingly co-bundling free messengers and content services to push data usage. In fact, Aircel has taken the leap by tying up with one such OTT player last year. Today, Aircel is growing at 65% on data consumption; our data revenue has doubled in CY 2012 over 2011. We need to find a way to leverage the OTT market. If we do revenue share with OTT players, then our ability to develop infrastructure will be better. Earlier we had users now we have Smart users. How this affects VAS domain and how do you move along with the ever changing user habits? The VAS market in India is currently valued at over US$ 5 Billion and is expected to reach $ US 6 Billion before the end of this year. Aircel has taken note of the fact that the users are shifting from using SMS based services to internet based services. Also, we are gradually witnessing the user need of utility services in addition to entertainment services. Changes such as sharing of rich content like videos and photographs, watching movies online etc. are instrumental in the uptake of data usage that we are witnessing today. Basis these changing subscriber usage patterns and to meet the demands and requirements of our users spread across all target segments, Aircel has been constantly launching innovative and value for money products and services. Going forward, we shall keep this momentum going.

Indian market is a mix of old-new, rich-poor, urban-rural, low speed- high speed. How do you balance service offerings to get maximum returns? Aircel has always designed value for money and innovative products and services keeping the needs and requirements of our target audience in mind. We cater to a diverse set of customers and therefore bring to the market an array of offerings for them to choose from. In the recent times, we have brought to the market products meant for specific type of users. For instance, our Pocket Internet 24, which offers internet at effectively less than Re. 1 per day, is targeted at the first time internet users. Similarly, 3G Mornings where we offered free 3G data to our users from 6 to 9 AM was meant for those users who wanted to try high data speed. We have also launched various products targeted at the student community such as the “Fuccha” pack in Delhi. This goes on to show that we have been readily customizing our products and services for our subscribers. “m-? : redefining MVAS”, with what you would like to replace “?”? m-everything.

Telecom Talk


Indian market is getting ready for high speed networks. How the VAS domain will change and what new things will come? Mobile Value Added Services have experienced an exponential growth. So in the past, while the growth has been primarily driven by the demand for services beyond sms and enhanced voice calling quality, the next wave of growth will definitely come from Next Generation Technology roll out, deeper penetration in rural market, convergence and intuitive services as offerings. In the age of convergence, the prominent growth driver of MVAS would be the consumers’ desire of getting more from their mobile phone. There is already a paradigm shift happening in the use of mobile phone with the multi-screen option available to consumers through tabs, phablet, internet TV etc. From basic voice calls, it is now considered as a platform for data with the upsurge in the demand for mobile internet, financial services, health, education and execution for government services. While among the youth entertainment related services would be popular, the other consumers would also look for utility based services like location based information, mobile commerce (M-Commerce) for mobile transactions and Local content rich services. With the roll out of 3G, next generation technology like LTE, this space will see a lot of change and development. Utility services that can provide a scalable, technology-enabled solution, to issues around access to information, opportunity and infrastructure (for example, healthcare, education and agricultural/husbandry advice) can add significant value and, as a result, enhance the value proposition for users – particularly those in rural areas. How is Mahindra Comviva getting ready for the future VAS trends? Mobile VAS industry's growth is driven by factors such as increasing affordability, rising

convergence of content and entertainment and growing need for mobile entertainment & social networking. Mahindra Comviva has added innovative solutions to its portfolio that enable operators to differentiate their brand, create and sustain new revenue streams and drive ARPU. We will continue to help operators to achieve bottom-line benefits, with solutions that drive operational efficiencies and optimize existing investments. Infotainment Portal is Mahindra Comviva’s mobile data based app that allows subscribers to watch and download videos and even integrate content with social network websites. Going forward, Mahindra Comviva will additionally focus on data analytics and develop a new range of apps that will engage and deliver greater convenience to end users, enhancing customer satisfaction and supporting operators’ goals. We believe that further growth of the Mobile VAS (MVAS) industry would primarily come from deeper penetration of mobile services in rural areas and roll out of LTE services. Rural segment of the nation has an impressive household mobile penetration. M-Health, M-Banking, M-Education and M-Governance are major areas which have tremendous opportunities in MVAS space. Earlier we had users now we have Smart users. How this affects VAS domain and how do you move along with the ever changing user habits? MVAS adoption in India is at present happening on two fronts, which include availability of low-priced smartphones and falling 3G rates. The new age smartphones, tablets, phablets etc have brought about a revolutionary change and have empowered the people to stay connected 24X7. Mobile data services and content have witnessed a boost over the past few years for this very reason. The smart users want convenience of access to their emails, social

' Security, reliability and performance are critical factors for mobile financial services' …. This is essential as the mobile channel must provide an efficient and timely response for transactions, have adequate capacity to support acceptable performance and be able to recover quickly from any disruptions….. Atul Madan, Head of Mobile Digital Services, Mahindra Comviva

Telecom Talk


network profiles and the internet at large. The consumption of VAS services has increased significantly with operators improving 3G services and offering richer services such as mobile internet and video, as there is greater bandwidth available to deliver an enhanced service experience. In the future, the VAS market will be ruled by multiservice offerings over multiple channels and devices - such as telemedicine, wireless teleconferencing and e-learning. Powered by its edge over other data services, mobile video is predicted to evolve as one of the most significant revenue generating opportunity for mobile operators. Mobile handsets not only act as a navigator, camera, music system and radio but will continue to enable livelihood-changing services like mobile banking and mCommerce. Tell us more about recent activities and achievements of Mahindra Comviva locally and globally. We are operating in the fastest growing markets in the mobile ecosystem - India, Africa and Latin America. 2012-13 has been great for us in terms of business focus, customer acquisition, product launches and brand recognition. We are ahead of our defined targets. With the entry of a new strategic investor - Tech Mahindra, our organization is now poised for a big leap in its journey. Key milestones: Mahindra Comviva and Etisalat Group

inked a strategic partnership to provide Etisalat Group’s 139 million subscribers across Middle East, Africa and Asia access to consumer email, instant messaging, social networking, phone book backup services as well as popular news/web feeds and other applications even through a basic handset.

Partnered with Guyana Telephone & Telegraph (GT&T) to Provide mWallet Services in Guyana.

Signed Mobile Banking Deal with Kyrgyz Investment Credit Bank, a leading commercial bank in Kyrgyzstan.

Partnered with Gabon Telecom for Mobile Money and Messaging Solution.

Signed a deal with Grameenphone for integrated messaging solution, the largest messaging deployment within Bangladesh for 5000 transactions per Second

Mahindra Comviva was recently recognized as the Best Mobile Banking Technology for Asia and Africa at the World Finance Technology Awards 2013.

Mahindra Comviva won the Global Telecom Business Award for innovation in Consumer Services. We were honored

for EcoCash mobile payment services to Econet Zimbabwe, powered by mobiquity® platform and Managed Music services to Airtel Africa.

Won the GSMA Global Mobile Awards for mobiquity® mTicketing platform to Bangladesh Railways

Mahindra Comviva extended its partnership with Vantrix, a pioneer in mobile video optimization and delivery solutions. Through this extended association, Mahindra Comviva will effectively manage, optimize and monetize the explosive growth of video traffic that service providers are experiencing in their markets.

Mobiquity has been the most talked and successful name in recent time across the globe. What is this platform and how is it helping in enabling financial solutions across the globe? Mahindra Comviva has been at the forefront of mobile technology revolution in mobile financial solutions space and has helped several service providers including mobile network operators and financial institutions, to generate new revenue streams and build deeper consumer engagement, with its mobiquity® - mobile financial services platform. A multi-award winning offering, Mahindra Comviva's highly secure mobiquity® platform embraces the mobile phone as a convenient, cash-free and card-free financial transaction medium, delivering a range of financial and payment services. Mahindra Comviva's mobiquity® platform offers perfect solutions for: Financial service providers and MNOs,

wanting to cater to the diverse financial needs of both banked and unbanked customers to attract / retain customers and enhance their revenues.

Banks and financial institutions wanting to extend a full range of banking and payment services across a wide range of devices to strengthen their market position.

Mahindra Comviva's mobiquity® solution has been architected to seamlessly collaborate with the various players in the mobile financial services ecosystem, including banks, billers, merchants, payment gateways and merchant websites, to deliver a range of financial services on mobile. With over 60 deployments across the globe, serving over 700 million end-users and multiple industry awards, Mahindra Comviva is a

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recognized leader with unrivalled experience in this space. What are the challenges for mobile money or similar services in India and what do you think should be done to resolve them. How will your platform help in enabling such solutions in India? The mobile financial services value chain is complex, incorporating wholesale arrangements between financial service providers and strong partners with a wide reach like mobile network operators. Service providers over time must focus on building a complete ecosystem in partnership with merchants, billers, payment networks, government and non-government entities, and corporate to facilitate salary and benefits disbursements, online and over the counter merchant payments, and other daily transactions. While it is important that the breadth of services offered grow over a period of time, it is critical to note that the successful mobile money programs to date have launched with only a few services. It takes time for consumers who have never banked to build trust and hold money in an electronic form as well as to gain comfort and confidence in using the technology and formal channels for conducting financial transactions. Hence a more promising approach may be to focus first on identifying a “killer app” that would drive a high volume of transactions, and then expand into other products as the killer app gains traction. Security, reliability and performance are critical factors in ensuring the successful extension of mobile financial services which also poses a challenge. This is essential as the mobile channel must provide an efficient and timely response for transactions, have adequate capacity to support acceptable performance and

be able to recover quickly from any disruptions. mobiquity® is Mahindra Comviva’s award winning mobile money and payment solution, which handles millions of transactions every day. It allows empowerment of 700+ million consumers globally. With unrivalled experience in the mobile financial space, we also enable service providers including Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), banks and financial institutions, globally, to meet the diverse needs of customers in both developed and emerging markets. It will be fair to say that mobile money and banking has only just started to pick up for a country like India with its complexities, scale and size. In fact, we at Mahindra Comviva strongly believe that such offerings would reach its inflection point in the next couple of years. It is imperative to spread knowledge regarding the benefits of mobile banking along with reassurance on the perceived security issues and threats. “m-? : redefining MVAS”, with what you would like to replace “?”? Mobile VAS in India has had a few turbulent years. The meteoric rise in VAS over the past few years have forced the regulators to bring in new controls. These controls have the effect of reining in the runaway growth. This has resulted in more attention being paid to truly innovative services and an expansion in services beyond the traditional ring and ring back tones. VAS is also moving from pure entertainment services to draw in need-based services around education, governance, health and similar areas. ‘Mobile’ has positioned itself as a true ubiquitous solution and with the ever growing need for convergence in technology I think we need to replace the m of mobile VAS to m for Mobility solutions that transform lives; what we actually strive to create in this era.

Telecom Talk


Indian market is getting ready for high speed networks. How the VAS domain will change and what new things will come? With the advent of high speed networks i.e. 3G and 4G, mobile users expect more from their mobile services. The scenario is expected to become more challenging given the fact that a fatter pipe will be able to handle more traffic. The number of 3G mobile subscribers is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 80% between 2011 and 2013 to around 55 Million by the end of the period. As applications are introduced that consume more bandwidth, then the bandwidth available needs to grow to ensure the service experience is not impaired. It is important to enable a superior service experience using existing technologies, and this will be a key competitive differentiator. Going forward, the VAS market will be ruled by multiservice offerings in the 3G spectrum. We see these various services merging to enable a much richer communication and entertainment experience. This is why we believe it is critical to have extensive experience of a wide range of VAS, as Comviva has to be able to meet the changing needs of end customers. On the other hand, 4G services are expected to remain a premium service for the next few years. The success of 4G, and VAS services utilizing the 4G network, depends on the sophistication of the user’s phone and penetration of smartphones in the rural network. The industry is already moving towards producing low cost quality smartphones. Unless the same is achieved, the successful adoption of 4G services would take time. Also the services are expected to be delivered at a high price, at least for the moment. As economies of scales kick in with more operators joining the 4G wagon, the prices are expected to be subsidized. At present it would be too early to predict the share of MVAS revenues contributed by 4G. How is Tata Docomo getting ready for the future VAS trends?

The VAS landscape has changed and how. These are indeed exciting times for the Industry and those who are at the forefront of enabling value and relevance in product offerings. The coming months shall need a redefining of strategies to include the use of new age media, the data pipe and a clear focus on enabling amalgamated content for daily entertainment needs. TATA Docomo has clearly defined for itself a constructively collaborative flight path; one that shall take forward our initiatives in driving 2G and 3G penetration while focussing on further enhancing customer data experience. To this end, we are clearly investing energies and resources on the n/wrk front; while refurbishing the ‘M’ We are also partnering with app developers and aggregators to position ourselves at the vanguard of offering customers relevant apps/packages for their daily entertainment and utility needs. On the other hand, we are also seeing the emergence of m-health, m-education and mobile advertising amongst others. On the conventional VAS front, we have created a pipeline of services which shall be offered to customers at market outlets; thus simplifying customer experience while enabling transparency and continued service usage. To this end, we are exploring and investing in creating alternate channels of discovery & delivery. How much is VAS contributing today in revenues and how much do you think it will increase with the availability of big bandwidth pipes? We have seen an extremely encouraging trend of VAS revenues over the course of the months. The consumer uptake of VAS services has seen more than 70% y-o-y growth with the introduction of consumer centric innovative services, simplification of user interface for ease of content discovery, local and regional content in rich formats, and their availability in vernacular languages.

' Potential of Mobile VAS to Bridge Rural Urban Digital Divide in India' …. VAS truly cuts across age, domicile, location and socio economic boundaries. VAS is perhaps the only service which enjoins customers across so called divides – a simple analogy being Music via CRBT.…. Rishimohan Malhotra, Head – VAS Marketing, Tata Docomo

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Furthermore, new technologies and access channels have added to the overall value that a customer is able to perceive today. The growth in VAS over the last few years has been exhilarating. While conventional VAS as we know it – CRBT, Premium Messaging and such has declined in contribution, Data services and the discovery of VAS via the Data pipe has been growing by leaps and bounds. This gives us the confidence to take on the challenges of the coming years; which shall be symbolized by the use of teh data pipe to drive adoption of content VAS services. It is no more an operator driven market as there is competition from others especially OTT players. How do you co-op with them? In the coming years, the Mobile VAS (MVAS) industry is poised for further growth. The growth will primarily come from 3G roll outs and deeper penetration of mobile services in rural areas. The dynamics of the Indian VAS ecosystem are fairly complex as are the number of variables in the value chain of consumer propositions. The bottom-line is that the consumer expects content in a seamless and user friendly manner; a fact that is paramount in our strategy to enable rich offerings. Within this value chain that includes the operator, OEMs, content aggregators, app developers and telecom equipment providers; innovation alone is the key to success and rightfully rewarded. We have accordingly raised the levels of engagement and partnerships in our endeavour to create customer value. Our recent partnership with SAAVN (a leading app that enabled music streaming on the go) is testament to our belief in data driving content discovery for music. Similarly, our handset partnerships offering bundling of 2G and/or 3G data is proof yet again of the symbiotic relationships that we have adopted to grow value creation. Many such others shall continue to be pursued with the aim of delivering true customer satisfaction. Earlier we had users now we have Smart phone users. How this affects VAS domain and how do you move along with the ever changing user habits? Smartphones are a fact of life today and a distinct future reality; one which we have incorporated into our key strategies in driving business objectives. Smartphones today are the secondary entertainment device for most users and should fast replace TVs as the singular

mode of entertainment. This has largely been due to the positioning and tariffs on data over the last few years – affordable coupled with excellent user experience. Accordingly, we are strategized to unleash a wide range of service offerings to smartphone customers to address needs that go beyond just entertainment and information. We have already started launching a string of applications focused on education, e-Governance and mobile payments to gain a foothold in this growth. Furthermore, we are today witnessing an era of consumer behaviour that goes beyond simply Voice. Whether it is to express feelings via instant messaging and chat, professing attitudes and viewpoints over social media, banking and such; customers today want to do more with their ‘connected devices’. At TATA Docomo, while we have a wide variety of services already available to address these needs, we are also focussing on innovation. Our partnership with SAAVN to create an Industry 1st Music Data offering was truly revolutionary; in that the offering leveraged the data pipe to enable music streaming in an affordable manner, thus creating instant value. Separately, our 2G and 3G data packs are widely popular and we are working towards enabling other content VAS and utility services via this route. Indian market is a mix of old-new, rich-poor, urban-rural, low speed- high speed. How do you balance service offerings to get maximum returns? VAS truly cuts across age, domicile, location and socio economic boundaries. VAS is perhaps the only service which enjoins customers across so called divides – a simple analogy being Music via CRBT. Irrespective of divides, customers can profess their choice of music taste at the same price and for the same duration. TATA Docomo has been known for its balanced yet innovative approach to Value Added Services. The advent of the real demand for music, gaming and videos has dissipated the divides too; what with the ‘data pipe’ plugging the gap for discovery of content. So while we have unleashed an array of innovative services in the past such as Pay per Site on Data, Legends Forever on IVR, Name Tunes on CRBT and SAAVN Music Data packs; we are equally active on the customer satisfaction front with sterling practices which


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have been acknowledged by Industry captains and officials alike; and we bring the promise of many such more in the days to come. In the rural specific market, the mobile phone has truly bridged the divide by enabling entertainment and information; thus successfully bridging a real digital divide. The ability to check on railway data or weather is a real enabler that people in inadequately connected parts of India are more than willing to pay for. In others, where the reach of cable and cinema is limited, the mobile is a great stand-in with the demand for more localized, regional content increasing. Recently you have launched some innovative services like ….music through recharge coupons… Please tell us about it and other value added initiatives introduced this year. We have indeed created multiple value propositions for customers in the market. Endless Music is an innovative value added service and an industry first initiative that is available to all Tata Docomo’s prepay GSM customers through electronic voucher distribution (EVD) for both basic and smart phone users. The service is part of Tata Docomo’s commitment towards investing in developing alternate channels of discovery to deliver content and offerings across all available physical, virtual and digital resources. The launch of Endless Music service via EVD is in keeping with Tata Docomo’s tradition of transparent transactions and customer satisfaction that shall meet the individual needs and requirements of our consumers. Our aim through this service is at changing the way music is sold & consumed thus reinventing the way our customers experience music.

Earlier this year we partnered with music streaming service Saavn to launch bundled plans for music streaming and data and offer better and enhanced user experience to our consumers; thus creating India’s 1st ever Music Data Recharge. “m-? : redefining MVAS”, with what you would like to replace “?”? Classically, the ‘m’ in MVAS used to stand for the ‘m’ range of services such as education, health, banking and health. On closer inspection though, I would feel that the real enabler in all of these has been ‘Access’ or simply put, the ‘pipe’. Small Screen mobile data is that one single phenomenon that has changed the way that India operates and functions today; and hence its importance. I will accordingly redefine MVAS by highlighting the important role that ‘Access’ has played in enriching the lives of consumers across all walks of life. So while not alphabetically in order, the contribution of the data pipe cannot be underscored enough in all that it has managed to achieve – be it music streaming, online gaming, video streaming, chat, instant messaging, video calls, internet browsing, education via online tutorials or exploring health. Broadly put, the redefined ‘mVAS’ today means all of these; and most importantly the ‘pipe’ that enables; and one that is significantly smarter in its being able to act as the enabler to delivering the daily quanta of info/entertainment across all walks of life.


Indian market is getting ready for high speed networks. How the VAS domain will change and what new things will come? In terms of being able to send a simple text message from a mobile phone which doesn’t have data connectivity or is on Wifi network, we believe that SMS has certain advantage and it will not be eliminated completely. At the same time, it is also true that SMS has some limitations as we can only send simple text messages. It also has a limitation of the number of characters and there is cost incurred when sent across a different carrier network. However, in the recent times, communication using mobile devices has become more interactive with the rise in usage of instant messaging apps. The habit that was started with sms on a mobile phone today has evolved into an engaging conversation using instant messaging, first on PCs and now smartphones. The primary reason for this shift is the quick response time and the ability to have longer conversations virtually across different countries without any extra cost using IM as compared to SMS. Additionally IMs also give users an opportunity to have more evolved forms conversations moving beyond just the typed alphabets to videos, stickers, audio files etc. Additionally, IMs are also evolving to become engagement platforms on which users can play games together in real time. So there is no doubt that IM Apps, which offer rich features like free calling and stickers, such as LINE, will have an advantage. How is Line Corporation getting ready to meet the requirements of Indian Market? LINE has two important values which are "content" and "communication". It is the same as the global service in terms of "communication", but "content" is going to localize for Indian market. For example, we are now preparing to release localized character

stickers that are designed and created by famous Indian artists and illustrators. We will cooperate with Indian partners and release official account. Recently we saw an announcement about release of new version of Line along with new features. What new will come in this version and how it will enhance the existing user experience? We have recently announced that the new version of LINE which has been released simultaneously worldwide, introducing support for video calls. Another new feature called Snap Movie which lets customers take short (up to 10 seconds) video clips and share them with friends, has been released first on iPhone devices. All the new features provide customers with exciting ways of personalized communication. Our advantage over other platforms is the ‘social networking’ like interface that allows users to share real-time updates supported with pictures and messages. This has now advanced to the next level with introduction of the video call and Snap Movie. Whether studying abroad or on a business trip, our users can now enjoy face-to-face conversations with their far-away lovers, family, and friends by a simple tap on the new video call update. Snap Movie offers a simple and unique way to communicate with peers, and lets customers participate in the global trend of filming and sharing short video clips with smartphones. We are very excited about these developments and will continue to breaking new grounds to ensure that all our users get best-in-class services and keep enjoying the refreshing offerings from time to time.

'LINE is messenger service for the next generation' …. LINE has exceeded 300 million users. LINE will continue to enhance its services and contents and promote its global development in order to become an integral piece of lifestyle infrastructure for users all around the world…. Jun Masuda, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, LINE Corporation

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Earlier we had users now we have Smart users. How this affects VAS domain and how do you move along with the ever changing user habits? In the recent times, communication using mobile devices has become more interactive with the rise in usage of instant messaging apps. The habit that was started with sms on a mobile phone today has evolved into an engaging conversation using instant messaging, first on PCs and now smartphones. The primary reason for this shift is the quick response time and the ability to have longer conversations virtually across different countries without any extra cost using IM as compared to SMS. And according to a research group- Informa Telecoms & Media, in 2012 mobile IP messaging overtook SMS messaging in volume. Informa estimates that nearly 19 billion messages were sent using IP messaging apps each day around the world, versus 17.6 billion SMS messages. By the end of 2013, Informa estimates that 41 billion OTT messages will be sent every day, compared with an average of 19.5 billion P2P SMS messages. (Informa Telecoms & Media). CMR’s India Monthly Mobile Handsets Market Review, April 2013, June 2013 release, during the time period January-April 2013, 9.4 million smartphones were shipped in India, a growth of 167.3% on an annual basis. This trend clearly indicates the fast movement from feature phones to smartphones and sequentially from SMS to IMs in India. Therefore seeing this growth, we can definitely presume that IM platforms will boost the internet penetration in India through mobile devices. Not only this, the social media fatigue, coupled with privacy concerns has prompted Indian youngsters to opt for other means of staying in touch with friends. The ASSOCHAM study found that 20 per cent of the respondents hardly log on to social networking websites and prefer staying in touch with friends via chat applications like Blackberry Messenger, Watsapp, Nimbuzz, Mig33, Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger on their mobiles and computers. You crossed 13 million mark in India in a pretty fast time, what has been your experience so far and how do you see the usage as compared to Japanese market?

As such, there is no major difference in the consumers when it comes to the instant messaging space. And now-a-days, consumer is all the more aware and is looking for new and localized content to connect to. LINE is the new messenger service for the next generation and that’s the reason for our success so far. LINE provides not only messaging, but also provides high quality of free communication (text, Voice, video, call) and integrated contents (sticker, official account, game). These services lead the smartphone generation in the aspect of communication service. By providing the best user experience for the Indian user, we have the confidence that our service will be loved by many users in India.. Tell us more about recent activities and achievements of Line Corporation locally and globally. The new services and features were introduced at the LINE Conference, called “Hello, Friends in Tokyo 2013”, which was held in August. LINE MUSIC (not released yet): “LINE MUSIC” is a music streaming service that enables users to purchase music of all genres within the LINE app, including J-pop, K-pop, and of course Western music. Songs purchased through LINE MUSIC can be shared with the user’s LINE friends, proposing a brand new way to enjoy music that is only possible through LINE. This service will be launched first in Japan, with a global rollout following. LINE MALL (pre-launched for Android): “LINE MALL” is an e-commerce (electronic commerce) service optimized for the smartphone. It has been structured so all actions can be performed efficiently within the app itself. LINE MALL will deliver a revolutionary shopping experience, in which anybody can buy and sell anytime or anywhere as long as they have a smartphone. LINE MALL is only available in Japan. LINE Web Store: “LINE Web Store” is an online store in which users can purchase paid LINE stickers and LINE GAME items from the web browsers on their computers or smartphones. Usability and convenience will be improved by offering users a variety of payment options besides App Store and Google Play transaction systems, such as credit cards, PayPal, carrier billing, electronic money, and more. The Web Store will be offered first in Japan and Taiwan, followed by a gradual introduction into other countries. *Payment options available will differ by country.

Telecom Talk


VAS Statistics -2013

Facts & Figures

Wipro Technologies and The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in a joint research report predict that the Indian MVAS market will grow at a CAGR of 25% between 2012 and 2015 to reach US $9.5 billion in 2015.

Even though the ARPU has declined over the years, the per user spent on MVAS has gone up by 28% in the last one year. It is now 27% of the ARPU.

The MVAS Market can be divided into two major categories: Current MVAS (63%) and Emerging MVAS (37%)

number of mobile internet users has also witnessed a steady rise, with 110 million mobile internet users in October, and is estimated to reach 130 million by the end of December. (I-Cube 2013 report -IAMAI and IMRB International)


Source : Deloitte Report

Facts & Figures

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