Telecom companies are ready to introduce the next generation SMS-voice messaging service

By Vivek Law

If Sabeer Bhatia-the man who gave the world Hotmail-catches a cold in California, his mother in Bangalore reaches out for her telephone and speaks the remedy into it. The fact that her millionaire son may be using any of his six phones and that there is a 12-hour difference between California and India doesn't deter Mrs Bhatia. For she doesn't speak to her son. He hears her voice only when he wakes up.

Mrs Bhatia uses voice messaging service (VMS), a new generation messaging system that adds voice-and hence emotion-to short messaging service (SMS). In VMS, instead of keying in a message, the caller speaks out the message which travels to a fixed or mobile phone anywhere in the world. The recipient gets an SMS (if using a mobile phone) or a call (if using a land line), and can then hear the message (see graphic).

The best thing about VMS is that it breaks the language barrier. Messages do not have to be read, but heard. It also does away with the need to key in a message, something many in India are still not comfortable with. Besides, unlike SMS, it is not restricted to mobile phones. Yet, like SMS, it remains unobtrusive. And since VMS works the same way as SMS, service providers don't have to take the pains of educating users about how messaging is better than calling. "India will never see a 100 per cent penetration for SMS (the current level is 60 per cent of mobile subscribers) as language will remain a barrier. We expect VMS to take off just the way SMS did," says Balu Nayar, head of value-added services for mobile service provider Hutchison.

That may be why telecom service providers are queuing up to start VMS. Currently only Hutchison, which has more than 12 lakh cellular subscribers in Mumbai, Gujarat, Delhi and Kolkata, is offering the service. Hughes Tele.com, the fixed line operator for Maharashtra, will launch VMS in June. Other mobile operators like Ideal Cellular Ltd (formerly Birla-AT&T-Tata), Bharti Cellular and BPL Cellular and fixed-line operators, including state-owned BSNL and MTNL, are in the process of finalising plans.

Such is the confidence in the potential of this service that Hutchison has introduced cash cards which can only be used to send VMS and SMS.

"We expect most telecom players to offer this service before long," says Bhatia, whose latest start-up Navin Communications Inc is offering the infrastructure for VMS. "If successful, India will export VMS to the rest of the world," he says.

If that sounds too optimistic, look at how VMS has grown since it was introduced two months ago. Already Hutchison's network carries five lakh voice messages per month, the level reached by SMS in November 2000. In February 2001, before SMS charges were cut to Re 1 per message and the market boomed, only 60,000 messages were being sent per day (as against 16,000 for VMS already). The SMS traffic in metros like Mumbai is now five lakh per day per operator and continues to grow.

"What is critical is to devise innovative usage of VMS. Just plain messaging will remain a niche product. Wait till we launch our services in Mumbai," says Bharti Cellular's coo Atul Jhamb. Already telecom players are talking of a service that allows users to be reminded of just about anything, including a medicine dosage, at a predetermined time. Or of the facility to invite friends through just one personalised message forwarded to an entire group. Or even as a marketing tool for a company. The possibilities are endless. Mrs Bhatia would agree.