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June 29, 2008 |
Get set for visual delight in mobile advertising
The Economic Times, June 29, 2008
NEW DELHI: Getting a graphic or video ad on your mobile screen is not a distant dream now. Mobile advertising, that has so far been limited to text messages, is soon going to incorporate other elements such as graphic and video ads. Operators are now looking at the yet untapped mode of mobile advertising — video clips, web pages, music and game downloads.
“We have been approached by a couple of national operators to provide these services to their customers,” says Abhijit Saxena, CEO Netcore. The company claims to have 125 million ad impression and has worked with approximately 100-odd clients.
It seems, however, there are increasing number of mobile ad players that have mushroomed in the last couple of years and the simple reason behind it is that mobile advertising market is set to be 10 times of its current size in just five years. “It is a fairly huge market.
We are into VAS and help operators in providing these services to their customers. There are so many other ways apart from text messages and everyone is experimenting with them. We are looking at it very seriously but it has not yet taken shape,” says Sanjiv Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Telesoft.
A small business at present, mobile advertising holds a huge promise. Industry sources estimate the industry at Rs 40 crore at present, but at the rate at which is it growing, it will touch Rs 500 crore in the next couple of years. It’s also hot and happening in India because for every internet user, there are five mobile phone users. The 270-million mobile phones in the country can potentially reach a much bigger audience than personal computers.
“Mobile phone users are going to exceed even the newspaper circulation figures and it is going to be the one stop solution. Mobile is the best way to catch the attention of customers these days. We are also looking at this space with interest, though nothing has been finalised yet,” says MSS Rao, deputy director general marketing, BSNL.
Most mobile advertising strategies now rely on text messages, since few customers have taken to more elaborate services that allow them to download music, games and videos and surf the web. “WAP-based advertising is also limited. There can’t be much of a future till we register an increase in the GPRS numbers,” says Saxena. There is huge competition in the relatively nascent SMS space too.
There are sites such as mGinger, mGarlic, MyToday, mKhoj, etc, that offer shopping deals and other advertisements on mobiles of registered customers. Some of these websites are also paying the customers for receiving these ads. Mobile2win, mGinger and Webchutney are some other players in this space that have received venture capital investment.
But telecom operators have realised that they can play an active role in it and be a part of this revolution. Telecom operators have very little influence in the advertisement carried on third party media that is accessed using their internet services. Operators so far have not been interested in text-based advertising, but are eyeing the other components of mobile advertising.
“Until the operators realise that they have to be actively involved in the process and provide gratification to end users, this is not going to work. But the operators have realised this and are already looking for options,” says Atanu Mandal, president, ACL Wireless. The company’s mobile marketing solution enables enterprises such as advertising and marketing agencies, retail chains, brands and online portals to reach mobile subscribers across different markets of the world. |
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January 23, 2007 |
Reliance Communications Teams Up With Yahoo! India to Introduce Mobile Instant Messenger
TMCNet, January 23, 2007
Reliance Communications, India’s integrated telecommunications service provider and Yahoo! India have joined forces to introduce Yahoo! Instant Messenger for Reliance Mobile customers across India. The collaboration is expected to offer a live Instant Messenger (IM) PC experience on Reliance Mobile phones. As per the partnership with Yahoo! India, Reliance Communications becomes the first telecom service provider in the world to offer Mobile IM across Java, BREW and WAP phones on a mobile operator network.
With Mobile IM, Reliance Mobile customers can chat live with other Reliance customers, as well as any Yahoo! IM user in the world using their PC. Customers can also send instant messages and chat online with their friends and family, using the entire Yahoo! IM features including simultaneous multi-chat windows, presence status icons, emoticons, Yahoo! personal contact lists and profiles, and viewing off-line messages.
“As an innovation leader, Reliance is bridging the Digital Divide by extending the Internet-rich IM experience of the PCs to its mobile subscribers for the first time in India”, commented Mahesh Prasad, President - Applications Content and Solutions Group, Reliance Communications in a statement. “This brings us one step closer towards the convergence of the mobiles and the PCs”, he added.
Yahoo! Instant Messenger service client interface for Reliance was developed by ACL Wireless. Yahoo! Messenger for mobile is available on all BREW, WAP and Nokia color handsets using Java technologies.
“We are glad to partner with Reliance for Mobile IM services, in India. This unique service will add a new dimension in enhancing our user experience and provide yet another compelling way to stay connected, instantly and at all times,” commented George Zacharias, MD, Yahoo! India.
About TMCnet
Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) publishes four print publications: Customer Interaction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY, SIP Magazine and IMS Magazine. TMCnet, TMC's Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. Ranked in the top 3,000 sites in the world by alexa.com*, TMCnet serves an average of nearly one million unique visitors each month. TMC is also the first publisher to test new products in its own on-site laboratories, TMC Labs. In addition, TMC produces INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO, Communications Developer Conference, IMS Expo and Call Center 2.0 Conference. (*alexa.com is an Amazon.com company that ranks Web sites by their traffic levels. Neither alexa.com nor Amazon.com is affiliated with TMCnet.) |
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April 11, 2006 |
Doordarshan & ACL Wireless Launch IVR Services
XTV World , April 11, 2006
Doordarshan has joined hands with ACL Wireless Limited to launch both SMS and IVR based interactive services over the same short code – 676733 (where the last two digits ‘33' stand for DD).
With this tie-up Doordarshan becomes the first service provider in India to launch SMS/IVR services over the same short code (676733). Leveraging this partnership further Doordarshan today announced the launch of an SMS based news service, thus adding to the various other interactive services that it has already enabled via ACL's INDIA6767 platform.
ACL Wireless Limited, a leading developer and provider of cutting-edge wireless solutions for consumers and enterprises, has won this contract from Doordarshan for a period of three years. Under the contract ACL Wireless will design, install and manage the services, which in turn will be made available to more than 423 million DD viewers across the country. Various channels of Doordarshan such as DD News, DD National, DD Bharati, DD Sports etc. would benefit from this service.
ACL offers these services through a fully hosted multi-modal platform which is connected to all mobile operators in India. The same has provided Doordarshan an instant, unique identity in the mobile domain over SMS as well as data and voice based, two-way interactions with its viewers over their mobile phones.
ACL would also enable futuristic subscription based services, video streaming, interactive chat and messaging for Doordarshan, amongst others, through this platform.
“Having chosen ACL Wireless, we are happy to see that they were able to get our service off the ground successfully, within a span of 48 hours over a dedicated short-code, across operators” said Mr. Naveen Kumar, Director General, Doordarshan.
Talking about the launch Mr. Atanu Mandal, President of ACL Wireless Limited said, "The DD tie-up is a significant milestone for ACL Wireless since it further consolidates our presence in the wireless services domain. It will also give us the opportunity to demonstrate the true capabilities and robustness of our INDIA6767 multi-modal platform which can support diverse set of solutions and both SMS & Voice based interactive services."
About Doordarshan:
Doordarshan, India's national broadcaster, is among the largest television networks in the world. DD National, the flagship channel, with a viewer base of over 42 crores, is the biggest media vehicle in the country, ahead of all satellite channels. Doordarshan channels broadcast a healthy mix of programmes reflecting the spirit of India in all its hues.
About ACL Wireless:
ACL Wireless Limited is a leading developer of mobile applications for consumers and consumer-facing enterprises. ACL is a key player in the wireless IM & Community space in several large emerging markets across the globe, with a strong foot print in 18 countries including India, China, Middle East, Thailand & Brazil. Moreover, it is also a leading provider of enterprise-to-consumer mobile services and VAS in India. It has recently been ranked “India's fastest growing technology company” and no.15 in APAC by Deloitte. Founded in 2000, the company employs over 150 people and operates from its head office and R&D centre in New Delhi, India, with regional offices in Mumbai, Shanghai & Dubai. |
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April 09, 2006 |
India's Doordarshan & ACL Wireless Launch SMS and IVR Services for Mobiles Over Same Short Code
Funding Universe, April 09, 2006
Doordarshan has joined hands with ACL Wireless Limited to launch both SMS and IVR based interactive services over the same short code – 676733 (where the last two digits ‘33' stand for DD). With this tie-up Doordarshan becomes the first service provider in India to launch SMS/IVR services over the same short code (676733). Leveraging this partnership further Doordarshan today announced the launch of an SMS based news service, thus adding to the various other interactive services that it has already enabled via ACL's INDIA6767 platform.
ACL Wireless Limited, a leading developer and provider of cutting-edge wireless solutions for consumers and enterprises, has won this contract from Doordarshan for a period of three years. Under the contract ACL Wireless will design, install and manage the services, which in turn will be made available to more than 423 million DD viewers across the country. Various channels of Doordarshan such as DD News, DD National, DD Bharati, DD Sports etc. would benefit from this service.
ACL offers these services through a fully hosted multi-modal platform which is connected to all mobile operators in India. The same has provided Doordarshan an instant, unique identity in the mobile domain over SMS as well as data and voice based, two-way interactions with its viewers over their mobile phones.
ACL would also enable futuristic subscription based services, video streaming, interactive chat and messaging for Doordarshan, amongst others, through this platform.
“Having chosen ACL Wireless, we are happy to see that they were able to get our service off the ground successfully, within a span of 48 hours over a dedicated short-code, across operators” said Mr. Naveen Kumar, Director General, Doordarshan.
Talking about the launch Mr. Atanu Mandal, President of ACL Wireless Limited said, "The DD tie-up is a significant milestone for ACL Wireless since it further consolidates our presence in the wireless services domain. It will also give us the opportunity to demonstrate the true capabilities and robustness of our INDIA6767 multi-modal platform which can support diverse set of solutions and both SMS & Voice based interactive services."
About Doordarshan
Doordarshan, India's national broadcaster, is among the largest television networks in the world. DD National, the flagship channel, with a viewer base of over 42 crores, is the biggest media vehicle in the country, ahead of all satellite channels. Doordarshan channels broadcast a healthy mix of programmes reflecting the spirit of India in all its hues.
About ACL Wireless
ACL Wireless Limited is a leading developer of mobile applications for consumers and consumer-facing enterprises. ACL is a key player in the wireless IM & Community space in several large emerging markets across the globe, with a strong foot print in 18 countries including India, China, Middle East, Thailand & Brazil. Moreover, it is also a leading provider of enterprise-to-consumer mobile services and VAS in India. It has recently been ranked “India's fastest growing technology company” and no.15 in APAC by Deloitte. Founded in 2000, the company employs over 150 people and operates from its head office and R&D centre in New Delhi, India, with regional offices in Mumbai, Shanghai & Dubai. |
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April 05, 2006 |
Doordarshan looks at global broadcast, SMS services
Yahoo! India News, April 05, 2006
New Delhi, April 5 (IANS) Autonomous public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is negotiating with the US-based Amritraj group to broadcast two channels of Doordarshan across the globe.
'We are having advanced level talks regarding modalities and terms and conditions with the firm,' said Prasar Bharati CEO K.S. Sarma Wednesday.
Announcing the achievements of the public broadcaster, he said Doordarshan had also tied up with ACL Wireless Limited to launch SMS and voice-based interactive services over phone.
'Doordarshan becomes the first channel in India to launch such services,' Sarma said, announcing the launch of an SMS based news service in addition to various other SMS based contests and services.
He said Prasar Bharati would increase the number of TV channels on its DTH platform to 52 from 33 in 2006-08.
Prasar Bharati reported a 48 percent increase in gross revenue at Rs. 12.30 billion in 2005-06 fiscal against Rs. 8.31 billion in the previous fiscal.
'We have done extremely well and for the first time our revenue collection has crossed the Rs. 10 billion mark,' said Sarma.
While Doordarshan mopped up a revenue of Rs.9.60 billion at a growth of 43 percent, All India Radio's (AIR) earnings grew 67 percent to Rs. 2.68 billion. The year before, Doordarshan's collections were Rs.6.53 billion as compared to AIR's
Rs. 1.35 billion. |
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April 05, 2006 |
DD, ACL Launch SMS, IVR Services
EFY Times, April 05, 2006
Both the interactive services have been introduced over the same short code -- 676733.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006: New Delhi: Doordarshan (DD), in association with ACL Wireless Ltd., has launched SMS- and IVR-based interactive services. Both the services will be introduced over the same short code –- 676733 -- where the last two digits `33' stand for DD.
With this tie-up, Doordarshan becomes the first service provider in India to launch SMS/IVR services over the same short code (676733). Doordarshan has also launched an SMS-based news service.
ACL Wireless has won this contract from Doordarshan for a period of three years. Under the contract, ACL Wireless will design, install and manage the services, which, in turn, will be made available to more than 423 million DD viewers across the country.
“Having chosen ACL Wireless, we are happy to see that they were able to get our service off the ground successfully, within a span of 48 hours, over a dedicated short-code, across operators,” said Naveen Kumar, director general, Doordarshan.
Atanu Mandal, president, ACL Wireless Ltd., said, "It will give us the opportunity to demonstrate the true capabilities and robustness of our INDIA6767 multi-modal platform which can support diverse set of solutions and both SMS- and voice-based interactive services."
ACL offers these services through a fully hosted multi-modal platform which is connected to all mobile operators in India. ACL would also enable futuristic subscription-based services, video streaming, interactive chat and messaging for Doordarshan, amongst others, through this platform. |
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April 05, 2006 |
DD channels to be on 3G cell phones globally
Indiantelevision.com, April 05, 2006
New Delhi: Media barons Rupert Murdoch and Subhash Chandra believe that the rules of television are changing as consumer demands change with the advent of digital media.
So does Indian pubcaster Prasar Bharati, which manages the world' biggest terrestrial network Doordarshan and its sibling All India Radio.
Three Doordarshan channels would now be available on all 3G mobile phones globally from April-end, according to a senior executive of Prasar Bharati.
"We have tied up with First Serve Entertainment (former Indian tennis star Vijay Amritraj's US-based company) to make available DD National, DD Bharati and DD News on all 3G mobile handsets all over the world Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma said today.
The agreement with FSE is non-exclusive, leaving Prasar Bharati to enter into similar deals with other companies. However, the revenue generated from this distribution pact would be shared equally between FSE and DD, Sarma added.
DD launches SMS & IVR-based services
DD has also joined hands with ACL Wireless Ltd to launch SMS (short text messages sent over cell phones) and IVR-based interactive services.
The services will be available over the short code 676733 where the last two digits, 33, stand for DD.
As part of this partnership, DD launched an SMS-based news service, adding to the other interactive services that it has via ACLs India6767 platform.
ACL Wireless Ltd, a developer and provider of cutting-edge wireless solutions for consumers and enterprises, has won this contract from DD for a period of three years.
Under the contract, ACL will design, install and manage the services, which, in turn, will be made available to more than 400 million viewers of DD across the country.
ACL offers this service through a fully-hosted multi-modal platform, which is connected to all mobile operators in India. "The DD tie-up is significant as it further consolidates our presence in the wireless domain," according to ACL Wireless president Atanu Mandal.
DD has used ACLs services for a variety of programmes like contest during cricket matches and in shows like Super Hit Muqabla, Wheel Smart Shrimati, Gen Next and Total Health.
According to DD, interactivity is being proposed to be extended to subjects like stock market alerts, board exam results, video clips of news headlines and SMS-based greetings service for DD News users. |
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April 05, 2006 |
Doordarshan looks at global broadcast, SMS services
The Economic Times, April 05, 2006
New Delhi: Autonomous public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is negotiating with the US-based Amritraj group to broadcast two channels of Doordarshan across the globe.
"We are having advanced level talks regarding modalities and terms and conditions with the firm," said Prasar Bharati CEO K.S. Sarma Wednesday.
Announcing the achievements of the public broadcaster, he said Doordarshan had also tied up with ACL Wireless Limited to launch SMS and voice-based interactive services over phone.
"Doordarshan becomes the first channel in India to launch such services," Sarma said, announcing the launch of an SMS based news service in addition to various other SMS based contests and services.
He said Prasar Bharati would increase the number of TV channels on its DTH platform to 52 from 33 in 2006-08.
Prasar Bharati reported a 48 percent increase in gross revenue at Rs. 12.30 billion in 2005-06 fiscal against Rs. 8.31 billion in the previous fiscal.
"We have done extremely well and for the first time our revenue collection has crossed the Rs. 10 billion mark," said Sarma.
While Doordarshan mopped up a revenue of Rs. 9.60 billion at a growth of 43 percent, All India Radio's (AIR) earnings grew 67 percent to Rs. 2.68 billion. The year before, Doordarshan's collections were Rs.6.53 billion as compared to AIR's
Rs. 1.35 billion. |
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April 05, 2006 |
Prasar Baharti eyes Rs 1,500 crore revenues this fiscal.
Launches SMS and IVR based interactive services in partnership with ACL.
Outlook India, April 05, 2006
A slew of new initiatives and cricket telecast saw cash-strapped public broadcaster Prasar Bharati realise its highest-ever revenues as its earnings crossed the Rs 1,000 crore mark to close 2005-06 at Rs 1,230 crore at a growth of 48 per cent even as it still falls short of expenditure.
Prasar Baharti CEO K S Sarma told reporters here that enthused by the success, the public broadcaster- which has an annual expenditure of Rs 1700-1800 crore- was eyeing Rs 1,500 crore through revenues this fiscal.
"We will work towards it and on the back of existing and new initiatives, are hopeful to achieve it," Sarma said, outlining Prasar Bharati's future strategy.
Doordarshan also announced that it has partnered private mobile applications developer ACL Wireless to launch SMS and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) based interactive services.
ACL, which will design, install and manage the services for a period of three years, would also enable futuristic subscription-based services like video streaming, interactive chat and messaging for Doordarshan, amongst others, through the platform.
Sarma said both DD and All-India Radio had made significant strides in their revenues in 2005-06. "While DD grossed Rs 960 crore against Rs 670 crore in 2004 -05, the growth for AIR was 67 per cent as it earned Rs 270 crore against Rs 161 crore in the corresponding period," he said.
He said in-house marketing of properties, revenues from cricket telecast and increased media campaigns from government departments were among the initiatives behind the growth.
- LD PRASAR (PTI) |
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March 19, 2006 |
Right Message-Entrepreneurship runs in the blood of ACL Wireless CEO Sanjay Goyal
The Economic Times, March 19, 2006
Sanjay Goyal’s gamble six years ago is paying off. His company, ACL Wireless, a developer and provider of mobile applications, has been ranked the fastest growing technology company in India, and the fifteenth in Asia Pacific by Deloitte
Touche Tohmatsu.
At that time, in 2000, Goyal already owned a company that was as brick and mortar as could be – Angelique International Ltd, a project engineering, procurement and construction company with revenues of $10 million ($40 million currently). Set up by him at the age of 24 in 1993, Angelique worked on multilaterally- funded projects in about 10 developing countries in Central Asia, India and China. But then, with technology getting to be the most happening of sectors, Goyal just had to be a part of it. Unlike other Indian IT companies, however, Goyal didn’t get into the services side. He set up a product company and looked for customers, not overseas, but in the domestic market itself. A Hong Kong-based venture fund, called Inter-Asia, liked his ideas on instant messaging for the mobile industry in India, and was ready to invest in them. “Technology products were risky, and the Indian mind-set is risk-averse – Indians don’t invest in high risk companies,” Goyal, CEO of ACL Wireless, recalls.
For Goyal though, entrepreneurship has been in his blood. Their family has owned oil and flour mills and his mother too has run a crystalware business. Though a graduate in mechanical engineering, it wasn’t long before the tech sector beckoned. Starting off with Airtel as one of its first customers, ACL Wireless now has most mobile service providers using its instant messaging application. ACL also provides instant messaging for companies in the finance industry, aviation, etc. “Most consumerfacing enterprises need to use such applications – airline companies need to reach consumers for alerts on flights, banks may need to inform customers about their balance,” says Goyal, adding “There wasn’t much of a market in the beginning and we were the first to come out with this application. But now the market has really taken off in a big way.”
- Sobha Menon |
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