Voice-based applications are the new drivers of growth for mobile value-added services, which are eyeing rural India, the new market for cellphones. With an ability to target even the illiterate population, application developers realise the value of the spoken word and its revenue potential.

A good example is the English Seekho application by IL&FS Education and Technology Services Ltd, which comprises a 44-module English language course conducted entirely over the mobile phone and through IVR, or interactive voice response. Amit Bhadbhade of IL&FS Education explains that given the demand for English learning courses in non-urban centres, ?there was clear value in this; it was a low-hanging fruit?.

The Mobile Antakshari application by Chennai-based mobile value-added services (VAS) company Hexolabs Interactive Technologies Pvt Ltd even offers an option of language. The gaming app has at least one lakh active users, claims founder Raja Manohar. ?Our focus is more on the emerging markets,? says Manohar, explaining his clear preference for voice and IVR as mediums. He adds that there are significant differences in language between north and south India. Speech recognition and IVR features help overcome that barrier, allowing the company to offer the service in languages such as Hindi and Tamil?the two most popular languages among voice-based services, followed by Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Kannada, according to an extrapolation by consultancy KPMG.

With teledensity in bigger cities nearing saturation, industry insiders expect the next wave of addition in subscribers from non-urban centres. The total wireless subscriptions in the country crossed 635 million by June-end, as per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which even by application developers? cautious estimates, adds up to around 400 million unique cellphone subscribers in the country.

Not surprisingly, application developers are trying hard to keep pace. A host of handset manufacturers, telecom service providers, mobile value-added service (VAS) companies and individuals and organisations are exploring ways in which the already pervasive mobile phone can be leveraged?to ends such as financial inclusion, education, entertainment and to generate revenue?in the rural Indian market.

The success of Love ki Dispensary, an app that dispenses advice on relationships to callers based in Bihar and Orissa, can be attributed to these factors. ?A team member said there was no show on the lines of Love Guru in his hometown in Bihar,? says Vijay Shekhar Sharma, managing director, One97Communication (P) Ltd, a Noida-based mobile VAS company, explaining the service?s idea. ?On the day of the launch, we recorded 1,500 calls seeking the doctors? advice, and the majority of callers were women.?

Made for India

?Mobile apps is such a fertile land, everyone wants a piece of the pie,? says Osama Manzar, founder, Digital Empowerment Foundation. The New Delhi-headquartered organisation this year launched the mBillionth Awards for mobile phone applications in categories such as education, inclusion, mGovernance and entertainment. But, he cautions, designing mobile applications for the Indian market is going to be a different ballgame from the way the industry has grown in advanced markets. ?The challenges here are different. There is so much diversity, even in terms of the languages we speak.?

Subho Ray, director, Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), agrees with Manzar: ?Most applications that we would look for going forward will be very different from developed markets. We already have a lot of voice and IVR-based services because of poor literacy levels in our country.?

For the record, India has overall literacy levels of 64.84%, according to the 2001 Census?compared with a global adult literacy rate of 82% that year, and well below China’s and Sri Lanka’s 91% rate of literacy each.

Short messaging service or SMS still is the largest mobile VAS revenue generator in the country. And, even data services, including wallpaper, ringtone and song downloads, generate sizeable returns for service providers. Just person-to-person (P2P) messages accounted for 35% of total VAS revenue last fiscal. Caller ring back tones accounted for 37% and the contribution of voice portals grew to 23% of non-P2P SMS VAS revenue.

On a whole, a KPMG study says the mobile VAS industry generated income of Rs 12,000 crore in fiscal 2009-10, or roughly 9.5% of the total industry revenue.

Says Hexolabs? Manohar, ?Average revenue per user could see an upswing in future on the back of data services. That is why service providers are keen on adding features such as social networking sites.?

Mobile VAS developers, including Sharma, however, see voice-based services as the present and future of the industry. ?Everyone knows how to make and take calls. Voice remains the lowest common denominator. It remains a killer application, and will continue to be so going forward,? he adds.

These developers are even, as the saying goes, putting their money where their mouth is, to develop additional voice-based apps. Hexolabs, for example, will bank on the pull of Bollywood and celebrity for its StarTalk app, where actors, politicians and cricketers can post audio messages through what he calls telemicroblogging?Manohar admits the service is ?Twitter-like?. One97 is currently developing a voice-based app called ‘Simply Education’, and IL&FS Education is working on audio versions of children?s stories such as the fables of Akbar and Birbal and the Panchtantra tales and on a sex education course.

Telecom analysts and industry insiders do not see video content and 3G-driven services replacing or even eating into the share of voice-based services in the coming months. Says Jaideep Ghosh, executive director, KPMG advisory services, ?Video content will be like topping up over and above the voice services.? He says pricing and the need for content will at least initially limit the adoption of 3G-based apps. ?Don’t expect every one to indulge in price wars from Day One on 3G services. The high fees paid by telcos during the spectrum auction will prevent that from happening,? he cautions.

The language of mApps

Content snacking and juggling; the ABC of mobile applications and tele-microblogging are common parlance in the mobile apps developers? universe.

IL&FS Education?s Bhadbhade explains that the English Seekho programme engages users through juggling content, so that a 44-lesson structured course can also be divided, restructured or individual modules purchased, and through content snacking or delivering learning in bite-sized, five-eight minute audios. Bhadbhade explains the team studied focus groups to determine the typical attention span during audio lessons. He admits eight minutes can be a tad long, but reasons that quality lessons sometimes need that continuity. The team also juggles content, splitting up the 44-module course to suit consumer needs. The course is split up into basic and advanced courses. And, consumers have the flexibility to buy only certain lessons, say, in social interactions or job interviews.

The application, according to Bhadbhade, has seen significant uptake in the ?B, C and D? towns, and in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Astrology, Bollywood and cricket?the ABC of mobile apps?have so far been the leading revenue generators for mobile VAS players, but industry insiders are now also placing their bets on what are called utility services. These include education, transmission of localised information and expert advice on livelihood issues.

One such service is One97 Communications? Dakia service. Authorised individuals can call in with hyperlocalised information, identify themselves and post an audio message, explains Sharma. An outbound call is then made to all subscribers within minutes. They could be sharing a variety of news of local or national interest, including weather updates, tips on farming and local fairs. Available on Iffco Airtel sims, the app also pushes into service Iffco’s knowledge base in areas such as farming to add depth to its posts.

Gaon ki Awaz, an application developed by the International Media Institute of India, sends out local information gathered by reporters in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh. Currently in pilot stage in Rampur Mathura village, Manmoudabad Block, the service disseminates a range of stories, including announcements about board exam schedules, cattle fair, crime stories such as children getting lifted by hyenas in the night in 30-second pulses.

?Billions have always been important,? says Sharma, ?but now that India’s billions are becoming important, you will see more such services coming on stream.?