Mobile value added services earning ratio to reach 31% by 2015

NEW DELHI: Aided by better handsets and introduction of 3G services, the share of mobile value added services ( MVAS) is expected to reach 31 per cent of the total revenue of the telecom sector in the next three years, says a survey.

"It is expected that the revenue from MVAS including SMS will reach 31 per cent by the year 2015," a CII -Protiviti white paper on telecom industry said.

MVAS currently contributes nearly 11 per cent of the telecommunication revenues which excludes SMS services, it said.

Traditionally, VAS was defined to include MMS, SMS and services such as call waiting and call forwarding. However, in the recent times, these services have become standard services that are expected from the service provider and VAS therefore has begun to exclude such services.

Now VAS includes ringtones, caller ring back tones ( CRBT), applications such as gaming, audio streaming, stock quotes, participation in polls and contests, mCommerce (financial transactions), instant messaging, infotainment services and content downloads, among others.

"In India, SMS and CRBT form a major source of revenue from VAS provided by telecom operators. SMS constitutes seven per cent of the total revenues of the providers," it said.

The paper added that growth in MVAS is fuelled by better handsets, introduction of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) and third generation (3G) services.