“In a voice chat service, content is generated by user communities. The cellular operator provides the network,” a Vodafone official said.
MUMBAI: Cellular operators deny any role in setting up voice chat ‘call centres’ for customers. Industry representatives say the operators only provide the infrastructure for voice chat facilities and are not concerned with what occurs thereafter.
“In a voice chat service, content is generated by user communities. The cellular operator provides the network,” a Vodafone official said.
TV Ramachandran, director-general, Cellular Operators Association of India, says that as far as value added services (VAS), like a voice chat facility, are concerned, the operator offers just the network and nothing else. “In plain terms, we only provide the pipeline for a value added service. What goes through the networks is neither a concern nor a responsibility of the telecom operator.”
On its website Vodafone mentions that while it offers its users a voice chat service, it is not responsible for the content, which is provided by Cellebrum, a leading value added service provider.
Saket Agarwal, chief executive officer, Cellebrum, says while his company has hired people to moderate user profiles, the company does not employ “professional callers”. “We have tried to keep the service as user-based as possible,” Agarwal said. He also said that voice chat is one of the more successful VAS since it replicates the web’s social networking model on mobile phones.
In the case of Airtel, a company called Altruist is the voice chat service provider. An Airtel official said the company has no control over what passes through its networks as VAS. “Our only involvement is in a single screening of a user profile once it is created so that a certain level of information validation is ensured.”
Officials from Altruist were not available for comment.
VAS is a grey area since the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India does not have a regulatory policy on value added services, which also include services such as astrology and cricket commentary.
The success of the telecom industry in the country is largely dependent on the success of VAS since the average revenue per user (ARPU) has been falling for most telecom operators by 5-8% a year (this should not be considered negative, since cellular telephony is a volume-based industry). Telecom experts say with an increasing user base and falling call rates, telecom operators around the world generate profit by selling premium services, priced much higher than standard calling rates, to users.
Logging inTo subscribe to a chat service, send an SMS
You will get a 10-digit ID, which can be known by the people you will chat with
You can create a profile with your name, age and expectations from a friend
You have to log in to the service by dialling a five-digit number
Once you are logged in, you can listen
to pre-recorded clips of the profiles of other users
Once you zero in on a profile, you can start chatting by dialling the user’s 10-digit ID
If you like the experience, you can
save the other user’s ID and chat with him or her again
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