Mail Your Voice@Rs 6

There’s good news for all those making long distance calls. You can now

send voice messages to any telephone number across India within 15 minutes or to

anywhere in the world through a pre-registered e-mail account. What’s more,

you can book a message today and specify the time of delivery for a particular

date a year down the line. In order to access this service, all you have to do

is pay Rs 6 for one way messaging. And in case you prefer to receive a reply

recorded in the recipient’s voice, you could book a minute of response time by

paying Rs 4 extra.

This is Hallo for you, a personalized ‘mail your voice’ service from

Chennai-based network enabled service provider Deltagram. Talking about the

company’s new offering, Deltagram managing director R Kothandaraman says,

‘‘A Hallo user needs to purchase a membership card(priced at Rs 6 and Rs

10). These cards will be soon available at all major retail outlets across the

country. Every Hallo card will have a unique PIN number and a local Deltagram

telephone number. Users simply need to call at the local Hallo number and

dictate the message." The message will be recorded using Deltagram’s

interactive voice response (IVR) software that also guides the user through the

entire process. "We have finally been able to break the language barrier

posed by e-mail as voice mail messages can be recorded in any language," he

adds.

The company launched the service in Chennai on December 15. It has tied up

with distributors in Southern India and plans to market Hallo pre-paid cards

across the country by Q2 2002 through franchisees. It also plans to rope in PCOs

(public call offices) as voice-mail centers. ‘‘In order to be absorbed as

franchisees, PCOs will be required to pay a fee of Rs 5,000 of which we will be

giving them Hallo cards worth Rs 3,000,’’ adds Kothandaraman.

Deltagram has invested Rs 25 crore in the first phase of setting up its

network of 53 VSATs. While it presently has 50 earth stations connecting 250

towns and over 5,000 collection center across India, it plans to expand the

network to all 25,000 pin code areas (as defined by the post and telegraph

department) through 250 telecom districts. Each telecom district will be managed

by a licensed business associate. Each of the 25,000 pin code areas will have a

Deltagram digital post ofice delivery center (DDPO-DC). Every DDPO-DC will be

supported by 10 Deltagram digital post office collection centers (DDPO-CC). Its

central server located in Chennai will serve as the hub of the network.

The company also has offerings like MNet and Bizcomnet for the corporate

segment. And while the corporate segment promises a low volume high value

market, a recent ORG Marg survey commissioned by the company shows that 34% of

the Indian populace is willing to use e-communication products and services. The

survey was conducted across 26 cities with a sample size of 36,000. ‘‘The

only barrier in leveraging on these services was the low penetration of PCs and

with the launch of Hallo we have changed the end device itself–from a PC to a

telephone instrument. And despite the fact that actual tele penetration in the

country is around 2%, the fact is that it has a 98% user base,’’ he

explains. In the long-term, however, the company is looking at a 50:50 mix from

the corporate and retail segments.

SHUBHENDU PARTH in Chennai