Indian Network Launches M-advertising Service

India's Hutchison-Essar affiliated companies have launched "HutchAlive", the world's first personalized, interactive broadcast service simultaneously across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, AndhraPradesh and Karnataka.

HutchAlive uses Celltick Technologies' cell broadcast platform to deliver a wide range of text-based infotainment services: the cell broadcasts free, short messages simultaneously to a large number of mobile phones at a frequency of one message per minute. The message arrives unobtrusively on subscribers' cellphones, without clogging the message box; once consumers indicate interest, they receive a detailed message and richer content. Regular SMS/voice/WAP rates are charged only when consumers initiate a transaction.

All new Hutch SIMs are HutchAlive-enabled, and the service is also being offered free to existing Hutch consumers until March 31, 2003."

Posted to the site on 31st January 2003