Leading
global telecommunications company, Bharti Airtel has joined hands with Google
to launch free internet service for mobile users in India.They announced the
launch of Free Zone, which will give Airtel mobile customers access to mobile
web search and feature-phone-friendly versions of Gmail and Google+ in India
for free.According to a statement released by Airtel, Free Zone aims to make
the web accessible and affordable to all mobile users.
The Internet services available via Airtel includes:
Gmail: Users have unlimited access to Gmail from their mobile browser. If users click on a link or attachment within the email they are directed to a page where they can purchase a data package.
Google+: Users can share online photos and messages with circles of family, selected friends or the public; follow updates on the things they are passionate about - from cricket to photography, music to news; and follow people they’re interested in.
Google Search: Users can search the entire Internet and access the first page of websites from the results for free. If they click further into a website after that, they are directed to a page where they can purchase a data package.
While Airtel subscribers will not incur any data charges to access these services on Free Zone powered by Google, access to more advanced services such as attachment download or browse through to web sites from the ones accessed in the Free Zone would be enabled through the subscription to a standard data package. The first page of a website linked from search results is provided at no data cost. They are informed about the data charges and given the option to purchase an appropriate data package.
Rajan Anandan, VP and Managing Director, Google India said, “The mobile Internet user base is growing really fast in India. Working with Airtel on this exciting trial means that we can offer Internet services at no cost to anyone with a phone. This gives people easier access to information in a way that benefits everyone, whether it’s an individual or a small business that wants to reach more people on the web. We hope this initiative will encourage more Indians to experience the value of the Internet and gain from it. Students can easily look up for facts to work on their assignments, housewives will be able to easily check on recipes and connect with their friends and family from their mobile phones."Free Zone aims to put the web in the hands of more people and empower first time Internet users with several useful services of the Internet.Airtel mobile customers can access the service by visiting www.airtel.in/freezone and start using the Internet without having to sign in to the service.
“As the country’s leading telecom services provider, we at Airtel are constantly looking for new ways of exciting more and more of our 200 million plus customers in India about the data experience. In this market, where feature phones predominate, our association with Google to bring Free Zone to India will encourage millions of users to discover the power of mobile Internet for the very first time and leverage the amazing world of information search, email and social collaboration - at no incremental cost” said N Rajaram, Chief Marketing Officer – Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel.
Why free access only for Google products? This is a funny one. Airtel also states that the first page of a website linked from search results is provided at no data cost. The first link from the Google search result is an ad, which will be a revenue stream for Google. While this partnership will allow users to use more data on Airtel, Google on the other hand also seems to be making money out it. The financial details or revenue sharing model between the two companies have not been disclosed. This is not the first time Airtel has partnered with services to increase data usage, however, its partnership with Google only seems to be the one to even bring revenues along with increase in data usage.Airtel users can start using the service by visiting www.airtel.in/freezone or just accessing the Internet without having to sign in to the service. It also allows users to directly signup to Google’s Gmail service or use their existing account. If one leaves the Free Zone to navigate deeper into a website or download an attachment, Airtel claims that it informs them about the data charges and provide an option to purchase data package.Previously, Airtel had partnered with Facebook to offer a free access to Facebook’s mobile site for all its users, for 2 months. In October 2011, Airtel had partnered with Twitter to offer free access to twitter from mobile.twitter.com to Airtel customers until 1st March 2012.Remember that Airtel reported increase in data usage in the Q4 FY13 quarter. Airtel’s data segment’s revenue contribution to total revenues increased to 6.5% from 5.7% last quarter, as opposed to revenue contribution from VAS and Messaging, which had declined to 9.1% from 9.9%. Airtel also reported that data ARPU increased by 16.58% up at Rs 55 per data user, from Rs 47 per data user. It is pretty clear that users are eventually moving away from VAS and SMS packs to data packs. That said, it appears that Airtel seems to be driving more data usage on its network. It recently slashed its 2G data rates by 90% for all its prepaid customers in Punjab and Haryana. It also reduced its 4G data tariff and introduced new 4G plans starting from Rs 450.However, Airtel is not the only operator in the country to offer discounts to drive data usage. In May 2013, Tata DOCOMOhad partnered with the online music streaming service to launch music-oriented data plans to its 2G and 3G prepaid GSM subscribers. Hungama’s has partnered with Vodafone, Uninor and MTS to allow them offer its service to their respective subscribers.In May 2010, Reliance had tied up with Facebook to offer free mobile browsing on 0.facebook.com, a light-weight mobile version of the social networking website. Reliance Communications had launched a prepaid plan ‘WhatsApp Plan’ that offered unlimited usage of WhatsApp across the country for Rs. 16/month. Recently, Idea Cellular partnered with Facebook to offer Facebook messenger for free for three months to Idea subscribers. The idea here appears to be that telcos are promoting data based services to its subscribers so that it can drive large data usage. Currently, revenue from VAS and SMS seems to decreasing and data is only slowly picking up.
The Internet services available via Airtel includes:
Gmail: Users have unlimited access to Gmail from their mobile browser. If users click on a link or attachment within the email they are directed to a page where they can purchase a data package.
Google+: Users can share online photos and messages with circles of family, selected friends or the public; follow updates on the things they are passionate about - from cricket to photography, music to news; and follow people they’re interested in.
Google Search: Users can search the entire Internet and access the first page of websites from the results for free. If they click further into a website after that, they are directed to a page where they can purchase a data package.
While Airtel subscribers will not incur any data charges to access these services on Free Zone powered by Google, access to more advanced services such as attachment download or browse through to web sites from the ones accessed in the Free Zone would be enabled through the subscription to a standard data package. The first page of a website linked from search results is provided at no data cost. They are informed about the data charges and given the option to purchase an appropriate data package.
Rajan Anandan, VP and Managing Director, Google India said, “The mobile Internet user base is growing really fast in India. Working with Airtel on this exciting trial means that we can offer Internet services at no cost to anyone with a phone. This gives people easier access to information in a way that benefits everyone, whether it’s an individual or a small business that wants to reach more people on the web. We hope this initiative will encourage more Indians to experience the value of the Internet and gain from it. Students can easily look up for facts to work on their assignments, housewives will be able to easily check on recipes and connect with their friends and family from their mobile phones."Free Zone aims to put the web in the hands of more people and empower first time Internet users with several useful services of the Internet.Airtel mobile customers can access the service by visiting www.airtel.in/freezone and start using the Internet without having to sign in to the service.
“As the country’s leading telecom services provider, we at Airtel are constantly looking for new ways of exciting more and more of our 200 million plus customers in India about the data experience. In this market, where feature phones predominate, our association with Google to bring Free Zone to India will encourage millions of users to discover the power of mobile Internet for the very first time and leverage the amazing world of information search, email and social collaboration - at no incremental cost” said N Rajaram, Chief Marketing Officer – Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel.
Why free access only for Google products? This is a funny one. Airtel also states that the first page of a website linked from search results is provided at no data cost. The first link from the Google search result is an ad, which will be a revenue stream for Google. While this partnership will allow users to use more data on Airtel, Google on the other hand also seems to be making money out it. The financial details or revenue sharing model between the two companies have not been disclosed. This is not the first time Airtel has partnered with services to increase data usage, however, its partnership with Google only seems to be the one to even bring revenues along with increase in data usage.Airtel users can start using the service by visiting www.airtel.in/freezone or just accessing the Internet without having to sign in to the service. It also allows users to directly signup to Google’s Gmail service or use their existing account. If one leaves the Free Zone to navigate deeper into a website or download an attachment, Airtel claims that it informs them about the data charges and provide an option to purchase data package.Previously, Airtel had partnered with Facebook to offer a free access to Facebook’s mobile site for all its users, for 2 months. In October 2011, Airtel had partnered with Twitter to offer free access to twitter from mobile.twitter.com to Airtel customers until 1st March 2012.Remember that Airtel reported increase in data usage in the Q4 FY13 quarter. Airtel’s data segment’s revenue contribution to total revenues increased to 6.5% from 5.7% last quarter, as opposed to revenue contribution from VAS and Messaging, which had declined to 9.1% from 9.9%. Airtel also reported that data ARPU increased by 16.58% up at Rs 55 per data user, from Rs 47 per data user. It is pretty clear that users are eventually moving away from VAS and SMS packs to data packs. That said, it appears that Airtel seems to be driving more data usage on its network. It recently slashed its 2G data rates by 90% for all its prepaid customers in Punjab and Haryana. It also reduced its 4G data tariff and introduced new 4G plans starting from Rs 450.However, Airtel is not the only operator in the country to offer discounts to drive data usage. In May 2013, Tata DOCOMOhad partnered with the online music streaming service to launch music-oriented data plans to its 2G and 3G prepaid GSM subscribers. Hungama’s has partnered with Vodafone, Uninor and MTS to allow them offer its service to their respective subscribers.In May 2010, Reliance had tied up with Facebook to offer free mobile browsing on 0.facebook.com, a light-weight mobile version of the social networking website. Reliance Communications had launched a prepaid plan ‘WhatsApp Plan’ that offered unlimited usage of WhatsApp across the country for Rs. 16/month. Recently, Idea Cellular partnered with Facebook to offer Facebook messenger for free for three months to Idea subscribers. The idea here appears to be that telcos are promoting data based services to its subscribers so that it can drive large data usage. Currently, revenue from VAS and SMS seems to decreasing and data is only slowly picking up.
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