Mobile Value-Added Services (MVAS), with its high growth potential in India, is expected to rake in Rs 18,000 cr by the end of 2012. The huge market potential of MVAS has attracted the attention of one and all from the telecommunications industry. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which has soft launched 3G services last year, has moved into MVAS in a big way, to get the first mover advantage—with a large subscriber base and low operational costs. Other telecom bigwigs too are not far behind. Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom provider with 26.5% market share, has extended its contract with Ericsson for three more years to upgrade and develop GSM/GPRS networks. Idea, a key player in GSM mobile services in India, has bagged a loan of $100 mn from IFC (a member of World Bank group) to expand mobile telephone services across the nation. Reliance has offered MVAS under its new `state-of-the-art services' plan, and other small operators too are busy in drawing effective plans to launch MVAS.

MVAS is projected to have a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20% between 2007 and 2012 and contribute 10 to 14% to the mobile operators' total revenue and is expected to reach 30% by 2014. The high growth rate for MVAS is expected to explode with 3G deployment in 2009. Low data service tariff, availability of low-cost mobile handsets consisting latest hi-tech features and reasonable rates of VAS services are the major factors which will fuel the growth of MVAS in the country. Through MVAS, mobile operators can offer numerous services—along with the traditional standard voice calls and fax service—at a premium price, thereby increasing their bottom line. MVAS include Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and wireless data service (GPRS, WLAN) Mobile gaming; WDA and PTT (voice-based services) also come under MVAS.

The Analyst Magazine, Mobile Value-Added Services, MVAS, Telecommunications Industry, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, BSNL, GPRS Networks, GSM Mobile Services, Compounded Annual Growth Rate, CAGR, Multimedia Messaging Service, MMS, Short Message Service, SMS, Wireless Data Service, Mobile Gaming, International Markets, Multimedia Applications, Indian Telephony Market.