An alert on a missed chance

A survey across subscribers of leading Indian mobile service providers indicates that 54% of calls fail because the number dialled has run out of talktime, is unreachable, or is switched off. Only subscribers who have paid for a missed call alert service hear about such failed calls. “If these calls are converted into live ones by sending alerts [to all subscribers], they will add to revenue," says Manoranjan Mohapatra, chief executive officer, Comviva, the mobile software solution provider which conducted the survey. On average, 18% of users call back on getting a missed call alert, but less than 5% of users subscribe to the service. While the industry is thinking big on data and value-added services revenue, something as obvious as tapping into the failed call kitty has gone unnoticed.