MapMyIndia, the maps business backed by Qualcomm Ventures, Nexus India Capital, KPCB and Sherpalo Ventures, has entered the rather crowded local business information service with the launch of Dial62, a free driving directions service that also provides local business information. We received the info via SMS yesterday, though it had been reported previously. The service is call center based, and is live from 8AM to 7PM. However, this is by no means the only voice based driving directions service in India - Reliance Communications has had such a service live for a couple of years - at Rs. 30 per month subscription, and Rs. 6 per minute. That's expensive and overpriced, and it's cheaper for RCOM subscribers to call Dial62 on STD in Delhi at 011-62626262 than calling RCOM. Our sense it that MapMyIndia is leveraging its strength - in location and driving directions - to enter the local business information space; monetization will eventually be from leads generated for local businesses. This is essentially a voice based version of a map service - free maps are expected to be monetized by local business information, so why not on voice? Maps can not only tell you where the business is, and its contact details, but also how to get there. So far, MapMyIndia has business listings only for the Delhi/NCR region. The local business information market is crowded, with Yahoo funded AskLaila, Call Ezee, other business information services like Infomedia India/AskMe, Getit Yellow Pages, but is dominated by JustDial, which appears to…
