Tata DoCoMo has introduced what it is calling the pay-per-site model for mobile Internet: consumers who browse any of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Orkut, or use Gmail, Yahoo, Rediff, GTalk, Yahoo Messenger and Nimbuzz can choose either of two packs –
– Rs. 10 per site upto 200 MB of data, beyond which Rs. 0.01 per kb wll be charged
– Rs. 25 per month for either of SNS (Social Networking Site) Combo Pack and Emailing Combo Pack
Speaking with MediaNama, Rishi Mohan Malhotra, Head-VAS, Tata DOCOMO, said that the launch of this pack is about changing consumption patterns with transparent pricing: there are people who shy away from taking a Rs. 48 pack, and say their usage is limited to a particular site. They can pick up a pack. Malhotra didn’t believe it will cannibalize on existing GPRS reveues (some users paying Rs. 48), and revenues will be incremental. He didn’t specifically comment on the impact of this pricing on ARPU. Readers should also keep in mind two things
– Tata Docomo had given GPRS free for some specific sites, earlier this year. Many of the sites included then are in this list, and it’s a case of getting people used to the service, then monetizing by introducing an affordable price.
– Users who subscribe to certain sites will be charged for accessing others. So accessing twitter or facebook may be free, but accessing links tweeted or posted, one would have to outside the core domain. This might end up being a significant source of revenue.
Malhotra said that they chose the nine sites on the basis of studying users visiting these sites. He clarified that there is no formal arrangement with the sites to provide low cost access, and access is not being subsidised by the site owners. He said that Tata Docomo will be adding a lot more sites to this list, but wouldn’t share a target.
