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Now you can chat instantly with your friends, colleagues and family members using your mobile phones through mobile instant messaging as you do now on popular instant messangers such as Yahoo Messenger and Google Talk among others.
All 10 GSM operators in the country will soon launch the MIM service, which allows real time chatting among mobile users and MIM users can see their friends online, chat even in groups on their mobile phones.
However, MIM can also offer a link to fixed IM users so that they can chat with their friends who are on computers or laptops.
To avail the service, mobile handsets should have GPRS facility (web enabled facility). Although the service is initially offered in English language, operators are also planning to offer the service in local languages.
The percentage of mobile users with IM-capable phones will grow to 62 percent in 2010 from a mere 4 percent currently, COAI Technical Committee Chairman Ashok Juneja said.
T V Ramachandran, director general, Cellular Operators' Association of India, said, "The commercial service will be launched in about three weeks time. The telecom tariffs in the country is among the lowest in the world so the tariff for the service will also be low."
The software for which has been designed and and engineered by Jataayu Software in partnership with Fast Mobile.
The tariffs will be based on usage of bytes and tariffs will be on the lines of the GPRS services. Unlike SMS which is a store and forward method, users have to be online to chat on MIM.
This is the first time that all GSM operators have jointly launched a product. Operators like BSNL, MTNL, Bharti Airtel, Hutch-Essar, Idea, Aircel, Reliance Telecom, Spice and BPL.
"Instant messaging uses the internet in similar manner as chatting and does many other things. It combines the power of internet chat on the PC and brings it on to the small screen. Considering that India has a very low PC penetration, this will develop very fast on the mobile," COAI Chairman Sanjeev Aga said.
