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Airtel & BPL Mobile Launch City Search Feature - Airtel Ties Up With AskLaila For the same
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Telecom players seem to be waking up to the power of local search so both Airtel and BPL seem to have launched local search products that their large subscriber base can use. While BPL Mobile has launched the local search service only in Mumbai, Airtel with its tie up with AskLaila has launched the service across 6 cities i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bangalore. The point to note is BPL hasn’t tied up with any player to provide this service atleast not one that has been publicly announced.
How the BPL Mobile service works:
Call *111# to begin the ‘Mumbai Search’. A menu flashes on the mobile phone screen. Simply key in ‘1’ for ‘Mumbai Search’. Enter keywords of what you are looking for in the search tab, with a prefix ‘1’ Eg. 1 Carpenter in Colaba. An instant SMS in return puts an end to your search.
The service is applicable on a USSD as well as the SMS platform, it’s as simple as calling *111# from your BPL Mobile phone, when a menu flashes on the phone screen. The user just needs to press 1, and then key in his query, (Rs 3/response, applicable). Users can also SMS his query directly to 54000, (Rs 3/SMS).
How the Airtel AskLaila Service Works:
The service can be accessed via SMS, USSD and Airtel Live.
Via SMS: Airtel users can text the keyword to get accurate city information. For example, ‘locate pizza gurgaon’ and SMS it to 54321 to get relevant local information free of cost.
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD): USSD is a faster channel than the text-messaging platform and GPRS. This is an instant messaging type phone service and can be used in even basic phone models. This is accessible under Airtel Live USSD portal by dialing *321#
Airtel Live: Local search will be integrated in the Airtel service menu, under the Airtel Live brand.
Local Search Mobile Tie Ups A Trend thats catching on?
Just recently we had blogged about Onyomo’s deal with Reliance communication for the quick search service and now Asklaila has partnered Airtel. Its seems this will be an ongoing trend as many telecom guys don’t have this local search capability and there are enough players (think guruji, yulop, burrp etc) who still haven’t tied up as yet. I expect more local search announcements of tie ups with telecom players in the days ahead. Also its no surprise given the where mobile search market in India is headed.
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