(26 December 2006 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Tmobile2win, India`s leading VAS enabler hosted its first mobile Monday forum in Mumbai last week.

The meet was attended by more than 60 professionals and enthusiasts from the Music, Telecom, Media and IT industry.Mobile Mondays are small, informal meets arranged city-wise and every month.

The key note address was given by Netcore Solutions India VP mobile products and strategy Veerchand Bothra followed by mobile2win CEO Gopala Krishnan. He started off by explaining the concept of Mobile Monday(MoMo) and outlining the agenda for the evening followed by a presentation on the mobile indusry in general and the latest trends in mobile technology.

The theme for the event was The Mobile Music Market in India- Untapped revenue streams in urban and rural India. Key speakers were- Soundbuzz GM Mandar Thakur, mobile2win country head Rajiv Hiranandani, Universal Music MD Rajat Kakar, Hutch's Shailesh Varudkar, and ABP head Internet and telecom Saurav Sen.

Discussions ranged from wireless technologies to Piracy in the mobile music industry, entertainment offerings and value added services etc.

Kakar says, "Mobile Value Added Services (Vas) represents a growing format for sale and promotion of Music. Universal Music Group, as leaders in the Music business worldwide, have both,the responsibility and the desire to shape the contours of this opportunity in our endeavour to reach out to our consumers. Indian mobile landsacpe is among the largest in the World and interventions early in the product life cycles will, hopefully, ensure a viable eco-system for all players in this domain."

Mr Rajiv Discussions ranged from wireless technologies to Piracy in the mobile music industry, entertainment offerings and value added services etc.

According to Mr Rajat Kakar, MD, Universal Music India Pvt Ltd, "Mobile VAS represents a growing format for sale and promotion of Music. Universal Music Group, as leaders in the Music business worldwide, have both,the responsibility and the desire to shape the contours of this opportunity in our endeavour to reach out to our consumers. Indian mobile landsacpe is among the largest in the World and interventions early in the product life cycles will, hopefully, ensure a viable eco-system for all players in this domain."

Mr Rajiv Hiranandani, Country Head, mobile2win, says "Year 2006 is a landmark year for the Indian Mobile industry.The userbase has touched around 13 crore which is only next to China". He further added, "Mobile Monday is an industry event and which is driven by the community, whose suggestions and co-operation makes it all possible. The forum give us a platform to discuss concerning issues related to the mobile VAS industry in a more open and informal manner".

Hiranandani says, "Year 2006 is a landmark year for the Indian Mobile industry.The userbase has touched around 13 crore which is only next to China. Mobile Monday is an industry event and which is driven by the community, whose suggestions and co-operation makes it all possible. The forum give us a platform to discuss concerning issues related to the mobile Vas industry in a more open and informal manner".