In February 2007, ACL Wireless helped bring a mobile version of Yahoo! IM to 3 million of Reliance Communications’ 31 million subscribers.

Yahoo! Mobile IM is a client-based service with a desktop-like graphical interface that includes live chat and collapsible buddy lists. Reliance subscribers are charged USD 0.12 per login, but in the future, users will be offered similar pricing plans on a per-day and per-month basis.

The client, which is compatible with Java or BREW-based handsets, can be pre-embedded or downloaded.

Vineet Kaul, director of business development for ACL, says his company made an effort to build an always-on functionality into the messaging ecosystem. This means users can receive calls and SMS for up to two hours without being logged out.

A report from analysts visiongain, entitled Mobile Instant Messaging Report 2006-2011, looks at operators that have been successful moving IM from the PC environment to the mobile. Based on revenue figures from 2005, visiongain says that Yahoo holds a 28 percent mobile IM market share.

The number of mobile IM users in the US doubled between 2005 and 2006 and is expected to reach 145 million users by 2011. Similar growth is forecasted in Western Europe, where visiongain expects 93 million users by 2011.

One of the report’s conclusions is that mobile instant messaging will be highly successful in countries where mobiles far out number PCs, such as India.

In addition to its IM products, ACL has also developed several SMS-based chat services, including M-Chat, which is running live on STC and Mobily in Saudi Arabia, Oman Mobile in Oman and MTC Vodafone in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq.

About 8 million messages are sent each month over M-Chat, where subscribers are charged about USD 0.10 per message.

With M-Chat, subscribers have access to simple people search and chat functionality. “Carriers love this product because it helps them retain customers while the volume of messages drives revenue,” Kaul says.

David Francisco