A few years back, the arrival of SMS changed the world of communication. One could send his / her thoughts using text over the mobile phone. Well, now all that is history because SMS could very soon be replaced with IMS or Instant Short Messaging.

IMS would be nothing but chatting over the mobile ohone 24 hours a day and all that would be required is a GPRS enabled mobile phone! Sounds intersting ..then here’s more !

To make this a reality top GSM operators Airtel, Hutch, BSNL and Idea Cellular under the aegis of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), have jointly developed a common IMS platform to ensure that customers can be on instant messaging, even if they do not use the same mobile service. So it no longer matter whether you are a hutch or an airtel subscriber, all you need is a GPRS enabled phone!

The service has been started seeing the extensive use of chat by children in the 12-18 years age group. The service could be launched somewhere this month and to begin, it could be offered free of cost. Industry sources say that later on subscribers might have to pay Rs.30 to Rs.50 for the service.

All said and done, its a positive step towards what I had earlier perceived as convergence!