IT'S Orange Wednesdays in the UK. That's because the 12 million Orange mobile subscribers there can watch a movie of their choice at a theatre they like on that day, that too at half the price. All he needs to do is text FILM to 241. In return he gets a mobile coupon (m-coupon) that he has to show the clerk at the theatre.

So the subscriber gets movie tickets cheap, the theatre fills up, and the mobile operator gets some additional revenue. A win-win-win situation. That's what Active Media Technology has managed to create. Raj Singh, its executive director, is looking to do something along these lines in India too. He has been talking to mobile operators in India to launch m-coupons here. Says Singh: "Our solutions offer stickiness to the mobile network. In the process, the operator gets increased revenues."

Mobile operators like Bharti, Hutch and IDEA are looking to enhance their ARPUs. That's simpler said than done when tariffs are the lowest in the world. Also the newer subscribers are coming in from lower income groups. During January-March 2004, the all-India ARPU has been Rs 431.99 ($9.59). That's where m-coupons can add value by offering more options.

Mohit Bhatnagar, vice-president (new product development & alliances), Bharti, says: "Such services create clear differentiation among the service firms. M-coupons are a good entry point for mobile transactions in future." Plus, it ensures that the pre-paid subscriber does not switch to the rival operator.

In a way, this is the second step forward to a fully mobile commerce era. The first step was getting services sending an SMS. M-coupons' biggest target will be food and entertainment - discounts at restaurants, etc. As Bhatnagar points out: "It all depends on the scalability of the solution."

In the final stage of mobile commerce, subscribers would be able to transact using just the mobile. But that will still take some time to happen.