PacificNet (PACT.PK) says that China Mobile (CHL) recently deployed its subsidiary Guangzhou 3G's Color Ring Back Tone ("CRBT") value-added services for Hubei and Guangdong Provinces.

To date, Guangzhou 3G has launched localized CRBT services in 11 provinces including Liaoning, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou, serving the four major telecom operators in China.

With the CRBT value-added telecom service ("Cai-Ling"), subscribers can customize the ring tone from a wide selection of commercial music, personalized messages, celebrity greetings, or voice advertisements to replace the monotonous ring connecting tone that the caller would hear.

The CRBT service offers more personalized services for mobile users while opening new revenue possibilities for operators to increase average revenue per user (ARPU).

CRBT usage has increased dramatically since it was first introduced by China Mobile in 2003. A recent industry research indicates that CRBT penetration has exceeded 10% of the overall mobile subscribers, and CRBT subscribers will surpass 60 million users, resulting in a market size of CNY 2 billion by the end of 2005. CRBT has become a new business growth point emerging after mobile voice services and SMS.