Boring boring brrring brrring - here come ring-back tones

A twist on downloadable ringtones looks set to bring in as much as $1.5bn for European mobile operators and record labels by the end of next year.

Ring-back tones, as some companies are calling them, involve a song, voice message or even an advert being heard when someone calls someone else. They replace the electronic 'bring-bring' sound commonly heard.

Mobile business and entertainment company Netsize is forecasting the above growth in the market and predicts penetration of more than 20 per cent among subscribers during the same period.

Last October, silicon.com reported on widerthan.com, a spin-off from SK Telecom in Korea, where ring-back tones have proved popular, adding about $2 to the average monthly phone bill and accounting for more than $100m in total revenue.

Now the RBT phenomenon is spreading further. T-Mobile UK has launched its Caller Tunes service and, as well as countries in Asia, operators in France and Portugal are known to be testing technology. widerthan.com has a base in Reading, suggesting other UK operators are also in a pre-launch phase.

Moreover, Netsize reckons record labels will benefit because unlike ringtones - which usually feature synthesised versions of popular pieces of music - operators will work with those owning original master recordings.