Blyk, the pioneering advertising-funded MVNO, is preparing to launch in Asia Pacific. In an exclusive interview with GSMA Mobile Asia Congress Show Daily, Timo Ahopelto, Blyk’s head of strategy and advertising business development, said that the MVNO is currently studying the most suitable markets and host networks in the region. “Both the advertising environment and mobile behaviour in Asia perfectly suit Blyk,” said Ahopelto, adding that Blyk is using this week’s Congress to meet with local operators. Ahopelto said that the model would remain unchanged for an Asia Pacific launch and would maintain its youth-orientated focus. “Asia is the most natural next step in building global youth media,” he said.

First launched in the UK in September last year, Blyk offers free calls and SMS to 16 to 24 year-olds in return for users accepting advertisements from the likes of Coca-Cola, L’Oreal and Sky. It is considered to be the world’s first mobile service funded solely through advertising. Blyk announced in September that it has signed up around 200,000 UK subscribers to date and is planning to launch in the Netherlands by the end of the year and in Belgium, Germany and Spain in 2009. Advertising response rates at Blyk’s UK operation have been considerably higher than traditional forms of advertising such as TV and print. According to Ahopelto, Blyk ran over 1,000 advertising campaigns in the UK in its first 12 months recording average response rates of over 25 percent. “This makes us the most effective and fastest growing youth media in the UK,” he said.