What is "missed call"

n. (label en telephoning) A call to someone to which the responder doesn't answer. vb. To phone someone without the responder answering.

A missed call is a telephone call that is deliberately terminated by the caller before being answered by its intended recipient, in order to communicate a pre-agreed message without paying the cost of a call. For example, a group of friends may agree that two missed calls in succession means "I am running late". The practice is common in South Asia, the Philippines and Africa.

In Bangladesh, missed calls make up 70% of cellular network traffic. The Cellular Operators Association of India, COAI, has instituted a study to understand the revenue implications of missed calls in India. Industry estimates of loss of revenue due to this social phenomenon were between 20 to and 30%, in 2007.

Some companies offer information services which are accessed by making a missed call to a particular number, causing an automated system to return the call and deliver a pre-recorded message. The culture of the missed call has also been used by political parties like the Aam Aadmi Party as a call to action to drive membership.

To "miss call", in the Philippine-adapted form miskol, was declared the Word of the Year in 2007 at a language convention held in the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Equivalents in other places are to drop call in the US, to beep in Africa, to prank in England and Australia. and to flash in Nigeria.

Missed Call is a 2005 Indian Hinglish film produced by Reelism Films. The film was shot on 16mm in just a matter of 15 days on shoe-string budget. Shot in cinema verite style with on location sync- sound, it went on to win many prestigious awards including the Opening Film at Indian Panorama 2005 and representing India in Cannes 2006. Missed Call till date has been screened at 12 international film and in 2008 it received the distinction of being adjudged the Best International Film at Israel Film Festival.

Missed Call is a poignant tribute to the passionate young men and women who dream of putting their stories on celluloid. Missed call was perhaps the first ever debut film from India to get the rare distinction of being selected to represent the country at the Cannes International Film Festival (2007), along with the masterpieces like The Guru and Lage Raho Munnabhai. Besides being selected to open the International Film Festival, Goa in 2006, the film was adjudicated the Best International film at Israel’s Red Sea International Film Festival in 2008. The film has also been selected by Films Division, India under the honour list of "Best of Indian Cinema."