RIM to empower 4 lakh villages by Dec '05

MUMBAI: Reliance Infocomm has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan to reach out to four lakh villages across the country by the year end. "On the eve of our nation's 56th Republic Day, we reiterate our commitment to bridge the digital divide by taking the fruits of the Infocomm revolution to the vast Indian populace, especially those residing in rural India," said Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) CMD, Mukesh Ambani.






The company's 80,000 km of terabit optic fiber cable network forms the backbone of its countrywide expansion, which will facilitate unlimited and uninterrupted voice, data and video applications. According to the press release, this operation, touching 65 crore Indians, will cover nearly two-third of its villages and over 5,700 cities and towns. This expansion involving 8,500 BTS (Base Transceiver Station) towers, will also cover 91 percent of the country's national highways and 85 percent of the rail routes. Eventually, the company's footprint will cover the entire habitat of the country. The company claims that this initiative is expected to increase India's teledensity to 10 percent by the end of the year, ahead of the national target.





According to Reliance Infocomm wireless business COO Kamal Nanavaty, the company already enjoys over one billion hits a month on its unique infotainment data application suite called R World. "This rollout will take the benefits of these services to many more Indians," he added.





"With this expansion, rural India will also have greater access to the Internet, thanks to R-Connect and is bound to take India on its path towards knowledge-led leadership. It is also an established fact that increase of each point in tele-density, results in a three percent growth in the country's GDP," said Nanavaty.