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Follow UsMUMBAI, INDIA: After launching Netconnect, the broadband Internet service in 2004, Reliance Communication Limited (RCom) announced the roll out of Netconnect Broadband Plus, the fastest wireless Internet service in India.
It’s a CDMA technology driven wireless broadband service that offers download speed up to 3.1 Mbps and upload speed up to 1.8Mbps.
Presently the service is rolled out in selected 35 cities on a fibre optic high speed 1x service network covering about 20,000 towns and 4.5 lakh villages across India. The service is targeted in the locations which have high presence of industries like IT, manufacturing and textile, small and medium enterprise, small office and homes.
The product for this new broadband service is a small device like a pen drive with tiny antenna which can be easily used by the plug-n-play (PnP) feature with any desktop or laptops for accessing the Internet. Also it comes with auto installation feature for convenience. Its weighs 50 gm and has USB 2.0 interface which is also compatible with USB 1.1/1.0
ZTE and Huawei, the two device manufactures, have supplied its products to RCom that is available in two colour variants of black and white. It will be available in the company’s flagship stores spread across the country.
It is priced at Rs.3,500 with various tariff plans ranging from Rs.299 monthly pay on use basis to Rs.1,099 yearly unlimited plan. Along with these there are different plans targeted for cities and nationwide customers depending on the usage and needs.
“The launch of Netconnect Broadband Plus is an important milestone for Reliance and will act as a catalyst in the government’s effort to drive broadband penetration in India,” said Mahesh Prasad, Reliance Communication’s president.
“Reliance Netconnect Broadband Plus will be the inflection point for the Indian Internet industry and would enable broadband access to millions of online Indians,” he added.
Further Prasad pointed out the challenges faced in providing the high speed Internet services in the country.
He said, “Infrastructure is a challenge for providing high-speed Internet service in India. There are limitation of wire lines and cables and the connectivity at the last mile still remains a challenge here. And the existing copper wire lines are not suitable for broadband applications.”
Prasad remarked that although India is ahead in IT, the Internet penetration in India in rural and semi urban areas is very low compared to US, Korea and China.