'4G data services' by the year 2012 says Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani readies plans to roll out 4G data services, low cost tablets in 2012
NEW DELHI: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries plans to offer high-speed data services on attractively priced tablets by early next year and scale it up to a countrywide network by the middle of 2012.
The company, which made a comeback to telecom last year, plans to offer fourth-generation or 4G-enabled data cards that can be plugged into computers and laptops, apart from providing tablets at a game-changing price of 3,000 or even lower to hook customers, two executives familiar with the development said.
RIL has also initiated talks with media and entertainment companies, including Walt Disney's Indian venture UTV Software, to acquire content for its wireless broadband offerings. A deal with Walt Disney, which is close to being finalised, will enable the company to offer games, entertainment and applications for the younger customers.
It plans to provide data connectivity with speeds of 50-100 Mbps, much faster than 3G services currently on offer, at cheaper prices.
The strategy of enticing customers with low prices is similar to the move in 2003, when it took mobile telephony to the masses with its 'Monsoon Hungama' handsets at 501, helping it win 1 million customers in just 10 days.
Reliance Infocom, the telecom arm of the undivided Reliance Group, began its services on December 28, 2002, the birthday of the group's founder Dhirubhai Ambani. The company, now known as Reliance Communications, is owned Anil Ambani, the younger brother of Mukesh.
RIL has acquired Infotel, a company that won pan-India spectrum for broadband wireless access last year and plans full-scale commercial operations by mid-2012. By then, it expects to have its networks ready across 700 cities, one of the executives said. Neither wanted to be identified. The company will also gradually offer much higher speeds for data transfer on its network. It has considered a soft launch as early as December, one source said.
Reliance is working overtime to make a success out of its latest venture, which it hopes will boost investor confidence that has been battered by harsh criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General. The company's other initiatives, such as retail, continue to be small blips in its balance sheet while its gas production has declined because of reservoir complexity.
The company's spokesman declined comment on specifics of its broadband plans saying Reliance would not comment on speculation. But in an update on its telecoms business, Reliance said on Friday that its telecom unit was "in the process of setting up a world-class broadband wireless network using state-of-the-art technologies and finalising the arrangement with leading global technology players, service providers, infrastructure providers, application developers, device manufacturers and others to help usher the 4G revolution into India".
The company is learnt to be in the final phase of talks with three vendors - Alcatel Lucent, Ericsson and China's Huawei - for its broadband gear after finishing trials with equipment provided by all the three. It is not clear if RIL will go with a single vendor or split the contracts between the three, said executives with gearmakers aware of the ongoing talks.
NEW DELHI: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries plans to offer high-speed data services on attractively priced tablets by early next year and scale it up to a countrywide network by the middle of 2012.
The company, which made a comeback to telecom last year, plans to offer fourth-generation or 4G-enabled data cards that can be plugged into computers and laptops, apart from providing tablets at a game-changing price of 3,000 or even lower to hook customers, two executives familiar with the development said.
RIL has also initiated talks with media and entertainment companies, including Walt Disney's Indian venture UTV Software, to acquire content for its wireless broadband offerings. A deal with Walt Disney, which is close to being finalised, will enable the company to offer games, entertainment and applications for the younger customers.
It plans to provide data connectivity with speeds of 50-100 Mbps, much faster than 3G services currently on offer, at cheaper prices.
The strategy of enticing customers with low prices is similar to the move in 2003, when it took mobile telephony to the masses with its 'Monsoon Hungama' handsets at 501, helping it win 1 million customers in just 10 days.
Reliance Infocom, the telecom arm of the undivided Reliance Group, began its services on December 28, 2002, the birthday of the group's founder Dhirubhai Ambani. The company, now known as Reliance Communications, is owned Anil Ambani, the younger brother of Mukesh.
RIL has acquired Infotel, a company that won pan-India spectrum for broadband wireless access last year and plans full-scale commercial operations by mid-2012. By then, it expects to have its networks ready across 700 cities, one of the executives said. Neither wanted to be identified. The company will also gradually offer much higher speeds for data transfer on its network. It has considered a soft launch as early as December, one source said.
Reliance is working overtime to make a success out of its latest venture, which it hopes will boost investor confidence that has been battered by harsh criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General. The company's other initiatives, such as retail, continue to be small blips in its balance sheet while its gas production has declined because of reservoir complexity.
The company's spokesman declined comment on specifics of its broadband plans saying Reliance would not comment on speculation. But in an update on its telecoms business, Reliance said on Friday that its telecom unit was "in the process of setting up a world-class broadband wireless network using state-of-the-art technologies and finalising the arrangement with leading global technology players, service providers, infrastructure providers, application developers, device manufacturers and others to help usher the 4G revolution into India".
The company is learnt to be in the final phase of talks with three vendors - Alcatel Lucent, Ericsson and China's Huawei - for its broadband gear after finishing trials with equipment provided by all the three. It is not clear if RIL will go with a single vendor or split the contracts between the three, said executives with gearmakers aware of the ongoing talks.
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