Introduction

Reliance has already made there mark in various sectors such as Wireless, Wireline, Netway, Webworld, IDC, etc. In one of the largest and fastest ever network rollout operations in the world, Reliance Infocomm has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan to reach out to four lakh villages across the country by end of 2005, thus bringing about a new revolution in rural telephony.
 

Connectivity

Working at breakneck speed, from late 1999 to 2002 Reliance Infocomm built the backbone for a digital India - 60,000 kilometres of fibre optic backbone, crisscrossing the entire country.  This massive 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% of the country's national highways and 85% of the rail routes. Eventually, the company's footprint will cover the entire habitat of the country. This initiative is expected to increase India's teledensity to 10% by the end of the year, ahead of the national target.

Village Public Telephones

VPT is the first Telephone in the villages, where there is no Telephone available till date. These VPTs are to be installed in a village for public use with STD facility.

Reliance Infocomm has installed VPTs as per its license obligation covering 59 Talukas. Subsidy support for 3,599 VPTs is being received every quarter from USF.

Rural Community Phone (RCP)

Rural Community Phones (RCPs) provided in the villages where population exceeds 2000, after achieving the target of one VPT in every village. These RCPs may be provided in public places such as shops, schools, primary health centers etc with STD facility generally available on them.

Reliance Infocomm is committed to install about 22,000 RCPs covering 61 Districts in 11 states. We are planning to install about 15,000 RCPs before end of 2005 and rest by 2006.

Rural Household DELs

Rural Household DELs (RDELs) are the one provided in the talukas, which are declared as rural taluka. Fixed Wireless Phone/Terminal (FWP/T) of CDMA Technology is planned as RDELs.

Reliance Infocomm committed to provide RDELs in 61 Districts covering 203 Talukas in India. We are planning to roll out 6,100 by Sep 05.

High Speed Public Tele-Info Centre (HPTICs)

Reliance Infocomm committed to provide High Speed PTICs (HPTICs) for providing additional facilities including tele-education and tele-medicine at Block Headquarters and in villages with a population exceeding 2000

These 'Information Kiosk' forms the core of rural broadband/connectivity. The kiosks (Public Tele Information Centers (PTIC) and High speed PTICs (HPTIC)) will be set up in a phased manner so as to cover roughly 1, 00,000 villages in three years which approximately covers 48 per cent of the total rural population.