The Hindu Business Line : Reliance bundles phones with Intel-PCs

Mr Kamal Nanavaty (left), Head, Wireless Business, Reliance Infocomm, with Mr Amar Babu, Intel Technology South Asia, at a press conference in the Capital on Tueday. - - Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Sept. 21

RELIANCE Infocomm today announced an agreement with Intel to offer instant and high speed Internet connectivity with Intel-powered personal computers (PCs) and laptops sold across eight cities.

Under this initiative, users purchasing systems from select dealers will be offered Intel-powered PCs or laptops with Reliance wireless products such as mobiles or fixed wireless phones along with data cable, for Internet connectivity at download speeds of up to 144 kbps, Mr Kamal Nanavaty, Head of wireless business, Reliance Infocomm, said at a conference here.

Under the bundling offer, the base price of the PC and Reliance phone will be about Rs 21,789.

"We expect that the agreement would boost Internet penetration to a wider user segment," he added.

The programme would initially be rolled out in eight cities - - Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.

The offer will be available only to new Reliance customers. Commenting on the data tariffs, he said the user would have to pay Rs 200 as monthly rental and Rs 0.40 per minute as usage charge.

"As an introductory offer, the rental has been waived for three months," he said.

Mr Nanavaty said the company would expand its wireless and wireline services to 5,000 cities and towns by the end of this financial year, while the subscriber base is expected touch 10 million by early 2005.

Mr Nanavaty said by the first quarter of the calendar year 2005, the company would be able to cover the entire country except Jammu and Kashmir.

"We have applied for clearances to start mobile services in Jammu and Kashmir," Mr Nanavaty said.

Mr Jimmy Mogal, Head, Corporate Communications, Reliance Infocomm, said the company would expand its presence to 5,000 towns and cities by the end of the current financial year.

"We currently have 80,000 kilometres of fibre optic backbone and this will be increased to 120,000 kilometres," he said.

Reliance Infocomm has currently 8.3 million customers in the circles it operates in.

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