India's Reliance Communication has said that it expects to launch a nationwide GSM network by the end of the current financial year - making it the only national operator in the country to offer both GSM and CDMA services.
At present, Reliance Telecom's GSM cellular services are already available in 340 towns within its eight-circle footprint. Reliance's CDMA services are available in 19 states and cover about 65% of the country, state wise. The company has been applying for licenses and radio spectrum to expand its GSM coverage to a national foorprint.
"We are aiming to set up nationwide GSM and CDMA network by fiscal end which will cover 23,000 towns and six lakh (600,000) villages serving 97 per cent of the Indian population," Reliance Communications President S P Shukla said.
Reliance Communications says that it will roll out mobile network in another 8,000 towns and 200,000 villages over the next six months.
The company is renewing its focus on growing its rural customer base and also announced a series of new low cost tariffs for the rural market.
According to figures from the Mobile World analysts, Reliance ended last year with some 45.8 million customers, of which 38.8 are connected to CDMA services and 7 million on the GSM network.
Posted to the site on 28th April 2008
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/30829.php