Ambani faith in 4G potential

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai, June 6: Reliance Jio, the telecom venture of Reliance Industries Ltd, is gearing up to usher in fourth-generation (4G) services, though clarity is yet to emerge on the launch date. Reiterating his faith in the "digital future'' of India, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani today said the company was preparing to bring in 4G services, though he stopped short of disclosing the time frame of the launch. Ambani, who spent the better part of his address at the annual general meeting in talking about the future of telecom, pointed out that the digital services subsidiary had not only tied up with key vendors but was also increasing its manpower more than three times across the country. "From less than 700 professionals a year back, most of them based in our Navi Mumbai campus, the Reliance Jio team has grown rapidly to have a national footprint of over 3,000 professionals today." the RIL chairman said. "We estimate that over the next year we will grow the team further to a national strength of nearly 10,000 professionals," Ambani said. "We have also finalised the key vendor and supplier partnerships that are required for the initial launch of our services. These strategic partners have committed significant resources, knowhow and global talent to support planning, deployment and testing activities currently underway," he added. Optimistic outlook While some observers have questioned RIL's decision to enter the highly competitive telecom arena, particularly 4G, Ambani expressed his confidence in the potential of this business. "In continuing to hold a bullish view about the potential of the Indian digital services market, many may well count me among the optimistic minority in the industry. Let me assure sceptics that my continued optimism is based on the significant strides that we at Reliance have taken in the past year," Ambani said. "Today, I remain stronger than ever in my belief that Reliance will, through the Reliance Jio initiative, radically transform the lives of 1.2 billion Indians," he added. The RIL chief, however, indicated that the company would not be impulsive while launching 4G services and the entire programme might take more than a year. "Our impatience to reach our goal demands a sense of urgency, but not careless haste," Ambani said. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130607/jsp/business/story_16980353.jsp#.UbHuWdKBlA0