Nearly a decade has passed since I first spoke to you about the
phenomenal opportunity of bringing affordable and next generation
communication access to all Indians.
Much has changed in these eight years since Reliance first ventured
into the Infocomm space with 2G CDMA based mobile services.
From less than 5 million mobile users in 2001, India today has grown
to nearly 600 million mobile users, and continues to add close to 20
million new customers every month.
India is now the second largest, and the fastest growing, telecom
market in the world.
No doubt, this is a matter of great pride and optimism for all of us.
Unfortunately, during these years India has not kept pace with the
world in terms of more advanced communication technologies.
Today, India has less than 1% market penetration, compared to the
developed nations which have over 60 % market penetration.
Meanwhile, China has a rapidly growing market of over 130 million
broadband users.
Global experience has shown us that broad-based and seamless
access to information significantly accelerates countries’ economic
growth.
The information revolution, powered by the Internet, has created a
global expressway of content, information, knowledge and services.
Every aspect of our life is becoming ever more digital.
The combination of increasingly powerful networks and intelligent
devices, provide us with whole new ways to run our homes,
communities, enterprises and our economy.
Broadband wireless technologies is at the heart of our search for
competitive advantage and economic prosperity.
In my view, next generation technologies exist today that can link
India to this digital expressway far more effectively than ever before.
It is possible to pole-vault India from the prevailing 1G and 2G
technologies to fourth generation technologies and beyond.
In this respect, we are faced with a much larger opportunity in
broadband today than we were with voice in 2001.
Our company has acquired a 95% stake in Infotel Broadband
Services Pvt. Ltd. to create a nation-wide network of next-generation
wireless broadband services.
Infotel was the only successful bidder in all of the 22 circles in the
Broadband Wireless Access (“BWA”) auction conducted by DoT,
Government of India.
The 20 Mhz, contiguous, pan-India spectrum secured by Reliance
through this stake is an extremely valuable resource.
With this, Reliance can now offer fourth generation wireless
Infocomm services across the nation.
To build this wireless digital distribution platform, we plan to follow an
asset light, but partnership-heavy approach.
We will collaborate with strategic partners, such as service providers,
infrastructure providers, device manufacturers and other participants
in the ecosystem.
This platform will be at the core of an Infocomm eco-system where
content creators, application developers and global technology
players can come together to deliver unparalleled customer value and
experience.
To seed this ecosystem, we plan to set up a Wireless Innovation
Center in Mumbai.
Such a platform is also aligned with India’s national priorities, by
enabling national transformation and “digital inclusion” of its people.
It will empower India by providing easy and broad access to
crucial social infrastructure, including UID, health, education
and literacy services.
It will provide manifold productivity gains by access to real time
information for individuals, small businesses and enterprises.
It will transform rural India, especially the farm sector, through
easy access to information on inputs, outputs, weather and
other markets conditions.
It will take India from cash-banking to e-banking, and provide
Indians access to banking, finance, security and other services
irrespective of their location, at their convenience.
It is estimated that for every one percent in broadband
penetration, employment can go up by 4 to 6 per cent.
It expands the national capacity for innovation, and stimulates
the need for richer content, more advanced devices and
applications.
The possibilities are limitless.
This is an opportunity for our company to claim leadership in a new
frontier of the knowledge economy, by creating end-to-end solutions
that address the entire Infocomm value chain.
I am confident that the magnitude of the opportunity, combined with
our asset-light approach, will earn for you attractive returns and
increase the value of your investments significantly.
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