Reliance Info rolls out RIM phase II plan in TN

Reliance Infocomm on Thursday announced the roll out of its RIM phase-ll plan in Tamil Nadu, thereby expanding its network to 466 new towns.

This will involve 10-12 per cent of the Rs 4,000-crore investment the company has earmarked for its pan-India phase-II expansion project.

"We are expanding our network in the state from 80,000 kms to 1.2 lakh kms," said V G Somasekhar, RIM business head (Tamil Nadu and Kerala circles).

While the network will be largely optic fibre, it will also deploy microwave and satellite connectivity in places not conducive to fibre linkage.

With this Rs 400-480-crore expansion, Reliance Infocomm will service 575 cities and towns in Tamil Nadu. The expansion will also enhance the connectivity capacity of the existing network, guaranteeing seamless communications across the state.

Eventually, Reliance Infocomm's services will be spread to all the 985 towns in the state. In a statement issued here, Somasekhar said, "We are thrilled with the rapid growth of our customer base in the state."

At present, Reliance Infocomm has a subscriber base of more than nine lakh. The expanded network will criss-cross 14 national highways, 22 state highways and 37 railway routes through the length and breadth of the state.

Part of the Rs 99,000-crore Reliance group, RIM has over 8 million customers in pan-India.

The company statement highlighted that it has established a pan-India, high capacity, integrated (wireless and wireline) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network, to offer services spanning the entire Infocomm value chain "� infrastructure, services for enterprises and individuals, applications and consulting.

It is able to ensure superior voice quality and offer hundreds of data applications and mobile Internet connections at a speed of 144kbps.