Reliance Jio joins COAI as core member

Reliance Jio Monday joined the GSM body Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) as its core member, a COAI statement said here.

"We are all acutely aware of the significance of the expansion of advanced data networks such as LTE in our country. This will hasten our broadband penetration, which currently pales in comparison to the penetration rates in both the developed and developing countries," Sandip Das, managing director, Reliance Jio Infocomm said.

"We see an opportunity for the policy makers and the industry to be aligned with respect to understanding what stands between the average Indian and their crying demand for better broadband! We see ourselves contributing significantly by building out a nationwide high speed data network," he added.

COAI's other core members are Aircel, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Telewings Communications Services, Videocon Telecom and Vodafone India.

"Together, with Reliance Jio and our other members, we look forward to working with the government to achieve the ambitious targets enshrined in the government's agenda of creating the new 'i-way', smart cities and broadband for all," Rajan S. Matthews, Director General, COAI said.