Reliance Introduces Prepaid

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Reliance Infocomm storms prepaid market, announces path breaking schemes

· For Rs 3500 get a Motorola C131 mobile phone and Rs 3240 worth

of re- charge vouchers instantly and stay connected for 1 year

· Prepaid offer also available across wide spectrum of Reliance IndiaMobile handsets

· Includes automatic nationwide roaming at no extra charge

DAKC (Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City), Navi Mumbai February 9, 2004

After achieving dominant market share in the post paid segment and establishing itself as No. 1 player in the mobility sector, Reliance Infocomm today marked its entry into the prepaid segment by announcing path breaking schemes that give customers free recharge vouchers worth nearly the cost of a Reliance IndiaMobile (RIM) Prepaid handset that they buy. Not only that, they can remain connected for a full one year without having to buy new recharge vouchers.

Under the revolutionary, never-before RIM Prepaid launch scheme a customer will just pay Rs 3500 for a stylish Motorola C131 handset and, in return, get a free RIM Prepaid connection and recharge vouchers worth Rs 3,240 valid for six months with an additional six month grace period. During this grace period the subscriber will be able to receive incoming calls and SMS without recharging the account. The RIM Prepaid promotional scheme is also available with all other Reliance IndiaMobile handsets. For example a customer can buy a Java and multimedia enabled LG RD2030 handset for Rs 6,500 and get RIM Prepaid recharge vouchers worth Rs 6,480 absolutely free.

"RIM Prepaid raises the bar for innovation, quality of service and value added services in prepaid segment of mobile telephony market. RIM Prepaid customers will have full seamless mobility across the country and roaming service comes to them without any extra charge. They will also be able to recharge their account with any denomination from virtually anywhere in India. RIM Prepaid is also the only prepaid service in the country that provides data applications through R World and Internet connectivity through R Connect. We are the market leader in post paid segment and we are confident to repeat the same feat in prepaid segment by offering superior products and services," said Mr. SP Shukla, President - Wireless Products and Services, Reliance Infocomm Ltd

The RIM Prepaid handsets are distributed through over 15,000 retail outlets across India. Customers will be able to buy recharge vouchers from over 70,000 retail outlets across the country.

The tariff for RIM Prepaid is one of the lowest in the industry and simple to comprehend with fewer slabs. All local calls, intra-circle calls and inter-circle calls of less than 50 kms distance to another mobile phone have a flat rate of Rs 2.49/minute. All inter-circle calls of above 50 kms to another mobile phone have a flat Rs 2.99/minute rate. All local calls, intra-circle calls and inter-circle calls of less than 200 kms to a fixed phone have a flat Rs 2.99/minute rate and all inter circle calls of above 200 kms have flat rate of Rs 3.99/minute.

Other unique features of RIM Prepaid include automatic roaming in pan India RIM network at no extra cost, nationwide recharge facility with any denomination, STD and ISD facility, call forward and voice message service at local mobile call rates from anywhere in RIM network. RIM Prepaid customers with Java enabled handsets will be able to use their phones as modems for R Connect Internet connectivity and access R World data applications. RIM Prepaid customers will also have access to 1234 SMS based services and a host of call management services like three-way conference call and caller line identification.

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RIM adds 1 lakh subscribers

Our Corporate Bureau in Mumbai

Published : February 18, 2004, Business Standard

Reliance Infocomm has cornered over one lakh subscriber in the pre-paid segment within a few days of the launch.

The company entered the pre-paid market on February 9 with a range of handsets bundled with rechargable vouchers in various denominations.

Speaking on the sidelines of the roadshows for IPCL IPO, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries (RIL) said, “we have in excess of one lakh prepaid customers so far. We have far exceeded our expectations. We haven’t even launched ads in television.” Ambani pointed out that “We have been consistent in our figures of getting subscriber and we have a market share between 20-30 per cent.”

He was of the opinion that the market is big enough to have at least 4-5 operators and “every operator can have a market share in the range between 20-25 per cent”.

On the overall telecom market, Ambani said that India would see additions of at least 2-3 million a month . However, on the subscriber base in Reliance Infocomm he reiterated that they continue to hold a market share of 20-30 per cent.

Reliance Infocomm entered the pre-paid segment where its customer get a free connection and recharge vouchers worth Rs 3240 valid for six months with an additional six month grace period.

During this grace period the subscriber will be able to receive incoming calls and SMS without recharging the account