Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, plans to roll out 4G services in metro cities by the end of this fiscal, enabling them to offer these services to common man at an affordable price, reports said, quoting a senior executive.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Business head and State mentor Tarun Jhunjhunwala said, "Kolkata will be among the first few cities where we will launch 4G services. The roll out will happen simultaneously in Delhi, Mumbai and Jamnagar. Our aim is to start 4G services in metros by the end of first quarter of 2014."
Jhunjhunwala did not offer more details on the pricing of 4G services.
The company may also offer devices that support 4G services to its customers at nominal costs and are discussing with manufacturers to identify appropriate devices.
The 4G services are likely to be available on smart phones, smart televisions, internet dongles and tabs.
"We plan to invest Rs.3,000 crore in West Bengal, besides pumping in another Rs.3,000 crore to Rs.4,000 crore to launch 4G services in other eastern and north-eastern states," Jhunjhunwala said, without disclosing the total investment in rolling out 4G services across the country.
In West Bengal, the company plans to lay optical fibre cables across 5,500 kilometres. It will also use 3,500 telecom towers to support its 4G services in the state. The work already commenced that the company had laid cables across 300 kilometres. It expects to create around 5,000 jobs in West Bengal, he said.
Reliance Jio Infocomm is likely to consider taking on lease 25 to 30 percent of its telecom infrastructure requirements from Reliance Communications, he added.
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