Mumbai: Reliance Infocomm on December 27 announced launch of its limited mobility telecom service, seeking to provide the facility in 673 towns and cities across the country with three schemes, including a unique three year Dhirubhai Ambani Pioneer Offer at Rs 3000.

"We will commence demonstrations of the service on January 15 and begin bookings by February. We expect to start the commercial operation in February or March," Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani told reporters at the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) in Navi Mumbai.

Eventually, the wireless in local loop (WLL) facility would connect all the 6,40,000 villages and 2,000 odd towns and cities to each other and to the world in a seamless way, he said adding the service based on code division multiple access (CDMA) platform would provide messaging, business transactions, videoconferencing, music download and movie download services.

Referring to the Pioneer offer, the booking for which ends in March, he said among other things the subscribers would get one free digital mobile phone worth Rs 10,500, unlimited free incoming calls, 15-second pulse rate and free outgoing calls for 400 minutes.

Within the plan, the cost of a STD call is 40 paise a minute and that of a short call up to 15 seconds is only 10 paise, Ambani said adding the scheme also allows for exchange of current handsets and discount coupons for various products.

Ambani said under the Pioneer offer, the subscribers would pay Rs 600 per month while the value-added services such as call hold, call conferencing and test messaging would be free of cost.

The tariff plans have been approved by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which had asked the company to provide free incoming calls and the rates would be reviewed every quarterly, Ambani said.

He said the announcement of the service is being made on the eve of the birth anniversary of his father late Dhirubhai Ambani as the patriarch had dreamt of a digital and communication revolution in the country.

The standard plan of the Reliance IndiaMobile Service would require monthly payment of Rs 200 as rental and Rs 1.20 per minute call charge while the Regular scheme was an upfront payment plan, which covered only talk time.

"Once we get into commercial services, we expect to report profit in the first year itself and as on now we are on right track," Ambani said.

On the market share, he said mobile market has a bright future in the country with one million per month growth and hoped to capture 15-25 per cent of the market by 2004.

Giving details of the company's phased plans, Ambani said the first phase of the service was the nationwide wireless network, which would be followed by an enterprise netway revolution by providing broadband experience to every desktop and devices in half a million enterprise buildings initially in second half of 2003.

In the third phase in 2004, he said, the company would provide high speed convergence networks to millions of homes.

PTI