Reliance India Mobile gives good service, but its policies are monopolistic. In Orissa, where I live, Reliance has got the area monopoly. The Reliance is reliable. It is owned by the Ambanis. After the death of Dhirubhai, now it is Anilbhai who owns and manages The Reliance Group including the Reliance India Mobile.
Effective from last Friday, Mobile to Mobile STD rates have been slashed, and landline STD rates are also being reduced. Reliance is facing competition from the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, (BSNL), and there are quite a few Mobile operators in the fray. In August 2001, hardly there were any Mobile user in Delhi, but now the scenario is just like that of New York. Almost everyone has a mobile in his pocket or in her handbag. The sizes of Mobile phones are getting smaller, and they come in different pleasing colours. The Lajpat Rai Market and the Palika Bazar in Delhi are having a roaring business in Mobile phones. Even in Orissa, and in Angul too, the sale of Mobile phones is on the rise. NOKIA is the most popular, though expensive, and other brands are Samsung, Panasonic, Motorola, Philips and the like.
Reliance Mobile is marketed under the brand name of Smart. By paying three hundred rupees, one can have Mobile to Mobile and Mobile to Telephone STD facilities. Even the new users can have the connection by paying two hundred rupees. But the point is, when can we have Mobile phone facilities spread over the length and breadth of India. Let me illustrate the point. With Smart Card in my Mobile Phone, I can not call any one from outside Orissa, although by activating the roaming facility, I can be called by landline phone through my Mobile. Let us hope that Mr. Pramod Mahajan, our Communications Minister will do something in the new year to bring in uniformity in the entire country.
Reliance is going ahead quite aggressively. It is digging cable lines to put in glass fibres. Whatever may be the case, India is going to leapfrog in using this technology.