Reliance mobile R World bags International Award

Singapore, Singapore, June 16, 2005 (Xtvworld.Com) -- Asian MobileNews announced the “Best Mobile Operator Marketing Campaign� for R World at a glittering ceremony held at The Tower Club, Singapore, last night which was attended by ‘who’s who’ of the Asian telecom industry including 3HK’s Agnes Nardi, Maxis Communications Malaysia’s Dato’ Jamaludin Ibrahim, Smart Communications Philippines’ Napoleon L Nazareno, Total Access Communications Thailand's Sigve Brekke and Vichai Bencharongkul and Reliance Infocomm’s own Mahesh Prasad.

R World won the award amid stiff competition from SingTel Mobile of Singapore and DiGi Telecommunications of Malaysia. The annual awards, hosted by Asian MobileNews, a leading monthly magazine coming from the stables of the renowned Charlton Group, are a tribute to the best of the best in the industry.

Commenting after the Awards, Simon Hyett, Associate Publisher & Group Editor of the Charlton Media Group, said: “Tonight is one of our biggest nights of the year – as it is for this growth industry in Asia. We were delighted with the turnout of high-profile guests, our keynote speaker Mr Nazareno and the overall atmosphere. All our staff, but particularly Events Manager Liang Dan Ming have worked around the clock to produce tonight, they should be proud. Tonight cements our position as Asia’s leading telecoms media organisation and also confirms the dynamism of this exciting industry.�

Mahesh Prasad, President – Applications and Solutions group, Reliance Infocomm, said: “We are delighted that the international community has taken note of the significance of Indian mobile industry and the importance of mobile data services which has demonstrated acceptability by millions of mobile users for services such as R World.�

In his brief acceptance speech he said: "I, on behalf of Reliance Infocomm, its 40,000 employees and 11.5 million subscribers, am delighted to accept this prestigious award. India, as you all know, is experiencing a massive telecom revolution with the mobile phone strength crossing 55 million mark. The country has registered a massive 433% jump during the last two years in which Reliance has played a significant role. Data applications, like this award-winning R World on Reliance mobiles, have also caught on well and have enjoyed over a billion page views a month.�

“As we expand our network across India covering 5,700 cities and towns and 400,000 villages, we at Reliance are proud to be part of the great movement that leapfrogs India onto the Infotainment Expressway,� he added.

In a country with currently perhaps the world’s lowest PC penetration, Reliance IndiaMobile has worked wonders with its R World suite of applications. R World, thanks to its wide offerings, has endeared itself to users from all walks of life with offerings ranging from movie videos, music and ringtone downloads, TV news, railway booking, banking to mobile commerce applications and examination results. It also provides ball-by-ball information on cricket and other exciting events such as concerts to millions of Indians.

Most Reliance mobile subscribers are privileged as they enjoy the rich experience of R World on a nationwide CDMA 1X network with multimedia phones when India was believed to be a pure vanilla voice market only.

A never-before experience, R World caught the imagination of Reliance Mobile users as they could stand out in the marketplace with their newly acquired mobiles and take immense pride in it. “I get to watch Amitabh Bachhan’s movie on R World which your mobile can’t give� is the talk of the town. In fact, The TV commercial campaign that won the Asian MobileNews Award features popular Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal reflecting the mood of a thrilled Reliance mobile user.

R World is India’s only truly interactive mobile data application suite. Available to a majority of over 9 million RIM subscribers, the Java and BREW based suite offers over 150 diverse applications, all created to bring in a new way of life.

About Charlton Group:
The Charlton Media Group is a leading business to business publisher based in Singapore and serving global markets in the areas of telecoms & technology, banking, finance & insurance, and power and energy. Our leading news magazine titles serve senior decision makers in these areas throughout Asia, the Middle East, and the world. With 10 monthly and bi monthly titles published and a growing number of custom magazines, the Charlton Media Group is one of the leading independent publishers in this region.

About Reliance Infocomm:
Reliance Infocomm Ltd., a Reliance group company, is India's largest private telecom service provider with a subscriber base of over 11.5 million. Reliance Infocomm has established a pan-India, high-capacity, integrated (wireless and wireline) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network to offer services spanning the entire Infocomm value chain - infrastructure, services for enterprises and individuals, applications and consulting. The Reliance Group, founded by Shri Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002), is India's largest business house with total revenues of over Rs 99,000 crore (US$ 22.6 billion), cash profit of Rs 12,500 crore (US$ 2.8 billion), net profit of Rs 6,200 crore (US$ 1.4 billion) and exports of Rs 15,900 crore (US$ 3.6 billion).

Contact:
Mumbai
Jimmy Mogal, Ph: +91 22 3038 5128 jimmy.mogal @ relianceinfo.com

Delhi
Anjali Kumar, Ph: +91 11 3033 2844, anjali.kumar @ relianceinfo.com
Indira Das, Ph: +91 11 3033 2848, indira.das @ relianceinfo.com
Prashant Dua, Ph: +91 11 3033 2852, prashant_p_dua @ relianceinfo.com