Reliance Communications, today unveiled its path breaking initiative to break the price barrier for internet access for billions of Indians across 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages. In the largest roll out of affordable wireless internet service across the length and breadth of the country, Reliance slashed the cost of Reliance Netconnect USB stick modem to Rs 1099/- and offers unlimited data usage at affordable tariff of just Rs 169/- only for prepaid users. This plan has been launched across the country except the top 1000 towns.

RCOM led India�s first telecom revolution by making a phone call more affordable. It is now leading the second wave by making India a WireFree country, where every Indian has access to internet at the click of mouse or the press of a key. This is in line with Reliance�s vision to usher in digital revolution by making the telecom services available to the countrymen while offering them at the most affordable prices.

While major cities have benefitted by the growth in latest technology, semi-urban and rural areas have by and large been left behind in the IT wave. Many parts of India are still under penetrated in terms of internet usage. Reliance launches its new offering �City Unlimited� which comes with truly unlimited data usage and internet access, within the same city with wireless internet speed of up to 153 kbps. These cities where this plan is available is mapped to over 1700 STD codes.

�The availability of internet service and the initial hardware cost has been a deterrent to drive the internet penetration in our country. Internet penetration all over India stands at less than 2% and although driving internet penetration across the country beyond major cities is a key priority for us, affordable internet penetration will also enable economic prosperity for our countrymen. Reliance has once again rewritten the rules of the industry by offering an unbeatable proposition in terms of coverage, quality, service breadth and, above all, value for money� said Mahesh Prasad, President �Wireless Business, Reliance Communications.

There remains abundant headroom for data growth since many regions of the country are still significantly under penetrated and unwired. RCOM�s strategy is to reach this unconnected hinterland, giving millions of Indians affordable internet usage. In these parts of the country, PC penetration is increasing with the popularity of music and movies online, social networking and email. Dial up network or poor GPRS connectivity are the only options available for internet access and the customer experience is very poor on account of poor network quality and lower speeds.

�City Unlimited� makes the internet access very affordable, but, more importantly provides the speed with unlimited data usage for using various internet applications. The service plan is targeted at small/medium businesses, students and homemakers. RCOM�s network presence provides competitive edge of diverse technology and nationwide reach of internet access for everyone.