Reliance Communication, plans to make headway in the hitherto unexplored mGovernance (mobile governance) sector by launching the service in select rural pockets. While Reliance Communication is already working with the West Bengal government to provide various e-governance services in semi-urban and rural markets in the state, the company is soon expected to launch the service in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, said a senior official of the company.
The mGovernance services the company intends to offer will help the rural folks to communicate with agricultural experts; obtain information about the fertiliser; find out the prices of various agricultural products in nearby mandis; weather report and local helplines for various requirements. The company is also developing local applications including group messaging to facilitate panchayats and or district level bodies to disseminate information of local importance to rural people. Since most of the local applications require local contents, the company has partnered freelancers and developers as part of the Reliance Development Programme.
The mobile value-added services (VAS) market is estimated to be close to Rs 5,000 crore of which the entertainment applications constitute close to 35 per cent of the market. The contribution of VAS to the telecom service providers’ revenue in India varies between 5-13 per cent. [Via]
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