Reliance Infocomm Launched in India

MUMBAI, India, Dec. 31 -- The Reliance Group, India's largest private company, has announced it will launch a low-cost telecom service with a fiber optic network that will expand throughout India.

"The goal of Reliance Infocomm is to progressively expand its fiber optic network and eventually cover 116,000 km, with the ability to seamlessly connect every individual, home and office in all 640,000 villages and 2,500 towns and cities of India," said Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.

"Reliance Infocomm will ensure that by 2003, India has the most modern information and communication infrastructure in the world," he said.

The company's 37,300-mile fiber optic network is India's largest.